"We have realised the changing needs of many of our customers in the Middle East, whose busy lifestyles mean they are spending more time on the roads travelling between one city to the other," BMW Group Middle East managing director Guenther Seemann said.

The arrow towards Qiblah in Makkah will be available in the BMW 7 Series, X3, Z4, Z4 Coupe and MINI Cabrio from March 2007, and will also be available for RetroFit in the existing BMW 7 Series, BMW X5, BMW 3 Series and MINI models.

BMW Fine Driving

Aimed at giving holidaymakers the chance to drive a BMW along some of Europe's most scenic routes, the BMW Fine Driving Programme offers breathtaking tours from exclusive hotels on the Mediterranean islands of Majorca and Sardinia and the Algarve in Portugal. Holidaymakers can choose from a BMW Z4 Roadster, BMW 6 Series Convertible and Coupé and select from one of four very special itineraries to explore. Tours start from £35 for two people and further information is available at bmw.com/finedriving

BMW Driver Training also offers BMW owners and enthusiasts the chance to visit some exotic locations. Customers wishing to sharpen their driving skills and improve on-road awareness can tackle the Namibia Desert or race up a frozen alpine road in Arjeplog, Sweden. A plethora of courses are on offer with a team of more than 100 highly qualified and seasoned instructors to call upon for guidance.

Two World Premieres for BMW at the Los Angeles International Auto ...

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- BMW today unveiled two world premiere vehicles during its press conference on the occasion of the Los Angeles International Auto Show. The first premiere was the new BMW X5. The new BMW X5 grows in size and luxury yet further improves upon the driving dynamics that made the first iteration of the X5 such a success. The new X5 will be available with an expanded array of available options -- one of which is a third row, seven passenger seating option. The new X5 is now on sale in the USA. The second premiere was the new BMW Hydrogen 7, the world's first hydrogen-drive luxury performance automobile. The Hydrogen 7 -- which has fulfilled all of the criteria of BMW's rigorous product development process -- will be built in a limited series and will be driven by selected users in the US and other countries in 2007.

Kudos: 2007 BMW Z4 M Coupe Is Playboy's Car of the Year

NEW YORK — The 2007 BMW Z4 M Coupe, with a 330-horsepower inline-6 and a six-speed, is Playboy magazine's 2007 Hottest Car of the Year. The lineup of top automotive picks by the magazine will be featured in the January issue. Other winners include the Volkswagen Eos, which earned honors as the "best two-way player" for its folding metal top that opens and closes at the touch of a button. The Porsche 911 Turbo, with a 0-60-mph time of 3.7 seconds, was named "best sports coupe," and the redesigned Cadillac Escalade, with a 403-hp 6.2-liter V8, scored as "best SUV." The Ford Shelby GT500 was named "best bang for your buck" and the Toyota Tundra was picked as "best pickup." The team of automotive writers at Playboy also selected the Saturn Sky Red Line as the "best roadster." What this means to you: An interesting list from an interesting source.

RR of the Day: 1990 BMW 325is

Purchasing a car strictly for transportation is a tough pill for most gearheads to swallow. Inevitably, those of us who are bitten by the mod-bug slowly determine that what was formerly a day-to-day beater, could become something a little more special. Such is the case with this '90 BMW 325is, owned by David Moffitt.The Bimmer began its role in David's life as an alternative to his overpowered 350Z (if there could be such a thing). As time wore on, and a visit to the track revealed, Mr. Moffitt recognized that the suspension was due for an upgrade. And so it began. Over the course of its ownership, the 325 received a set of Bilstein shocks and H&R springs, new front control arm bushings and a few other choice pieces in need of replacement. The brakes pads were replaced with Axis Ultimate pieces and the headlamps received new bulbs to illuminate the road on those late night drives.In the words of Mr.

Rex gets crowned to cap busy sports year

JOCK OF THE YEAR: Rex Grossman. This is my 25th year in the business, my 13th in Chicago, and I can't remember covering another successful athlete who was put through such a ringer.

The Bears quarterback has been booed by his home fans, psychoanalyzed by amateur shrinks, critiqued by wannabe coaches and benched repeatedly in the media. He was far and away Chicago's most talked-about sports figure in 2006.

Portrayed as fragile because fluke injuries prematurely ended his first three seasons, Grossman has started every game and survived some crushing hits by opposing defenders. His hot start established the Bears as legitimate Super Bowl contenders and his generally good play has keyed their 13-2 showing. Nevertheless, his four brutally bad games are what folks remember.

Through it all, he has kept his composure on and off the field, and his teammates love him.

Cage-y moves

He announced this week that once his upcoming slate of films is done, he's going to take a break from acting to pursue writing and "other interests."

The Oscar winner lashed out at former pal Sean Penn a few years back when Penn, and others, criticized Cage for "squandering" his acting talent on action movies.

Cage responded that, while they weren't exactly artistic craft, they were a means to an end. He said actors have a limited window in which to make big bucks on blockbuster films, and he was taking full advantage of that so he could then return to the quirky art-film roles that made him famous.

Even back when Cage and I were on the set of Trapped in Paradise - a comedy filmed, partly, in Fergus, Ont. - he explained that this was exactly his plan. He intended to do mainstream comedies and, he hoped, blockbuster comic book adaptations to give him the box-office clout to then do whatever he wanted - including racing his Ferrari F40 and his Lamborghini, once owned by the late Shah of Iran, around a track near Los Angeles.

Gaughan Looks Back at Funky Season

While the 2006 Craftsman Truck Series season didn't treat the Orleans Racing team as well as it could have the glimmers of greatness always kept the team digging. In the end it wasn't Brendan Gaughan's 15th place finish in the points that mattered, rather it was his second place finish in the season finale at Homestead, Fla. that proved a year's worth of hard work had paid dividends.