2009 2 Door Convertable, Hard Top, 1 Owner, Highway Milage on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Car and Driver shows off awesome 1960s ads

Someone must have recently rediscovered the keys to the archives at Car and Driver, and the access has been put to good use. Following last month's fantastic look at automotive ads from the '50s, there's now a new gallery running from March 1960 through December 1969. This collection provides a great overview of a decade full of iconic cars. If you're a fan of Carroll Shelby, particularly his Mustangs, then there's a lot to love among this group. One ad from July 1965 aimed to sell the GT350, but with an ocean of text and a tiny picture, it probably could've used a once-over by Don Draper's team. By December '65, the copywriters ironed out the problems with a spot proclaiming boldly "Shelby GT350 is 'Son of Cobra.'" The company offered some great accessories, too. For those into European motoring, there's a humorous attempt to sell the Alfa Romeo Giulia as both a racecar and family hauler. Toyota also boasts about the winning record for the 2000GT. Among the best text comes from BMW for lines like: "What's BMW got? The most advanced high-performance engine in any production car, for a cruising speed of 100 mph." Of course, Volkswagen's famous "Lemon" ad for the Beetle also gets its due here. Separately, each of these ads is fascinating, but taken together they tell the story of a great decade of motoring. Go give them all a read at Car and Driver. Related Video: News Source: Car and DriverImage Credit: GM Heritage Center Marketing/Advertising Read This Alfa Romeo BMW Ford Toyota Volkswagen shelby alfa romeo giulia shelby gt350 toyota 2000gt

2015 BMW S 1000 RR looks to retain sportbike supremacy

The BMW S 1000 RR is already a pretty potent member of the superbike ranks, but BMW is revealing a host of upgrades for this two-wheeled lightning bolt at the Intermot 2014 motorcycle show that should make it even faster.
The biggest additions to the latest 1000 RR are its new cylinder head, lighter valves and different intake cam to tweak even more power from the bike's 1.0-liter, four-cylinder engine, and BMW now rates it at a claimed 196 horsepower (or 199 horses if you go with the European measurement, converted from 146 kilowatts), a boost over the first-gen's 193 ponies, and 83 pound-feet of torque through a six-speed gearbox. Those adjustments would probably be enough to make the cycle a tick faster alone, but the Bavarian engineers also cut 8.82 pounds (4 kg) to bring the motorcycle's weight with a full tank of fuel to a feather-light 450 pounds. Much of that diet comes from the redesigned exhaust that cuts about 6.6 pounds off the scales.
Cradling that tweaked engine is a redesigned, lighter frame with fully adjustable springs. The bike also comes standard with Race ABS, stability control, seven-step variable traction control and three riding modes. In terms of styling, all of these changes are communicated through an updated fairing with repositioned, though still asymmetric, headlights.

2014 BMW 4 Series Coupe officially debuts, priced from $41,425*

Well, that didn't take long. Less than two hours after the first images of the 2014 BMW 4 Series Coupe leaked onto the Internet, we've been given the go-ahead to publish the whole kit and caboodle. And while we won't say we told you so, it looks as though the car's official details are standing true to our earlier predictions.
In other words, BMW will offer the 4 Series in 428i and 435i models, both of which can be had with xDrive all-wheel drive. Just like in the 3 Series, the 428i is powered by a 2.0-liter turbocharged inline four-cylinder engine, good for 240 horsepower and 255 pound-feet of torque, and the 435i gets BMW's turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-six making 300 hp and 300 lb-ft. In three of the four models, both a six-speed manual and eight-speed automatic transmission are available; the 428i xDrive can only be had with the auto 'box. The 428i (with rear-wheel drive, we assume) can hit 60 miles per hour in 5.7 seconds (though BMW doesn't specify with which transmission), and the 435i will do that same sprint in 5.3 seconds with the manual and five seconds flat with the eight-speed auto.
We've already dissected the 4 Series' visuals, but the numbers show just how different it is from the 3 Series sedan. The 4 Coupe is one-tenth of an inch longer overall, while riding on the same 110.6-inch wheelbase, is 0.6 inches wider, and has a roofline that's a full 2.7 inches closer to the ground. It looks sleek, incorporating BMW's new design language from the 3 Series with an overall profile that's similar to the larger 6 Series coupe.