1997 Bmw 5 Series 540i E39 White Pearl/tan 4.4l V8 Automatic, Low Reserve on 2040-cars

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BMW 4 Series spied with its future competition

BMW showed off its new 4 Series coupe in concept form at the 2013 Detroit Auto Show earlier this year, but it won't be long before we see the production model, evidenced by this modestly camouflaged prototype spotted testing. In case you forgot, the 4 Series serves as the replacement for the two-door versions of the BMW 3 Series, just as the upcoming 2 Series will effectively be the new version of the 1 Series coupe and convertible sold in our market.
This isn't our first glimpse of the 4 Series out testing, and we've even spied its droptop, Gran Coupe and too-hot M4 kin. We don't expect the final design to stray too much from the concept car seen in Detroit, albeit without the normal conceptual goodies like oversized wheels and with the overstyled front fascia toned down a bit. Our spy photographers even caught the 4 Series coupe hanging out with an Audi A5, giving us a good glimpse at how the two cars will stack up in terms of size and design.
It's still unknown exactly what engines will power the car when it comes to production, but since this thing is a derivative of the 3 Series, we expect the usual range of turbocharged four- and six-cylinder engines to be available, likely in 428i ad 435i guise (though, to be fair, the larger 640i coupe uses a 3.0-liter turbo engine, so there's even the potential for 440i nomenclature to work its way into the mix). We'll have to wait until the car officially bows later this year to know for sure.

BMW to launch loaner program to avoid range anxiety on i models

BMW is looking to stave off electric vehicle range anxiety with a new program that offers buyers a free gasoline loaner with every i3 purchase. Ward's Auto reports BMW is confident that the EV will give buyers the kind of transportation they need for 90 percent of their trips. The loaners, meanwhile, will be available for those few occasions when drivers need to cover more ground than the machine's batteries will allow. The i3 gets around with help from a 180-horsepower electric motor paired with a lithium-ion battery pack.
The combo is good for trips of between 80 and 100 miles depending on driving habits and weather conditions, though BMW also plans to offer a model with a small two-cylinder range-extending gasoline engine as well. That option will likely set you back an additional $4,000. When the machine bows in 2014, it will likely come with a charge time of four to six hours when suckling from a 220-volt outlet.
As far as the conventionally powered loaner car goes, the cost of the program is included in the i3's purchase price, though BMW has yet to figure out how many free loans will be offered, or what happens after that threshold is reached.

2013 BMW X1

A Tasty Bit Of Old School For The New School
Against the backdrop of fervent hand-wringing from brand purists, BMW is on the cusp of finally offering front-wheel-drive vehicles. While that's a shock to the constitution, many are pointing to the company's fine-handling Mini offerings as an article of faith that it can get this drivetrain paradigm shift right. That may be true, but there's an even more important lesson that Mini has taught the decision-makers in Munich: how to make real money on small cars.
Before Mini came along, BMW - along with seemingly every other premium European automaker - never really figured out how to coax big dollars out of American wallets without developing cars that had large footprints, at least those other than sports cars. While the automaker really got rolling in America on the strength of little bantamweights like the 2002, it veered away from small cars sometime in the '80s. BMW subsequently crashed and burned with the cut-and-shut 318ti built off its E36 3 Series and, good as it is, the 1 Series hasn't given the company meaty volume or profits, either. Among other brands, the Audi A3 has never rung up big numbers, and the less said about the painful sales figures of the Volvo C30, the better. But Mini has beat the odds, blazing a more affordable and evidently compelling trail. As of late, the company's Countryman softroader has been a massive hit worldwide. No surprise then that BMW has reconsidered bringing over its smallest softroader, the X1, to the US.