Video Find: BMW Shows off 328 Hommage Concept, Original 328 Roadster (video)

BMW toasted the 75th anniversary of its iconic 328 roadster with the 328 Hommage, a concept car that debuted at the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este in Italy. For those of us who weren’t able to make the trek out to Italy, BMW has released a video offering a more in-depth look at the concept car’s design, as well as a rundown of elements that were directly inspired by the 328 from the 1930s.

The video highlights some of the 328 Hommage’s neatest design features, including the carbon-fiber reinforced plastic body, lightweight wheels, and conspicuous lack of doors. We’re also granted a closer look at the sleekly integrated fuel filler cap, as well as unique dashboard-mounted Apple iPhone cases that give a retro-stopwatch appearance to Cupertino’s smartphone. Plus, the video has running footage of an original BMW 328, a rare treat for fans of roundel-badged sports cars from the past.

In true BMW fashion, the open-top 328 Hommage features an inline-six engine. Unfortunately the retro-inspired styling and high-tech design will remain off-limits to BMW faithful, as the Hommage is purely a one-off show car. The company also debuted a different take on a modernized 328, the Concept Coupé Mille Miglia, for the 328’s 70th birthday in 2006.-wot.motortrend.com

ASUS announces glasses-free Eee Pad MeMO 3D tablet

Alongside the Padfone, ASUS announced yet another tablet at Computex 2011 to join its previously announced Eee Pad Transformer, Eee Pad Slider and Eee Slate. The company first unveiled its Eee Pad MeMO 7-inch tablet at CES in January and the company has now unveiled a glasses-free 3D model dubbed the Eee Pad MeMO 3D. While the device sports a 1280 x 800 IPS LCD panel for wider viewing angles, this presumably won't apply to viewing 3D as - like the Nintendo 3DS - the MeMO 3D uses a parallax-barrier 3D overlay to create the 3D effect.

Aside from the addition of 3D, the MeMO 3D is pretty much identical to its non-3D counterpart. It runs Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) and is powered by a Qualcomm 1.2 GHz dual core processor with 1GB of RAM and 32GB of onboard storage. Connectivity-wise the device includes micro-USB for charging, 3.5mm audio out, a MicroSD card slot, SIM card slot and a mini-HDMI port for outputting Full HD 1080p video. Up front there is 1.2MP camera while a 5MP camera with LED flash can be found on the rear.

The MeMO 3D also comes with a capacitive stylus that slides from a silo below the display as well as a MeMIC Bluetooth handset featuring a transparent LCD display that can be used as a media remote or for taking phone calls using the tablet.

The inclusion of a capacitive stylus that slides from a silo below the display signals ASUS's aim of the device being used as a digital notepad in portrait form. However, again due to the parallax barrier technology employed, 3D viewing is limited to landscape mode.

ASUS hasn't announced pricing or a specific release date for the Eee Pad MeMO 3D, only signaling a Q4 2011 release. However, back in January it said the non-3D Eee Pad MeMO would be priced around US$499-$699 at its June 2011 release. When the 3D model is released, it will be interesting to see exactly how much extra the addition of 3D brings to such a device.-gizmag.com

The latest Papago map dated 1st June 2011

The latest Papago map dated 1st June 2011 is now available for downloading. Click HERE to download. 

Express Service Extends Greater Convenience To PROTON Customers

 Underlining its commitment towards enhancing customer service and satisfaction, PROTON is now offering owners who send their vehicles in for servicing, free labour charges should a regular maintenance service at its authorized service centres exceed 60 minutes.

Under a newly-introduced 60 Minutes Express Service programme, customers will enjoy a much shorter servicing time and in addition, benefit from a free 18-point quality and safety check at Proton Edar Sdn Bhd services centres. And if the service time exceeds 60 minutes, they will not be charged any labour cost. 

The express service will initially be available at 21 service centres nationwide from today, and is in the process of being extended to cover all Proton Edar service centres. Customers need to only look out for the 60 Minutes Express Service logo at the respective service centres to identify the ones offering the service. 

“A frequent complaint we receive from customers is that it takes too long to service their Proton car. More often this is attributed to the number of vehicles that are being attended to at the service centre at any one particular time. In order to address this, we now have dedicated service advisors to attend customers, dedicated technician to work on the vehicles, and dedicated service bays to get the job done,” said Proton Edar Sdn. Bhd Chief Executive Officer Encik Mohamad Shukor Ibrahim. 

“One might still argue that 60 minutes is a long waiting time, but in the interest of our customer’s safety, PROTON has included a free and thorough 18-point check that is intended to identify other areas of concern with the vehicle that the customer may not be aware of and may require immediate attention. It’s much more than just changing the lubricants, oil and air filters but a detailed service check-up. As we continue to improve our services across all areas, we will be working aggressively to reduce the servicing time even further. And while customers wait for their car to be serviced, they can also enjoy our warm hospitality and take advantage of our Wifi facility,” he added. 

Encik Mohamad Shukor said the programme is also aimed at enhancing productivity in terms of service operations, and in the long term, will attract an even larger population of Proton car owners to Proton Edar’s authorized service centres. The introduction of the 60 Minutes Express Service programme also complements the company’s wide range of other services, which offers customers Proton Genuine Parts, skilled manpower and warranty protection. 

“This integrated approach to enhancing the ownership experience of a Proton car will also address the threat of imitation spare parts and inferior components in the market which not only cause severe harm to the PROTON brand, but also jeopardizes the lives of Proton car owners,” said Encik Mohamad Shukor. 

The 60 Minutes Express Service programme is only available via appointment from Mondays to Fridays from 8.00am to 5.15pm, and is applicable for only basic maintenance which includes lubricant change. 

For more information, customers can call Proton i.care at 1800-88-0888. 

2012 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Roadster In Detail: Video

The all-new 2012 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Roadster broke cover this past weekend, ahead of its official world debut this September at the 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show, and now we have a new video of the elegant luxury convertible explaining its every detail.

The video includes a demonstration of the supercar’s automatic roof, which takes just 11 seconds to open or close and can be operated at speeds of up to 31 mph.

Finally, the video also details the SLS AMG Roadster’s optional AMG Performance Media Package, which comes with a mobile Internet connection and advanced telemetry features.

As mentioned in our previous report, the 563 horsepower 2012 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Roadster is set to go on sale this fall.-motorauthority.com