2002 Bmw M3 E46 Coupe 2-door 3.2l 6 Speed Manual on 2040-cars

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BMW NA president says i3 beats Tesla EVs thanks to lighter all-around footprint

Those waiting for a full-out brawl between Tesla Motors head Elon Musk and BMW North America chief Ludwig Willisch will have to wait a bit. For the bloodthirsty, there are signs of some healthy competition and a little bit of green-car sniping between the two automakers. Willisch, speaking at the Detroit Auto Show earlier this month and responding to questions about Tesla, noted (without mentioning that company by name) that the production process of the German automaker's i3 plug-in was "greener" than any other. According to Business Insider, Willisch highlighted the fully recyclable materials used to construct the i3 as well as the hydropower used at the carbon fiber plant in Moses Lake, WA. Willisch also noted that the Tesla Model S is "very heavy on the braking. Our car feels just like a normal car. That's a big difference when it comes to driving," Automotive News said in a separate report. The latter model weighs about a third less than the Tesla, though it also has an EV range about a third as big. The BMW executive did allow that the Tesla did make a good proverbial "snowplow," not for its driving characteristics but for its ability to get more people conformable with electric vehicle technology. Musk was asked about the i3 in an August conference call and laughed before noting that the i3 had "room to improve." No word on whether Musk and Willisch will be sending each other Valentine's Day cards next month.

Hyundai, BMW and Ford win Concept Vehicle of the Year awards

More than two dozen jurors started with a pool of 23 concept cars introduced at the most recent Los Angeles, Detroit, Chicago, Toronto and New York auto shows, then pared it down to three winners in three categories for the twelfth annual North American Concept Vehicle of the Year Awards. The trophy-bearers are said to be those "vehicles most likely to shape the future of the automobile industry," and lead their classes in the Concept Car, Concept Truck and Production Preview divisions.
Hyundai had two cars as finalists for the Concept Car category, the competition boiled down to the Hyundai HCD-14 Genesis concept, Veloster C3 Roll Top, Honda EV-STER and the Toyota Corolla Furia. It won with the HCD-14 Genesis that was introduced at the Detroit Auto Show, a sharp sedan that sharply divided opinion between those who thought it was too much, those who thought it was too much Audi A7, and those who thought it was perfect. The award panel's judges, however, thought so much of it that it's got two awards in one sitting, not only taking concept car honors, but because it earned the highest overall score in the competition it also takes the crown for Most Significant Concept Vehicle of 2013.
The final selection in the Concept Truck category was down to the Ford Atlas, Kia Cross GT, Nissan Resonance and Volkswagen Cross Blue. The Ford Atlas took the silverware, after also winning the Eyes on Design award - shared with the Nissan Resonance - at the Detroit Auto Show where it was introduced.

BMW bringing X3 diesel, X5 PHEV concept to New York

We've seen the i3 and i8 plug-in vehicles at plenty of BMW auto show stands these past few years. At the upcoming New York International Auto Show, the automaker will spread out a bit by showing off both new diesel and plug-in hybrid SUVs. Bimmer will showcase its diesel-powered X3 vehicle, which starts sales this spring as a 2015 model, and a concept plug-in hybrid X5 SUV. There are lots of figures to digest for what will be called the X3 xDrive28d. The vehicle will be powered by a 2.0-liter four-cylinder twin-turbodiesel engine that will deliver 180 horsepower and 280 pound-feet of torque. Propelled in part by an eight-speed automatic transmission, the SUV will be able to go from 0 to 60 miles per hour in about eight seconds. It will be priced with an MSRP of $42,825, which is represents a $3,500 premium over the base X3. BMW hasn't made fuel efficiency figures available, but they should be a nice improvement over the base X3's 24 mile per gallon fuel-efficiency rating in the US. Bimmer is also supposed to bring the X5 eDrive concept plug-in hybrid stateside. We saw it in Frankfurt last fall and then in some on-the-road spy shots more recently. The SUV pairs a 245-horsepower four-cylinder gasoline engine with a 95-horsepower electric motor, and will be able to go as fast as 75 mph and as far as 20 miles on electric power alone. BMW says fuel efficiency will be about 62 miles per gallon, per the more lenient European Union test cycle. That's more than double the current diesel powered X5's 26 combined mpg rating handed out by the EPA. And the model's 0-60 time is less than seven seconds. If you'd like to know more, you can take the better part of the day and check out Bimmer's mighty long press release below. BMW X4 Sports Activity Coupe and M4 Convertible Make World Debut at 2014 New York International Auto Show New BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe and BMW ALPINA B6 xDrive Gran Coupe to make North American debuts Updated BMW X3 Sports Activity Vehicle also makes North American debut including first BMW Advanced Diesel X3 model for the US BMW Concept X5 eDrive showcases new dimension of BMW EfficientDynamics technology Woodcliff Lake, NJ – April 3 , 2014 6:00pm EDT/3:00pm PDT. . . The all-new BMW X4 Sports Activity Coupe as well as the BMW M4 Convertible make their world debuts at the 2014 New York International Auto Show. North American debuts include the all-new BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe as well as the BMW ALPINA B6 xDrive Gran Coupe.