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BMW 328i Top Performer in Insurance Institute Crash Test

31 May 2000


    Woodcliff Lake, NJ, May 31, 2000... The BMW 328i was the best performer in
the recent 40 mph offset crash tests conducted by the Insurance Institute for 
Highway Safety (IIHS).  In the test of five mid-sized luxury sedans, the 328i 
was the only car to be deemed a "best pick."
    
    Explaining the awarding of its "best pick" designation on the 328i,
the IIHS noted that "during the frontal offset crash test, the occupant
compartment held its shape well, without much intrusion into the compartment, 
and measures taken from the driver dummy indicated low likelihood of injury." 

    The IIHS frontal offset crash test into a deformable barrier is especially 
demanding of vehicle structure.  Only the driver side of the front of a 
vehicle hits the barrier, so a relatively small area of the front-end 
structure must manage the crash energy.  This means intrusion into the occupant 
compartment is more likely to occur than in a full-width test.

    "At BMW we place a very high priority on passenger safety," noted Tom
Purves, Chairman of BMW (US) Holding Corp., "so we are very gratified to see
our engineers' efforts pay off so well in tests like these."

    The BMW 328i benefits from BMW's comprehensive Safety F.I.R.S.T.
(Fully-Integrated Road Safety Technology) initiative and includes standard
features such as "smart" dual-threshold and dual-stage front airbags, front
door side airbags and BMW's Head Protection System, an automotive first.
Front seat belts include automatic pretensioners and force limiters.  Side
impact intrusion is further minimized by BMW's innovative Interlocking door
anchoring system.  Also standard is a feature that has been on BMW's since
the 1980's-the crash sensor-which upon impact will immediately unlock the
doors and turn on the hazard flashers and interior lights. 


BMW IN AMERICA

   BMW entered the U.S. market in 1975.  Since then, the company has grown to
include marketing, sales and financial service organizations in the United
States; a South Carolina manufacturing operation; a design firm in California; 
a technology office in Palo Alto and various other operations throughout the 
country.  BMW is represented in the U.S. through a network of more than 340 car, 
300 Sports Activity Vehicle and 160 motorcycle retailers.  BMW US Holding Corp., 
the Group's headquarters for North, Central and South America, is located in 
Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.