Report: McIlroy to use Callaway woods and irons, Odyssey putter, Titleist ball and wedges in 2017

Rory McIlroy

Rory McIlroy likes to keep things interesting and if contracting glandular fever at the end of 2016 didn't add enough mystery to the news season, he's about to implement a raft of big equipment changes in South Africa in two weeks' time.

According to No Laying Up, the world No 2 will use the new Callaway GBB Epic Sub Zero driver, Callaway Custom Apex MB irons and the Titleist ProV1x ball in the BMW SA Open hosted by City of Ekurhuleni from January 12:

"Speculation regarding Rory’s choice of equipment has dominated the equipment news cycle since Nike announced on August 3 that it would be abandoning its hard goods division.  As NLU reported back in October, McIlroy put the TaylorMade M2 in the bag in China in his first event of the 2016-2017 wrap-around season. However he did not announce any equipment deal with TaylorMade at the time. Likewise he has not confirmed a specific endorsement deal with Callaway, telling NLU that he does not plan to sign an equipment deal in 2017."

Rory McIlroy was a big Titleist fan as an amateur, as he shows here in 2005. Picture: Pat Cashman

Titleist Vokey wedges and an Odyssey prototype putter will also be in the bag for the world No 2, who confessed on December 4 that he contracted glandular fever at the end of the season and feared he might not be able to go to Dubai to test new equipment, as he had planned

"I actually contracted glandular fever after coming back from China so I’m trying to get over that, I’m still not feeling great, I’m a bit run down, so we’ll see," he told The Irish Times. "I’m supposed to go out but it will depend on what the doctor says whether I should travel or not.”

Given the long term effects that glandular fever can have on an athlete, coming back too soon may be a risk for McIlroy.

Whether it's a bigger risk than changing every piece of equipment in the bag remains to be seen. Given the importance of 2017 for McIlroy following a major-less 2016 he admits he salvaged with his FedEx Cup win, it's likely that the risk is minimal.

If a three-win 2016 was a decent but average season, McIlroy's rivals will be quaking in their boots if he puts the entire package together — especially his putting — in 2017.

from News - Irish Golf Desk http://ift.tt/2hFAHFh

Happy New Year, Dear BMW Fans!

BMWBLOG team would like to wish you a Happy New Year and a prosperous 2017. We hope you will step into the new year with aspirations, goals and new challenges that will bring all you the satisfactions and happiness possible.

Some of you have already entered the new year, yet some of us in the U.S. are just about, so as we spend time with our loved ones we also reflect on the year behind us.

Source: BMW Facebook

2016 has been an amazing year here for BMWBLOG with over 3,000 articles published and news delivered to tens of millions of readers. It has been a year of hard work, lots of travel, but most importantly, a year where we discovered that what we love what we do and for that we are forever grateful.

But none of this would be possible without you, our dear readers, and without the support of the entire BMW community. We are grateful to love a brand that brings so many passionate people together, from all corners of the world.  We’ve made new friends, we’ve reinforced friendships and most importantly, we encouraged everyone to connect with each other, even when we disagreed on things.

2017 will be an exceptional year for BMW Group. The company is preparing to launch new products and refresh some of the existing ones, so needless to say, we will be quite busy again in the new year, starting immediately with CES and followed by Detroit Auto Show.

We have an open door policy here at BMWBLOG so feel free to send us your feedback throughout the year, keep us honest – as we make some mistakes sometimes – and help us grow together this beautiful BMW community that you are all part of it.

From the entire team at BMWBLOG, we wish you Happy New Year!

The article Happy New Year, Dear BMW Fans! appeared first on BMW BLOG

from BMW BLOG http://ift.tt/2iBLVr7

Should you buy a used BMW i3?

Most people who buy EVs lease them, thanks to the increased tax incentives and the fact that electric vehicles have pretty terrible depreciation values. However, if you’re looking to have an electric vehicle for the long-term and want to actually own one, then buying second-hand is probably the best idea, thanks to the aforementioned depreciation. So if you let the first owner, or lessee, take the immediate depreciation hit, you can actually find a BMW i3 for extremely cheap. But is it worth buying one?

If you do a quick search online, it’s incredibly easy to find a quite new BMW i3 for under $20,000. For around $18,000, which is about the average for a low-mileage decent example, you can buy yourself a 2014 BMW i3 with decent equipment. While the i3 isn’t the most exciting car ever made, it’s pretty damned cool and is by far and away the cheapest way to get into a car with a carbon fiber passenger cell. So you could brag to your friends about how your car has a similar construction to a McLaren. Technically.

One of the upsides of buying a used electric car is that there really aren’t any important things to go wrong. There’s no engine to check, no transmission or differential to worry about. You don’t have to make sure it doesn’t overheat or have any gasket issues. There’s none of that because an electric car’s powertrain requires no maintenance. So that’s nice. You really only have to make sure all of the other electronics work, such as the windows, door locks and power tailgate. Aside from that, it’s extremely low maintenance.

However, there’s a flip-side to that. Batteries aren’t known for lasting all that long, meaning after a few years they stop holding the same amount of charge as they used to. The BMW i3 hasn’t been out long enough to really tell just how long the battery will hold up, so we don’t really know how long you can own an i3 before it goes kaput. But, we’re assuming you can get quite a few years out of even a 2014 model.

So, with the incredible depreciation, potential buyers can get themselves into an extremely new BMW that has a carbon fiber passenger cell and a lovely interior for about the price of a modestly equipped brand-new Toyota Corolla. That’s an incredibly tempting proposition, one that will make many buyers take notice. However, is it worth finding out just how long the batteries and motor last in the i3 or how well the rest of the car holds up after a few years?

The article Should you buy a used BMW i3? appeared first on BMW BLOG

from BMW BLOG http://ift.tt/2ijpPfn

BMW i3 is best-selling European EV in November

In America, we’re quite hard on the BMW i3. It hasn’t been selling as well as BMW would have liked here and many North American EV enthusiasts would rather spend the extra money and go with a Tesla. Consequently, the BMW i3 isn’t very popular ‘Stateside. However, across the pond, the i3 actually is quite popular, as evidenced by the fact that the BMW i3 was Europe’s best-selling EV last month.

For the month of November, 2016, the BMW i3 was by far the best-selling electric vehicle in the EU, selling 2,092 units. The second closest EV was the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV, which sold 1,512 units. That’s quite a big difference, considering it’s 580 units more.

While Teslas are very popular in America, considering they’re build here, they aren’t nearly as popular east of the Atlantic. Tesla only sold 603 Model Ss and only 387 Model Xs. Admittedly, it’s likely because of the cost, being that Teslas are expensive to begin with and the additional shipping and taxes in Europe make it even more so.

But even less expensive cars sold in fewer numbers than the BMW i3. Nissan only moved 1,030 Leafs and Volkswagen only sold 1,067 Passat GTEs. Hell, even BMW couldn’t sell another EV/Plug-in as well as the i3, with the BMW 330e getting 982 sales.

So in Europe, the BMW i3 is still a very popular car, made even more so by the fact that BMW just upped its range. Plus, with many European cities cracking down on emissions, it only makes sense that Europeans would like to go for a pure EV, rather than any plug-in hybrids. And because of the premium badge, slightly lower cost in Europe and small city-car size, the BMW i3 is a very attractive package there. So while we complain about it, there are those who appreciate the i3’s charms.

And this isn’t just a one month anomaly. The BMW i3 is fourth overall in Year to Date EV sales in Europe, with only much cheaper cars, such as the aforementioned Mitsubishi and Nissan as well as the Renault Zoe, coming ahead of it.

[Source: CleanTechnica]

The article BMW i3 is best-selling European EV in November appeared first on BMW BLOG

from BMW BLOG http://ift.tt/2hETDnC

Silverstone BMW M5 With Blue Wheels & A Custom Exhaust Installed

For a die-hard BMW enthusiast, only the top-notch parts apply. Consequently, the owner of this Silverstone Metallic BMW F10 M5 took his vehicle to European Auto Source for some aftermarket modding. In addition to visual aspects being upgraded here, the M5 also received a nice performance modification as well. To many, the changes done are everything the M5 actually needs, giving it a more pristine look and advanced performance level.

Of course, the build started off as a plain looking BMW M5 – if there ever was such a thing – meaning it’s powered by a 4.4 Liter BMW TwinTurbo engine, delivering 560 horsepower (412 kW) and maximum torque of 502 lb-ft (680 Newton meters). The current-generation M5 will make the acceleration run from 0-62 mph (0-100km/h) in a speedy 4.2 seconds and achieve a top speed of 250 km/h (155 mph). However, an unrestricted (limiter removed) BMW F10 M5 can hit a top speed of 186 mph (300 km/h). For an aftermarket build that is clearly a great starting point.

First, the owner decided to give the M5’s tamed exhaust sound a bit more power. Consequently, the horsepower and torque levels have also increased, all thanks to a custom aftermarket exhaust system. For this part of the build, a GTHaus Meisterschaft titanium exhaust system was added. This lightweight exhaust looks awesome with its blued tips and the quality welding, but it also comes with an amazing sound too. This allowed the M5 to go from tame to beast mode in one single tune here.

After this was done, it was time to add some visual improvements to the car. Namely, a carbon fiber Agency Power front lip and rear diffuser were added, thus accenting the Silverstone and providing meaner looks.

Additionally, the OEM BMW M5 wheels were painted in a bright Candy Blue color finish, working well with the Silverstone paint of the vehicle. A complete overview of this Silverstone Metallic BMW M5 build is available right below. While it may not be everyone’s choice, the aftermarket mods make the M5 a much more impressive looking vehicle.

 

The article Silverstone BMW M5 With Blue Wheels & A Custom Exhaust Installed appeared first on BMW BLOG

from BMW BLOG http://ift.tt/2iQ23od