Car Zone: safety

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

BMW recalls 2013 M5 and M6 models

While most people are still waiting to receive their BMW M5 or M6, BMW North America has just issued a recall for these exact model, at least the ones produced between July 2012 and September 2012. According to BMW officials, a total of 696 vehicles in the US are potentially affected.

According to the official statement, the issue "involves the engine oil pump. The pump driveshaft can separate from the pump rotor. If this were to occur, the engine could experience a sudden loss of oil pressure which could cause severe engine damage."

However, it is very easy for the driver to become aware of the problem. "If the vehicle experiences a sudden loss of oil pressure, a low oil pressure warning indicator is displayed in the instrument cluster, along with a warning message in the control display."

BMW is advising its clients not to drive the M5 or the M6 until the recall is completed. Customers who discover an engine loss to their car are advised to carefully pull over to the side of the road and shut off the engine. In this case, contact BMW Roadside Assistance at 1-800-332-4269. During the recall, deliveries of these models will be stopped.

Saturday, September 22, 2012

Mercedes-Benz S600 Guard by TOPCAR

TOPCAR has popped back into the TopSpeed offices, straight out of Russia, with an all-new bespoke vehicle. Last time we caught up with our Russian custom car friends they were getting their Panamera Stingray 9/25 ready for the 2012 Moscow International Automobile Salon. Now they have delivered us a little more comfort and loads of safety with their Guard upgrade kit for the 2005 through 2013 Mercedes-Benz S600.

TOPCAR began by stripping this S600 down and adding in bullet-proof glass and paneling to keep its occupants safe. While the armoring is cool and likely costs hundreds of thousands of dollars, we are interested mostly in what the armor is protecting. No, not the occupants, we are talking about that gorgeous interior!

The entire interior covering has been removed and replaced from headliner to floor - yeah, we said the floor too - with an elegant blend of lozenge-textured crocodile, Nappa, and Alcantara leather. Sure, using crocodile leather isn't the most PETA-friendly thing in the world, but when you have the roughly $100K that TOPCAR put into the interior, you can tell PETA to go save a squirrel. Plus, we're pretty sure their presence in Russia is nearly non-existent.

The crocodile leather wraps up the seats, doors, dashboard, and floor. Gracing the luggage compartment is diamond-quilted Nappa leather, making a comfortable ride for your golf clubs or whatever else you like to stick in your trunk. With our contact at TOPCAR volunteering that sometimes the term "crazy Russian" is justified, we will leave the other trunk-dwelling objects to your imagination.

You also get a huge amount of custom Karelian birch wood trim to set off all of this beautifully crafted leather. To wrap up the package, TOPCAR replaced all of the Benz's lowly chrome trim with gold-covered pieces. I mean, you can never rock crocodile leather with chrome trim after Labor Day, right?

"Wow" just about sums up this car. When it comes to tiptoeing the line between fantastically gorgeous and horrendously overdone, TOPCAR toed that line with the expertise we expected. Awesome job!

Mercedes-Benz S600 Guard by TOPCAR originally appeared on topspeed.com on Saturday, 22 September 2012 18:00 EST.