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What's a dog-and-pony show without some kind of award? At this year's LA Auto Show they'll be awarding Green Car Journal 's fourth Green Car of the Year Award to one of five finalists. The competitors this year are the yet-to-be-unveiled 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid, the BMW 335d , Saturn Vue 2-Mode Hybrid , Smart Fortwo and Volkswagen Jetta TDI . The winner will be announced at a November 20th press conference, and we know which one we'll be pulling for - the 2010 Ford Mustang . Complete details, if you're into that kind of thing, below. GREEN CAR JOURNAL'S TOP 5 FOR 2009™ ANNOUNCED – ONE TO BE NAMED 2009 GREEN CAR OF THE YEAR® AT LOS ANGELES AUTO SHOW Winner to be Unveiled at a Nov. 20 Press Conference LOS ANGELES – Oct. 30, 2008 — Green Car Journal's Top 5 for 2009™ – the year's best-of-the-best 'green' vehicles - have been identified by the magazine's editors. These vehicles are the five finalists competing for the Green Car Journal's 2009...
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The least exciting new Bimmer in living memory, the BMW X1 , is here. And here it is. Still reading? Nope, didn’t think so. It’s some sort of small cross over vehicle that we bet BMW will assign a whole bunch of acronyms to in a supposed effort to make it drive well, but really it’ll just be boring. Still, we bet every college girl in Jersey just has to have one during the summer of 2010. More details when it official drops at the Paris Motor Show on Thursday and Friday. Let’s hope Ben, who’s flying to Gay Paris as we speak, is able to bring us news of more exciting models post haste. galleryPost('bmwx1press3', 9, 'The Ultimate Driving Machine'); [via XBimmers ]
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With 427 HP on tap, the 750i ActiveHybrid concept just revealed by BMW ahead of the Paris Motor Show isn't exactly going to appeal to most treehuggers. The concept's more along the lines of the Mercedes S400 BlueHYBRID and the Lexus LS600hL — looking green without in any way being green. Of course, while it may share essentially the same mild hybrid system as the Mercedes, the BMW has a throbbing 4.4-liter twin-turbo V8 compared to the Benz's sensible V6. That engine combined with a 20 HP electric motor means a total of 442 lb-ft of torque. So what exactly is 'green' about this power-barge? galleryPost('hybrid7', 6, 'BMW 7-Series Hybrid'); Well, the 7-Series hybrid does have start-stop technology to cut off the idling engine in traffic, as well as use of BMW's regenerative braking system to store up power in the lithium-ion battery. However, BMW isn't exactly humble about the car's green credentials, as the battery pack is prominently...
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Why you should buy this car: You like power, speed and reliability all wrapped up in a compact, five-seat package. You accept no imitations. You like driving. You loved your Porsche 911, but need room for baby seats. You don't need to brag. Why you shouldn't buy this car: You're likely to ask "What do you mean it doesn't come in 'P***Y Magnet' Yellow?" You think girls are impressed by the size of your wing. You think the internal combustion engine is evil and loathe it in all of its forms, but especially the finest. You're a believer in that whole 'Speed Kills' thing. galleryPost('m3review3', 6, '2008 BMW M3 Interior Details'); galleryPost('m3review1', 6, '2008 BMW M3'); galleryPost('m3review2', 6, '2008 BMW M3 Exterior Details'); Suitability Parameters: Speed Merchants: Yes Fashion Victims: No Treehuggers: No Mack Daddies: Yes Tuner Crowd: Yes Hairdressers: No Penny Pinchers: No Euro Snobs: Yes...
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Exterior Design: *** The 2008 BMW M3 sedan , depending on whom you ask, is either ugly or boring. We think it's a bit of both. But, packing supercar performance into a compact package that won't turn heads is definitely a positive thing. If anything, the M3 isn't subtle enough, we'd take ours — and boy how we'd take one — sans bumps and bulges. We'll add a star for any buyer savvy enough to order theirs with the badge delete option checked. Interior Design: **** One part subtle mixed with one part tacky, the 2008 is classic M3. Any car that combines classic BMW-type faces and design language with both red and blue stitching is a winner in our book. We'd specify either black or white for the leather, but the as-tested red is certainly, umm, eye catching. As with any BMW, the controls are precisely where your hands or feet expect to find them, making this interior work better than it looks. galleryPost('m3review2', 6, '2008 BMW M3 Exterior...
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The 2008 BMW M3 puts the world around it in fast forward. No, this isn't some function hidden deep within the still befuddling iDrive or a secret performance setting achieved by hitting B, A, B, A, Select, Start; just an inherent ability to twist the world over its power dome and past its windscreen at a nearly impossible speed. Neither is this the kind of garden-variety performance achieved by the average big engine, small car formula. Remember how cheesy '80s action shows would speed up the tape during chase scenes? The resultant mix of unbelievably flat cornering and inexplicably rapid oncoming traffic just ended up being unbelievable and inexplicable. But not in this new M3. galleryPost('m3review1', 6, '2008 BMW M3'); This thought first occurs as I'm shifting from third to fourth on the same wet, windy and narrow road in the Catskills that had the Jaguar XKR tying itself in knots. Burying the throttle well into six figures that thought comes just after I...
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As the first 2008 BMW M3s have started arriving at American dealerships, they're being marked up as high as $100,000. The M3's MSRP is $57,275. The picture, from DragTimes.com shows a car sitting in Century West BMW in North Hollywood, the sticker features a "Dealer Market Adjustment" of $30,000 on top of several options packages. Offering 414bhp from an all-new 4.0L V8, this promises to be the fastest M3 ever. But whether or not it's worth $100,000 remains to be seen. Gallery images via BMW Blog . galleryPost('m3indealer', 6, '2008 BMW M3 In Dealers');
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We just saw Chubby Checkers Sabra Sarah Csaba Csere , zee editor-und-chief of Car und Driver revealing the top ten cars for 2008 live on CNBC with 'merica's business channel. Hmm, maybe we need a top ten list to give out as an exclusive...hmm, not so shabby of an idea -- we'll have to look into that. In the meantime we'd like to link to the list from CNBC's web site -- but they don't appear to have it up and the buff book appears to have a website more dedicated to the "show" than the "go." So instead we've got Car & Driver's Amerigasm top ten best cars for 2008 below the jump: BMW 3-Series Cadillac CTS Chevrolet Corvette Chevrolet Malibu Honda Accord Honda Fit Mazda MX-5 MazdaSpeed3 Porsche Boxster / Cayman VW GTi
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Fear not! BMWgasm PR day continues with new pricing for the 2008 BMW 3 Series Sedan and Sport Wagon, which is all but indiscernible from the 2007 model. You'll have to fork over $33,175 for the entry-level 328i Sedan, $39,675 for the entry-level 335i Sedan and $34,975 for the 328i Sports Wagon. The most expensive of all 3 series (non-M) is the 335xi AWD model, topping out at $41,575 before you start throwing on all of the fun options like paddle shifters and cheese sorters. All the PR you can handle below the jump:galleryPost('2008bmw3seriessedan', 4, '2008 3 Series Sedan'); galleryPost('2008bmw3serieswagon', 4, '2008 3 Series Wagon'); 2008 BMW 3 SERIES SEDANS & SPORTS WAGONS Product Highlights General • BMW's best-selling Series • The model lineup includes: 328i Sedan, 328xi Sedan, 328i Sports Wagon, 328xi Sports Wagon, 335i Sedan and 335xi Sedan • 328i and 328xi Sedans and Sports Wagons powered by BMW's 3.0-liter smooth, high-performing...
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We kid you not -- the press release for the new 2008 BMW 6 Series is 25 pages long. Seriously. We've no idea why on God's green earth you'd need 25 pages to describe the new hardtop and drop-top versions of the 650i when we already all knew the facelift would be "mild." Heck, in the release lede, BMW calls this four-year-old model merely "A fresher look, new standard and optional equipment give the 650i Coupe and Convertible even more appeal for 2008." If you're just looking for the basics on the changes from last year -- here they are: It's got a new electronic shifter, a new optional Sport Automatic with flappy paddle shifters and rpm matching on the downshift and umm -- wait, there's got to be more. Here we go -- LED taillights and the lane departure system. So the big news today is really the pricing -- what's the damage? The base 650i coupe starts at $76,375 and the 650i convertible will set you back $83,475. For those of you interested...
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newVideoPlayer("BMWM3Sedan_gawker.flv", 475, 376); If you weren't around this weekend you may have missed the reveal of the official pictures and details on the new 2008 BMW M3 sedan (or saloon, depending on which you prefer). We found out the Euro-spec sedan's getting the same credentials as the coupe -- a 4.0-liter V8 hitting 414 HP at 8,300 rpm and 295 lb-ft of torque at the 3,900 rpm mark on the tachometer. Now, however, we've got some driving video -- so check out the new hotness from both the inside and the outside. We'll wait here with the press shots below and the full press release after the jump until you're done. galleryPost('bmwm3sedanpress', 8, 'BMW M3 Sedan'); THE NEW BMW M3 SEDAN M3 Sedan Comes to America in 2008 Woodcliff Lake, NJ - October 6, 2007... BMW raises the performance benchmark once again with the introduction of the 2008 M3 Sedan. Sharing the M3 Coupe's high-revving 414-horsepower V8 and balanced chassis that is designed to be "faster than its engine", the motorsports...
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For the first time since 1998, BMW 's rolling out an M3 with more than just a pair of doors. It's the BMW M3 sedan , and it's got the same goods as the new M3 coupe -- that is a 4.0-liter V8 producing 414 hp at 8,300 rpm and 295 lb-ft of torque at 3,900 rpm. No word on US specs yet, but Motive says a sticker of around $60,000 is likely. [via Motive ]galleryPost('bmwm3sedanpress', 8, 'BMW M3 Sedan');
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