2004 Bmw X3 3.0i Sport Utility 4-door 3.0l on 2040-cars

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BMW confirms new Mexican plant

After over a year of speculation, BMW is finally officially announcing that it's building a factory in Mexico. The new plant will cost the German automaker roughly $1 billion US and will have a capacity of about 150,000 vehicles a year when complete. However, production won't begin there until 2019.
The new factory is being built near the city of San Luis Potosí, Mexico, with plans to employ about 1,500 people. Unfortunately, BMW is still mum about which models it's producing south of the border. Earlier rumors indicated the possibility of the 3 Series, 1 Series and maybe even Mini models there.
BMW says Mexico's multiple free trade agreements are a major factor in the choice of location of the plant. They make it possible for the automaker to ship models more cheaply to North America, parts of South America and the European Union. "The Americas are among the most important growth markets for the BMW Group. We are continuing our strategy of 'production follows the market,'" said Harald Krueger, the board's head of production, in the company's official announcement.

Next-gen BMW M5 spied on Munich roads

BMW is still hard at work developing the next-gen M5 around the company's home base in Munich. Unfortunately, the Bavarians are keeping the super sedan plastered with camouflage, which makes picking out the details rather difficult. There are some tiny tweaks from the previous spy shots, though. Obviously, these are still early development vehicles, so it's hard to know whether these changes are in any way meaningful. Up front, this M5 still has an air intake stretching all the way across the lower portion of the bumper. The earlier shots showed this piece with a uniform width, but the designers added a little flair this time by lifting the center portion slightly for a more attractive look. Comparing the two examples in profile, the suspension has seemingly been lowered on the latest one to tuck the tires closer to the fender lips. Most parts have carried over, though, including the massive, cross-drilled brake rotors and quad exhaust tips poking out from the rear. The next M5 should have no problem backing up its mean looks, though. All indications, including earlier spy shots, suggest that the high-performance sedan will gain all-wheel drive, at least as an option, and power will be around 600 horsepower. While about the same as the current 30th anniversary edition, the future 5 Series will reportedly follow the lead of the latest 7 Series by going on a big diet thanks in part from a new, lighter platform.

BMW sets Guinness record for longest drift with new M5 [w/video]

In September of 2011, Chinese drifter Wang Qi broke the Guinness record for the world's longest sustained drift, doing 13 laps inside the Olympic Center Stadium in Tianlin, China for 5,802.3 meters. That was broken in February of this year by Abdo Feghali in Abu Dhabi drifting a new Chevrolet Camaro around a skidpad for 11,180 meters - almost seven miles. In March, BMW decided it wanted the record "back in the US," and set up a course at its BMW Performance Driving School near Greenville, South Carolina to get the job done. On May, 11 it was Mission Accomplished when Performance Center driver Johan Schwartz drifted an M5 around a skidpad continuously for 51.3 miles.
Despite that accomplishment, we're pretty sure that professional drifter Vaughn Gittin, Jr. isn't impressed. The way Guinness defines "drifting" can also describe a donut, which is effectively the kind of drifting that's been done for these last three records. BMW went even further by watering down the surface of the track, reducing the skill required and the need to change tires during the effort. On the other hand, you can't drift a car for long in a straight line, but perhaps there should be some clarification or classifications added to the milestones.
There's a short video below taken during the record-breaking run, and a press release from the company that did it.