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BMW i3 Shadow Sport limited edition opens a moon roof on US

Here's a bit of news for a quarter-million dollars. BMW is bringing a special edition i3 called Shadow Sport to the US for the 2016 model year. That tag refers to the special-edition Bimmers that come equipped with a moon roof, which before this was unavailable in the US. But only 50 lucky folks will get them. The Shadow Sport edition comes with a few other goodies, too, including "fluid" black paint, 19-inch alloy wheels, custom-trim interior and sport-tuned suspension, though there are no changes in the electric motor or performance. That means the same single-charge range of 81 miles, the same 0-60 miles per hour acceleration time of seven seconds flat and the same top speed of 93 miles per hour. If you experience a little slower speed and a little shorter single-charge range because you're spending too much time looking out of the moon roof, that's on you. The catch is that the model won't be available for the i3 vehicles with the gas-powered range extender, i.e. the i3 REx. The Shadow Sport will also have a price of $47,400, or $5,000 more than the base model i3. BMW's Dave Buchko told AutoblogGreen that all 50 Shadow Sports have been sold, with the first 40 selling out in the first hour or so of availability. The Shadow Sport is on display at the Los Angeles Auto Show this week. Through the first 10 months of the year, BMW sold 8,879 i3 vehicles, which was double year-earlier figures. Last month alone, though, things weren't as rosy, as October i3 sales declined 15 percent from a year earlier to 986 units. There's more information at the bottom of BMW's LA Show press release, below. BMW at the 2015 Los Angeles Auto Show: Making its North American Premier, BMW will showcase the all-new BMW 7 Series, all-new BMW 3 Series eDrive, all-new BMW X1 and the exclusive motorsport inspired BMW M4 GTS. BMW i will premiere BMW Laser Light, available for the first time in the US, as well as the limited edition BMW i3 Shadow Sport, featuring exclusive exterior paint color and interior design, moonroof and sport tuned suspension. Woodcliff Lake, N.J.: November 17, 2015 12:00 pm EDT /9:00 am PDT... The all-new BMW 3 Series eDrive, BMW M4 GTS, BMW X1 and the BMW 7 Series will make their North American debuts at the 2015 Los Angeles Auto Show held at the Los Angeles Convention Center. In addition, BMW will feature the eDrive BMW X5 xDrive40e as well as the high-performance BMW i8, the all-electric BMW i3 and other BMW models at the BMW display.

Recharge Wrap-up: BMW's 2015 awards, Tesla Superchargers in Poland

Poland will soon get its first Tesla Superchargers. A photo on Reddit appears to show multiple parking stalls with Superchargers under wraps at an Orlen fuel station. Tesla recently signed a deal with the German branch of Polish oil refiner Orlen to install Superchargers at fuel stations in Germany, and it appears the focus is shifting eastward to Poland. Some question whether it makes sense for Tesla to focus on Poland, where the cities have a lot of high-rise dwellings and few private garages. Tesla, however, is known for taking risks on building infrastructure as an investment in future customers. Read more from Teslarati. Is it really true that most pedestrian crashes are the pedestrian's fault? Baltimore County and other authorities claim this is the case, but upon examination, this appears to be because roadways aren't always designed with the entire community in mind. In some cases, for instance, large, multi-lane roads travel through neighborhoods where more residents travel by foot out of necessity. "The really tragic part about it is that the two areas where we've had the most pedestrian fatalities, these are disinvested, depopulated areas," says Dallas City Councilman Philip Kingston. "Those big arterials are completely unnecessary. It's so overbuilt. The infrastructure is built for a bygone era that simply doesn't match what's there now." Read more at Treehugger. BMW won numerous distinctions for sustainability in 2015. Among the automaker's many other accolades for a variety of vehicles, The BMW i3 and i8 were singled out for praise. The i8 won four awards, including Green Car of the Year, from the World Car Awards. It was named All-Wheel Car of the Year by Auto Bild, and best sports car by multiple organizations. The i3 won Car of the Year Australia, Blogger Auto Award for the Small Car category, Auto Bild Value Master award for EVs, among others. Read more in the press release below. Distinctions, prizes and awards for BMW in 2015. Position confirmed as worldwide trendsetter in innovation, design, quality and sustainability. Munich. 2015 was a highly successful year for the BMW Group and this is confirmed by overwhelming worldwide acknowledgement. This year BMW vehicles won numerous national and international distinctions in categories as varied as innovation, design, sporty flair, quality, sustainability and intelligent vehicle connectivity.

BMW M3 driving off cliff is a chilling PSA

We're a little shocked that the unnamed owner of this cliff-diving E46 BMW M3 would upload the in-car footage of his accident to YouTube. Not only that, he uploaded two videos: raw footage of his roll down the cliff (it looks like somewhere in the Southwest, maybe Arizona) and a tribute video for his BMW that suffered the most severe consequences of understeer. Not only does uploading the videos leave him wide open for judgment by fellow enthusiasts (just read the YouTube comments), but we imagine if the police and his insurance company somehow don't know about the incident already, they will shortly. Scroll below to view for yourself.
The raw footage shows the sort of driving that led to the M3's violent tumble, and it serves as a good public service announcement reminder for everyone out there: Just like the Spengler's streams, double yellow lines aren't meant to be crossed. Also, hard driving is one thing, but hammering on public roads at speeds clearly above your skill levels as a driver is not only a recipe for legal trouble, it's a script for ruining your car at the very least, if not your life.