Bmw M3 E36 Coupe Manual on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Mercedes could make EV batteries with Audi, BMW

It's not a big leap from digital maps to batteries, it turns out.The head of Mercedes-Benz parent Daimler said recently that he envisions his company working together with German automotive competitors BMW and Volkswagen to further accelerate electric-vehicle battery technology. The three automakers recently worked together to enhance their in-car maps systems. Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche talked about "commonalities" between automakers, not the least of which is the need for all of them to achieve increasingly stringent fuel-economy requirements in the European Union, at the Frankfurt Auto Show last week, according to Reuters. While these companies have made their own inroads as far as plug-in vehicles go, they are all behind the Renault-Nissan Alliance when it comes to public deployment of electric vehicles. This summer, Daimler, Audi and BMW hooked up to acquire the Nokia Here digital-mapping service for about $2.8 billion. The triad of automakers beat out companies such as Apple and Uber to buy the entity, which was founded in 1986 as Navteq. Nokia bought the company in 2007. The acquisition makes sense as the automakers work on improving their products with features like cloud-based data to warn drivers of icy roads and traffic jams. The technology will likely also eventually be used in autonomous vehicles. Automakers working together for a common goal of improved technology is nothing new, of course. General Motors and Honda agreed in 2013 to work together to accelerate hydrogen fuel-cell drivetrain development. Earlier that same year, Daimler said it would work with Ford and Nissan in a separate collaboration to speed up the development of hydrogen fuel-cell technology. Related Video:

Ex-Rolls-Royce design chief Ian Cameron killed at home

Former Rolls-Royce design chief Ian Cameron, the man who oversaw the automaker's design renaissance with the Phantom and Ghost ranges, was stabbed to death at his home in Bavaria (translated) on July 12. German newspaper reports have identified a suspect via surveillance camera (translated) whom police say is the killer. Apparently, the man went shopping at a store less than a mile from Cameron's house, then changed clothes and showed up at Cameron's door. A surveillance image before the suspect gets to the house shows him wearing the items that neighbors described, notably light pants, a dark blue hoodie, a red backpack and "yellow-green gloves." Someone reportedly cut the wires on the home security system, the suggestion being that the suspect or someone else involved had cased the house for at least a few days. It's said the killer rang the doorbell, attacking as soon as Cameron opened the front door, stabbing the designer to death. Verena Kloos, Cameron's wife, escaped to a neighbor's house and called police. This is a bizarre incident. Reports have floated the motivation that the killer wanted one of the vehicles in Cameron's car collection at the Bavarian property. Instead of going after a car, though, the killer ran off in his distinctive outfit, staying in the open long enough for neighbors to give a detailed description. He then changed clothes and ditched the backpack on a lakeside promenade not far from Cameron's house. Strangest of all, the man apparently left the clothes near the backpack, and the backpack contained items the man had bought during his shopping trip before the murder.  At the time of writing, police are searching throughout Germany but haven't caught the suspect. With a clear picture and a likely trove of DNA evidence, authorities have excellent leads. Anyone who can help is asked to get in touch with the Furstenfeldbruck Criminal Investigation Department at (+49) 8.14.16.120. Cameron's career started at Pininfarina in 1975, culminating in a greatest hits of designs while at BMW. He has exterior design of the third-generation Range Rover on his resume, as well as the BMW Z8. It was Cameron's Phantom, though, that helped create an entirely new Rolls-Royce after BMW bought the brand. CEO Chris Brownridge wrote on LinkedIn that "Ian played a significant role in shaping Rolls-Royce from when it was first acquired by BMW Group and moved to its home at Goodwood, West Sussex.

Autoline streaming live from Detroit Auto Show right now

As you can already see, the Autoblog team is digging deep to bring you everything from the Detroit Auto Show media days today and tomorrow, with obsessive coverage of all of the new sheetmetal, hot concepts and industry news. But we're hardly alone in Cobo Hall, and our friend John McElroy and his Autoline team have fired up a live video webcast with interviews from the show floor that you can watch right now by scrolling below. The daily streaming broadcasts start at 1:00 PM Eastern today and tomorrow, with a large number of A-list executives, designers, and product planners from both domestic and foreign automakers are expected to sit in. Interviewees scheduled to appear include Al Gardner, President and CEO of Chrysler; David Zuchowski, brand-new President and CEO of Hyundai Motor America; Doug Scott, Truck Group Marketing Manager at Ford; and Peter Schreyer, President and Chief Design Officer at Kia. For the live feed and a full list of guests for both days, scroll below. Live broadcast by Ustream [Pop-out Chat Window] Day One Al Gardner, President and CEO, Chrysler Brand Ludwig Willisch, President and CEO, BMW of North America Doug Scott, Truck Group Marketing Manager, Ford Tim Mahoney, Chief Marketing Officer, Global Chevrolet Heiko Schmidt, Head of C-Class Product Planning, Mercedes-Benz USA Filip Brabec, Product Planning Manager, Audi of America Day Two Bob Ferguson, Senior Vice President, Global Cadillac Dave Zuchowski, President and CEO, Hyundai Motor America Mike Manley, President & CEO, Jeep Brand Peter Schreyer, President and Chief Design Officer, Kia Tom Kearns, Chief Designer, Kia Design Center America Jim Lentz, COO, Toyota Motor NA Tony Nicolosi, President & CEO, Volvo Cars North America Jose Munoz, Executive VP & Chairman, Nissan Americas Auto News Detroit Auto Show Audi BMW Chrysler Ford Kia Videos Detroit Autoblog 2014 Detroit Auto Show autoline Peter Schreyer