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BMW invests in carbon fiber for use beyond i and M models

The immense amount of resources BMW has poured into its i brand program hasn't stopped, and recent developments indicate it's likely to pay off for BMW and BMW buyers outside the i brand. The i8 has already sold out its first year run, the i3 racked up 10,000 orders before it even went on sale and is already the subject of public discussion about being stretched into an i5, and a new investment in carbon fiber production has the automaker talking about CFRP use in non-i and non-M models.
BMW and SGL Group got together to form SGL Automotive Carbon Fibers (ACF), and the joint venture produces all of the CFRP for the i3 and i8 on two production lines at its plant in Moses Lake, Washington. After already investing $100 million to increase capacity, BMW has announced that another $200 million will add four more production lines, tripling production from 3,000 tons per year to 9,000 tons. When the expansion is complete in 2015, BMW says the Moses Lake facility will be the world's largest carbon fiber plant.
That's a lot of weave and the long view is that it will find its way into core models, with BMW exec Dr. Klaus Draeger saying, "As part of an intelligent mix of materials, we will apply carbon also beyond our BMW i and BMW M models in the future," and be able to do so "at competitive costs and in large quantities."

BMW planning X4 M Performance diesel? [w/poll]

With the arrival of the new X4 in March, BMW will expand its crossover portfolio by one more model. But while some enthusiasts may have been disappointed by the news that the Bavarian automaker isn't likely to authorize an M version of the compact slantback crossover, this latest development could help bridge the gap.
Although the line used to be quite clear between standard BMWs and M models, Munich has been blurring it with the M Performance treatment. Those have included models like the M135i hatchback and M235i coupe, the diesel-powered M550d sedan and wagon and X5 and X6 M50d crossovers. Now word has it that BMW could follow a similar formula with the X4, creating a sub-M performance model.
What's more is that the X4 M Performance model could go diesel, following a similar formula that Audi undertook with its first performance crossover, the SQ5 TDI. The major difference here is that when Audi brought the SQ5 to these shores, it ditched the diesel for a gasoline engine. Could BMW do the same?

BMW 4 Series configurator comes online

The best money in the world might be configurator money - you never run out of it and you can never spend it the wrong way. We hope you're ready to dip into your configurator savings account, because it's time to start speccing out the 2014 BMW 4 Series, the coupe having just arrived in the virtual world.
There are four possible opening gambits: the 428i for $40,500, the 428i xDrive for $42,500, the 435i for $46,000 or the 435i xDrive for $48,000. After you've chosen your first move, there are three trim options: the $1,400 Luxury Line that features lots of chrome and wood (shown), the $1,700 Sport Line that adds lots of gloss black and contrasting trim color and stitching, or the $3,100 M Sport that offers the M Estoril Blue hue and lots of M-division specific accessories.
Starting with the 435i xDrive and M Sport, we then added items like the 19-inch wheels ($900), the Dynamic Handling Package ($1,000), Cold Weather Package ($700), Premium Package ($2,200), Tech Package ($3,150) and the Lighting Package ($1,900) on top of any other box we could check. The total, after the $925 destination and handling charge: $66,749.