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First BMW i8 in US to be auctioned off at Pebble Beach

Snag yourself a BMW i8 at the upcoming Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance Weekend and you won't only be the first in the US to own this model, you'll be getting a one-of-a-kind version of BMW's new gas-electric plug-in marvel. The special i8 will come with a special exterior paint color (called Frozen Grey Metallic) as well as a modified Pure Impulse Tera World interior that has "Concours d'Elegance Edition" etched in and comes with "Dalbergia Brown leather upholstery, which is tanned using dye derived from plant extracts." Tell all your treehugger friends. The 2014 BMW i8 Concours d'Elegance Edition also has laser headlights (as long as BMW gets government approval for them in the US) and comes with the first BMW Charging Station, professional edition. The standard i8 starts at $135,700 and Gooding & Company expects the special i8 to bring in between $150,000 and $200,000 at the auction. We'll find out Saturday, August 16. As a bonus, there's no reserve. The Concours d'Elegance is not a complete stranger to electric vehicles, hosting an EV display at the Meadow Brook Concours in suburban Detroit last year. One-of-a-Kind BMW i8 Concours d'Elegance Edition to be Auctioned During Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance Weekend 25.07.2014 BMW i8 Concours d'Elegance Edition to be sold at Pebble Beach Auctions presented by Gooding & Company with proceeds benefitting the Pebble Beach Company Foundation and the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance Woodcliff Lake, N.J. – July 25, 2014... In celebration of the US arrival of the BMW i8, the world's most innovative sports car, a one-of-a-kind 2014 BMW i8 Concours d'Elegance Edition will be auctioned during the weekend of the 2014 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, ahead of the official fall sale date. The i8 Concours d'Elegance Edition will be distinguished by a unique paint scheme and interior treatment as well as other features that will make it unlike any other BMW i8 in the world. The BMW i8 Concours d'Elegance Edition will be sold by Gooding & Company, the official auction house of the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, during the annual Pebble Beach Auctions at Pebble Beach on Saturday, August 16. Proceeds of the sale will go to the Pebble Beach Company Foundation and the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. The 2014 BMW i8 Concours d'Elegance Edition will feature BMW Individual Frozen Grey Metallic exterior paint.

Dinan S3-R BMW 1M Coupe

I nearly shed tears a few years ago upon learning that BMW was only planning to produce a very limited quantity of its then-new 2011 1 Series M Coupe. In simplest terms, the two-door was a 1 Series fitted with a modified version of the automaker's twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-six, and the running gear (gearbox, driveshaft, axles) from contemporary M3 models. It was also a return to form for the brand. Aggressively short and stubby in stature but packing telltale flared wheel arches that hinted at its potential, the four-seater was a spiritual successor to the original (and much loved) E30 M3 from decades earlier.
After spending a day with the original high-performance 1 at New York's Monticello Motor Club, I declared, "The little coupe with the big flares is old-school retro cool and deliciously fun to drive ... the new BMW 1 Series M Coupe doesn't target boy-racers, it targets enthusiasts." Yet sadly - and despite strong demand - BMW limited the model's production to just one year. All told, only 740 units made it to the States, and each was gobbled up at a starting price of $46,135, a price tag history will show to be a bargain.
Since I had little hope of even driving one again, I deliberately pushed all memories of BMW's 1 Series M Coupe from my mind - until my phone rang recently. On the other end was a representative from Dinan Engineering who wanted to know if I would be interested in driving the company's new S3-R BMW 1M. A quick Google search revealed it to be a heavily modified version of the discontinued 1 Series M Coupe. As if they needed an answer...

Volkswagen Group, BMW Z4 top Total Value Awards by Strategic Vision

It was just nine months ago that Strategic Vision announced its 2011 Total Value Awards, but you don't have to wait until next year for the 2012 awards. The Volkswagen Group keeps its lead as the number one brand, with seven products taking top category spots: Golf, Jetta Wagon, CC, Eos and Audi A3 Wagon, Q5 and Q7. Strategic Vision says "true innovation" - "rich and impactful, intuitive, motivational, in-depth and is able to trigger description by the user in great specificity" - is the open secret of the brands with the strongest showings. Results are culled from 77,153 owners covering more than 350 new cars bought between September of 2011 and 2012 ranked in the Total Value Index (TVI).
Other notable winners are Hyundai-Kia following VW in the brand category and having the Hyundai Elantra and Kia Sorento among category winners, the BMW Z4 taking the premium roadster category and the highest overall score of any vehicle, the Chevrolet Volt continuing to gather silverware in the Special Category, nabbing the second-highest score of all and representative of "nearly perfect innovation," and Chrysler and Dodge being most improved.
Check out the press release below for your day's dose of jargon and all the winners.