2008 Bmw 3.0si on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Meet the inventor of the BMW 3 Series wagon

It's hard to imagine, but once upon a time, there were only two BMW 3 Series variants: the coupe and sedan. Back before gran coupes, convertibles and yes, even touring models were available, buyers could only get their 3 Series fix if it came with two or four doors and a fixed roof. Back in the mid '80s, BMW engineer Max Reisbock was having some trouble fitting his whole family into his four door. Rather than suck it up and buy a van, he picked up a wrecked 3 Series and got to cutting in a buddy's garage. Months later, he had the very first 3 Series Touring ever built.
At first, he kept the the car to himself, using it to haul friends and family around, but he eventually showed it off to his friends at work. When the BMW executives found out about his project, they called him up to take a closer look. After putting an eyeball on the car, they took it, copied his design, made a few tweaks and quickly rolled out the first production 3 Series Touring. How's that for validation? Check out the video below for Reisbock's story.

Confident new Cadillac marketing boss ready to take on Tesla, BMW

When there's a former BMW executive heading Cadillac's efforts to boost sales of its only plug-in, it's a pretty safe guess that the marketing emphasis won't be on environmental friendliness and tree-hugging tendencies. The General Motors luxury brand has appointed ex-Bimmer executive Uwe Ellinghaus to be its marketing chief late last year, and the German-born Ellinghaus is now saying that he's targeting potential customers of Tesla Motors, in addition to BMW, for potential growth in sales of the Cadillac ELR extended-range plug-in. Appointed to Cadillac's head of marketing last November, Ellinghaus recently told Advertising Age that GM needs to highlight the Cadillac's looks and performance. He complimented Tesla for putting more emphasis on those attributes in the Model S than on its lack of emissions or lack of refueling costs (but Tesla hasn't shied away from highlighting the EV's savings). Ellinghaus says that trying to gear advertising "for people who are tree-huggers and green-wash an entire brand" won't be successful. You don't say. So far, the ELR hasn't made much of a dent in US car sales. Through May, Cadillac, which spent about $280 million on all of its US marketing last year, sold 293 units, whereas Tesla had been approaching the 11,000-unit figure for the Model S. With that in mind, Cadillac may be working on a sportier version of the ELR, as spy shots of a test vehicle from May revealed larger brakes and wheels. You can read our First Drive impressions of the ELR here.

BMW X2 spied looking swirly

Generally, automakers really hate spy photos. They go to great lengths to disguise their cars, while engineers will do their damnedest to get away from spy shooters (or, you know, they just give them the bird). BMW, though, just doesn't seem to care about spies. That's the only reason to explain why our spy photographers were able to capture yet another X2 crossover undergoing testing on the sunny, autumnal German roads. Judging by the number plates, this is a different vehicle than the last couple of X2s we've spied, although it's camouflaged almost identically to last month's X2. This car does appear to have larger, sportier wheels than that blue prototype, although the similar bumpers has us thinking it's merely an optional wheel rather than the an M Sport model. Beyond that, though, there's not a lot to differentiate this X2 from previous sightings. Our spies continue to report that the X2 will echo the powertrain/drivetrain arrangement of the upcoming X1. It'll ride on that car's front-drive architecture, although like the X1, all-wheel drive will be optional in Europe and standard here in the US. The engine lineup, meanwhile, should include turbocharged triples, fours, and sixes, in both gas and diesel varieties. Here in the US, we'd expect the 28i and its 2.0-liter, turbocharged four-cylinder, at the very least. Considering the lifestyle angle of the X2, a more powerful 35i model would likely be a natural here in the US, but that's just conjecture. Have a look at the spy shots up at the top of the page. Related Video: