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Why you can expect lots more crossovers from BMW

BMW is becoming the ultimate crossover sales machine. More than a third of the German brand's US sales in 2015 were crossovers, and the automaker expects 40 percent of 2016 sales to be the all-purpose runabouts. What's more, BMW of North America CEO Ludwig Willisch said that when the X7 gets here the percentage will take another leap. Even though BMW was one of the automakers to raise warning flags about how China's depressed car market would impact earnings, the Willisch said the Munich brand couldn't get enough of the X1, X3, and X5 in the first three quarters of 2015 in any of its key markets. Remedy is on the way with an expansion of the Spartanburg, SC plant. When it's finished later this year the US factory will be able to build 29 percent more product than before, annual capacity rising from 350,000 to 450,000. Spartanburg currently builds the X3, X4, and X5. There's every reason to believe that BMW will post another record US sales year in 2015, adding a lot of fat to its profit statement in what should be a record year overall. TrueCar predicts 17.5 million light vehicle sales in the US last year, a 6.1-percent increase over 2014. BMW could also take the luxury crown after posting a monster month of December sales, we'll know when the numbers are reported this week. The huge numbers have come with the help of incentives. BMW spent slightly more than competitors Mercedes-Benz and Lexus, but only fractionally up on 2014 incentive spending.

2015 BMW X4 configurator is ready to get personal

The 2015 BMW X4 configurator is ready for your special touch. Starting with the 300-horsepower xDrive35i that starts at $48,925 after destination, our special touch aimed at a luxury cruiser and added $9,250 to proceedings for a final tally of $58,175. That got us the Technology, Lighting and Driver Assistance packages, navigation and enhanced USB and smartphone integration. We were tempted to go for the Dynamic Damping Control for just $1,000 and a set of 20-inch M Double Spoke Wheels, but the configurator didn't want to mix the M Sport Line with our Sparkling Brown metallic exterior hue so we skipped it.
We've covered the details on pricing and the breakdown of the order guide elsewhere, so you can always click through for refreshers. Or you can skip all those words and dive straight into trying to build an X4 that makes you say, "Yeah, now I get it."

Playboy reveals its 2013 Cars of the Year

Vaunted men's magazine Playboy knows that its readers are nearly as interested in cars as they are in the female anatomy... sorry, we thought we could write that with a straight face. Anyway, the buff-book does occasionally fill some of its spreads with sexy metal, to accent all the rest of the sexiness.
To wit, the magazine has unveiled its feature on the 2013 Cars of the Year. Without giving us much in the way of criteria for the awards, nor a clear framing of the categories ("Responsible Ride" is a particularly challenging concept, especially when you consider that the Mazdaspeed3 was the winner), Playboy has nevertheless highlighted what we assume to be it's favorite 12 or 13 (depending on how you count) cars from the 2013 model year.
Headlining the class is the Porsche 911, which Playboy writers single out for having "remarkable electronic voodoo." BMW M5 is named "Slickest Sports Sedan" though the Cadillac ATS then follows on because "we couldn't resist giving the new Caddy a shout-out." The rest of the picks are pretty conventional (save, perhaps, the Honda Fit EV as "Ace Electric"), even if the categories and methodology are fairly wonky. Cruise through or gallery for a taste or check out the full list, here. The site is safe for work, and you can legitimately (this time) say that you were reading it for the articles.