Keeler BMW Wins The Center of Excellence Award

Keeler BMW is proud to announce that they have received the prestigious Center of Excellence award for its strong performance in 2009.

This year, there were 21 BMW Centers awarded this honor - an elite group that outperformed their peers in "the three core competencies of operational excellence, outstanding brand representation and the consistent delivery of a premium customer experience."

Congratulations to our outstanding staff of sales and service professionals at Keeler BMW! Everyone on our staff does a terrific job, and it's great to see them recognized for those efforts!

Storm Aftermath at Keeler Motor Car

After shoveling our driveway, getting the kids to daycare (thank you Mapleleaf Daycare for being open!) and making it down the Northway to Latham I arrived at Keeler Motor Car to an awful mess. I forget (and take it for granted since I'm not in Sales) that our Managers, Sales and Service Staff have the dreadful job of snow cleanup.

If a big storm is expected the "cleanup" begins the day before when they have to get as many cars as they can indoors. The next day is the real test when they are tasked to clean the snow off the entire inventory of vehicles, move all the cars for the plows, wait for the plows to do their thing, then move the entire inventory back into place. It is a strenuous job to say the least but they have it down to a science here at Keeler Motors! So, I would like to say thank you to all the staff here at Keeler Motor Car Company for all of their hard work today and any other day we have a snow storm - it does not go unnoticed! Here are some pics of today clean up.

MINI Connected for iPhone to Debut in Geneva

*22.02.2010 * Press Release
*World-first in-car entertainment technology integrates the Apple iPhone.

*Safe, convenient, intuitive control of all functions via the MINI operating system.

*World debut of in-car web radio.

*MINI Connected brings enhanced user functionality and customization to the MINI-exclusive, Mission Control.

Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey - February 22, 2010... MINI Connected, a new technology unique to MINI, opens up a new dimension of in-car entertainment. The new system will make its debut at the 2010 Geneva International Motor Show next week.

MINI Connected.MINI Connected offers new options to further enhance the driving fun associated with the brand by intelligently connecting the driver, his MINI and the outside world. The new MINI Connected system will be launched simultaneously with the MINI Countryman, as an option on the newest member of the MINI brand lineup.

With MINI Connected, MINI is the first carmaker to offer a newly developed USB interface with functionality that enables such a high level of integration of the iPhone into the in-car audio and infotainment system. This MINI-exclusive technology provides the basis for unprecedented integration of Smartphone functions, and takes the in-car integration of modern Smartphone telecommunications, entertainment and online functions to a whole new level.

The innovative iPhone interface provides robust data exchange capabilities, allowing a range of infotainment, navigation and communication functions to be used on board the vehicle. MINI Connected also allows functions to be enhanced or personalized to the driver's individual preferences.

Click here for the entire article.

MINI Countryman Video - First Exclusive Look!

Next week the MINI Countryman will celebrate its world premiere in Geneva and right now, we have some never-before-seen driving footage for you. Courtesy of MINI Youtube Channel, we’re enjoying again the funky, intriguing and lively MINI videos.

Carrying the tagline, “Life is out There”, the MINI Countryman video can be summed up in just a couple of sentences: it is a giddy montage of footage that packs a lifetime’s worth of adventure into a snappy few minutes. It is about drawing a connection between the increased interior space of the Countryman, which is the roomiest MINI yet, with living large, expanding horizons, seizing the day



As a recap, MINI Countryman is entering the market with a choice of three petrol and two diesel engines; the power range extends from 90 hp in the MINI One D Countryman all the way to 184 hp in the MINI Cooper S Countryman.

At the high-end of the line-up, the 1.6-liter four-cylinder petrol engine comes for the first time not only with a twin-scroll turbocharger and direct fuel injection, but also with fully variable valve management.

The Countryman gets a standard six-speed manual transmission; a six-speed automatic transmission is optional.

MINI Cooper S Countryman and MINI Cooper D Countryman come equipped with the MINI ALL4 all-wheel drive, an electrohydraulic differential positioned directly on the final drive varying the distribution from front to rear in an infinite process. Under normal driving conditions up to 50 per cent of the engine’s power goes to the rear wheels, under extreme conditions up to 100 per cent, offering a new, high-traction rendition of that agile handling so typical of MINI.

The MINI Countryman comes as standard with four seats, while a three-seat bench is available as a no-cost option.The cabin, among other things, gets a standard multifunction steering wheel with cruise control a center rail system that allows each passenger to store objects.

Source: BMWBlog

The Long Game: 18 holes, 850 miles in an E-Class Diesel

Think "extreme sports" and you probably imagine mountain climbers without safety lines, skiers diving down vertical cliffs or base jumpers toppling off freshly finished skyscrapers. And when you think "golf?" That's right: badly coordinated clothing and a very long walk to get a gin & tonic.

It's a safe bet that you don't think of wombats, dive-bombing crows, water hazards that may contain deadly poisonous snakes, and a journey to the next tee that could be hundreds of miles. But then, you've never played golf Australian style. Oh, yes, it's extreme.

The Nullarbor Links is an 18-hole, par 72 golf course that starts at Kalgoorlie in western Australia and traverses some 850 miles to Ceduna in southern Australia. I'm going to need a bigger golf cart. Six-inch wheels and a nice frilly sunshade on top just ain't going to cut it.
A Mercedes-Benz E250CDi, on the other hand, looks like a much more tempting solution. And as it's diesel-engined, the fuel tank range should be huge. Range is important out there.

As we pick the car up from a local Mercedes dealer, he imparts a warning that serves as a good indication of the journey ahead: "Whatever you do, avoid hitting wombats. They'll rip the front of yer car off. Imagine hitting a cement-filled water trough -- I've seen a good wombat strike write a car off."

So we'll be avoiding wombats, then. As we set out for Kalgoorlie, the Merc settles into a relaxed but quick-ish gait. Even a couple of years ago, this Merc's performance would have been unbelievable -- here is a small displacement four-cylinder diesel that generates 204 hp, hits a top speed of nearly 150 mph, and goes 0-60 mph in a shade under 7.7 sec. For those who remember the bad old days of bad old diesels, these are phenomenal figures. The real kicker is, the Merc manages to do all this and remain refined. Sure, it'll never be as whisper-smooth as a good gas V-6 or V-8, but once it's rolling, you'll forget there's a diesel under the hood.
Problem is, even in the vastness of the Nullarbor Plain, we can't exploit the car's performance potential. If I had my way, we'd be cruising at 100 mph-plus, but the cops are everywhere -- in the air, hiding in bushes, lurking in unmarked cruisers. And they really take it personally if you speed, which seems ridiculous in this landscape of unreachable horizons.



Read the rest of the article here.

Source: MotorTrend

Keeler Motor Car 3rd Annual Indoor Sidewalk Sale

Don't forget - this weekend is the 3rd Annual Keeler Motor Car Indoor Sidewalk Sale. We will have over $20,000,000 of pre-owned, used and new car inventory from the most respected names in the business and they will all be under one roof! To see our entire inventory go to http://www.keeler.com/ and click on the pre-owned inventory button. This sale only happens once a year - you will not want to miss it!

MINI USA launching Laurel Sport Edition

When's the last time there was a car like the Mini? When people aren't busy buying the same car in slightly different lengths and heights, Mini is painting them slightly different colors and charging more. It appears the last one, the Rally Clubman, sold so well that Mini's got another special edition in the works called the Laurel Sport.

There will be 300 Laurel Sports offered in the U.S., 100 for each the hardtop, Clubman, and convertible. They arrive next month, just in time for the Olympics to be over, but the aim here is "classic British style." That means a John Cooper Works aero kit, driving lights, 17-inch alloys, black mirror caps, special door sills, side skirts, and stripes. And that's not all: There will be a summer version and a winter version, the former getting performance tires, the latter with all-season tires and the Cold Weather package.

If you're still reading this and haven't called your Mini dealer already, prices will be $29,695 for the hardtop, $31,445 for the Cooper S, and $34,545 for the convertible.