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BMW can't build enough M3 wagons, but the U.S. won't see any

Why, oh why, won’t the automobile companies that supposedly cater to Americans give us a viable touring wagon? Seems that BMW is one manufacturer thatÂ’s aware of the question, but skirts the answer. WhatÂ’s more frustrating is that the German company, and others, have for years been off-handedly tossing out the same refrain: “Maybe weÂ’ll bring a wagon back to the U.S.” Not. All the more irritating then is the news that the Bavarians have increased production in Munich of its M3 Touring longroof version to keep up with demand. The information comes via Bimmer Today, which spoke with BMW M CEO Frank van Meel. He said that the company was surprised by the amount of interest in the M3 Touring since its debut during last year's Goodwood Festival of Speed. In fact, he said, the company had to facilitate a production ramp-up within its Munich facility. Despite that increased production, the backlog of orders means that customers are still on wait lists, he said. Last year, van Peel admitted that demand for M-wagons in the U.S. has been steadily increasing, and exporting a touring example was a concept BMW was "taking into consideration.” Crossovers certainly are this decadeÂ’s version of the wagon, which leaves American enthusiasts will few choices: only expensive versions from Audi, Volvo and Mercedes-Benz and a couple of others. Details that were announced last year — a few months before the wagon went into production for sale in Europe, the U.K. and elsewhere — noted that the M3 Touring was only available in Competition spec with xDrive all-wheel drive and a 3.0-liter twin-turbo inline-six with 503 horsepower and 479 pound-feet of torque. Pricing started at GBP80,550 ($105,000 U.S.) More data on the M3Â’s intro here. Related video:

Researchers halfway to cutting carbon fiber costs by 90%

Carbon fiber has been utilized for decades to build racecars, as a means to cut weight while maintaining strength. But until recently, the space-age material has been largely absent from the street on anything but supercars because of the expense to use it. Recently, BMW signaled a major shift in that trend when it starting using carbon fiber reinforced plastic panels on the i3 and i8. This relatively small scale start might be just the beginning; the German company believes that a breakthrough to inexpensively manufacture the lightweight stuff is just on the horizon.
MAI Carbon Cluster Management GmbH counts BMW, Audi, Airbus, the German government and many other organizations as supporters, and it's researching how to make carbon fiber cheaper to produce, according to Automotive News Europe. The company thinks it can reduce costs by 90 percent in the near future. "We've certainly reached a halfway point on our cost-cutting target for suitable carbon-fiber parts," said project head Klaus Drechsler to Automotive News Europe.
Unfortunately, it isn't entirely clear just what MAI Carbon is doing to make such a huge leap possible. However, a recent post on the company's website talks about a new form a carbon fiber using a thermoplastic matrix that could be cured in less than three minutes. That's compared to about 90 minutes in the traditional process with an autoclave.

Porsche takes 2016 Le Mans win on last lap, Ford grabs class victory

So far, only one Japanese manufacturer has won the 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race. That carmaker was Mazda exactly 25 years ago with the legendary, rotary-engined 787B. This year, Toyota was amazingly close to winning with their TS 050 car, piloted by Kazuki Nakajima, and it all ended in tears on the last lap. The Toyota ran smoothly for almost 24 hours, but to lose power and stall on the pit straight with five minutes to go is nothing short of catastrophic. Still, the #5 car was able to be restarted and limped across the finish line for 45th place. Toyota's #6 car had its own set of issues, as the car gained bodywork damage and also veered off track in the hands of Kamui Kobayashi. Driven to second place, the Toyota #6 passed the finish line driven by Stephane Sarrazin. For Porsche, the win with the #2 919 Hybrid was the 18th constructor title at Le Mans 24 Hours. The car was driven by Romain Dumas, Neel Jani and Marc Lieb, and it proved to be more reliable than the #1 919 with Timo Bernhard, Mark Webber and Brendon Hartley behind the wheel. The #2 Porsche and the #5 Toyota battled for the lead throughout the day. Had the Toyota not broken down, Audi would have missed a podium finish for the first time in 18 years - a great run was ruined this year by turbo trouble in the #7 R18 e-tron Quattro driven by Lotterer-Treluyer-Fassler, and the third place was taken by the #8 Audi with Lucas Di Grassi driving. Winners #LeMans24 #919Hybrid @Porsche_Team @neeljani @LiebMarc @RomainDumas but kudos to @Toyota_Hybrid team pic.twitter.com/TLRuwuSTzx — Porsche GB (@PorscheGB) June 19, 2016 ??? #LeMans24 pic.twitter.com/zUkBbA65RK — Peter Leung (@BaronVonClutch) June 19, 2016 In the GTE Pro Class, Ford had reason to celebrate: the #68 Ford GT campaigned by Chip Ganassi Racing took a class win 50 years after Ford's 1-2-3 GT40 Le Mans win in 1966. 50 years to the day following the '66 Le Mans 1-2-3, the No. 68 #FordGT has won the GTE Pro Class at #LeMans24 pic.twitter.com/jkMLuWlEYm — Ford Performance (@FordPerformance) June 19, 2016 For the full list of official results, click here.