2004 Bmw M3 Coupe Best Color Combo Clean Carfax Good Miles All Service Records on 2040-cars

Auto blog

BMW says its diesels are above board

BMW got yanked into the riptide of the Volkswagen diesel scandal thanks to a report in Auto Bild, which Auto Bild has now clarified. On Thursday the German magazine said that when the International Council on Clean Transportation tested the X3 xDrive 2.0d, the ICCT discovered the diesel X3's tailpipe emissions exceeded the European limit by more than 1,100 percent. The key detail, though, is that apparently at no time did the ICCT find that BMW cheated on any emissions tests. No one has explained why the X3 diesel had such high emissions and the ICCT wouldn't comment on the Auto Bild report. But the mag has issued a clarification asserting that in spite of the excessive emissions, there is no evidence BMW engaged in regulatory subterfuge. Every other BMW vehicle ICCT tested was within compliance, but the organization's report from October 2014 - that no one paid attention to - found that nitrogen oxide emissions in 15 vehicles it tested averaged seven times the European limit. The brand's stock is still suffering from the taint. It dropped almost ten percent the day the report came out before rallying to close at five percent down. But on Monday BMW stock closed at 84.01 euros, and as of writing on Friday it's still trying to fight its way back above 80 euros. With so many people still just trying to find out how widespread the the issue is, and trust rather low, it's likely BMW won't be the one dragged down, fairly or not. Related Video:

Here are this year's top 5 automaker April Fools’ jokes

April 1 is the wonderful day when PR departments really push themselves to top the zany jokes they came up with the previous year. And it's not just fast-food chains competing with each other, or breweries announcing they have released stuff like a fermented herring flavored beer: carmakers' media teams rarely miss out on the opportunity to play a little joke on their audience. Here are a few of our favorites from this year:1) Porsche Porsche announced that it's launching a Mission E tractor, styled to resemble its 1950s tractor models. "With a power output in excess of 700hp, the Mission E Tractor will be the fastest accelerating agricultural vehicle in the world, enabling farmers to harvest crops in record time with the added environmental benefits of zero emissions at source and significantly reduced operating noise."2) Lexus Lexus actually jumped the gun, telling us on March 28 that it's combining cars and drivers using DNA matching. The kicker was that with DNA-matched cars, owners would be able to start their Lexuses by licking the steering wheel.3) McLaren Automotive McLaren said it's boosting efficiency by quite eccentric measures, such as measuring the technology center's lake and floor tiles daily, and by synchronizing the staff's tea breaks.4) BMW Motorrad BMW's motorcycle arm is solving parts availability issues in remote locations by offering a 3D printer mounted permanently on the bike's rack: If you need to replace a broken-off gear lever, you can just print one. "The new system will mean that even very rarely required parts not generally stocked by BMW Motorrad sales partners can be supplied on a just-in-time basis." BMW even went to the lengths of announcing that the "BMW Motorrad iPart 3D Mobile Printer" was tested on the Antarctic, by erecting a tent whose poles were produced onsite.5) Honda Last but not least, Honda UK purportedly cut the roof off a new CR-V, calling it the CR-V Roadster. Tellingly, no convertible top was even offered for the concept, "making it a no-top rather than a drop-top. This innovative design makes it a vehicle purely for sunnier climates and therefore completely useless for the two-day British summer which traditionally occurs in May."Related Video: Featured Gallery Top 5 April Fools 2018 Image Credit: Porsche Green Humor Weird Car News BMW Honda Lexus McLaren Porsche bmw motorrad mclaren automotive

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.