1999 Z3 Roadster--artic Silver-low Mileage on 2040-cars

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BMW bringing two new concepts to Pebble Beach

BMW has announced that it will reveal not one, but two new concept cars during Monterey Car Week next month. The Bavarian automaker released this teaser image in conjunction with the announcement, showing what looks like a rather racy steering wheel to suggest that at least one of those concepts will be focused on performance. The signature red and blue stitching on the wheel and the participation of the M division's R&D chief in the press conference also hint at its nature. We're intrigued, though, by some of the buttons on the wheel with labels like "Flash," "Cool," and "PSL." The Roundel marque has been known to create concept cars to showcase at classic car concours, but they're more often presented at the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este that BMW has supported for over a decade on the shores of Italy's picturesque Lake Como. That's where BMW revealed in recent years the 3.0 CSL Hommage, the Pininfarina Gran Lusso, and the Zagato Coupe concepts (to name just a few). It did, however, follow up on the latter with Zagato Roadster concept at Pebble Beach that same year. We might project that at least one of the concepts would represent another brand affiliated with BMW – like Mini, Rolls-Royce, or BMW Motorrad. However the announcement below seems to indicate fairly clearly that they'll both be "concept cars" (not bikes), and that they'll be presenting the BMW brand itself (not another from the group). The show cars are also likely to veer more toward the design-study end of the spectrum than previewing any specific upcoming production models, and we wouldn't be surprised if the two arrived as a matching pair of sorts. BMW's California-based Designworks studio is also likely to have played a key role in at least one of the projects. But to find out more, we'll have to wait for the press conference on August 13 in the BMW Villa at Pebble Beach. The concepts will subsequently make the rounds of key Monterey events, including The Quail, the Legends of the Autobahn Concours d'Elegance, the Rolex Monterey Motorsport Reunion, and of course the headline Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. BMW to Unveil Two World Premier Concept Cars During Monterey Car Week. Media Preview at The BMW Annual Press Conference on Thursday Evening. Woodcliff Lake, N.J. – July 17, 2015... BMW is pleased to invite credentialed media to the 'BMW at the 2015 Monterey Car Week' preview press conference on August 13th at 6:00pm.

Massive Airbag Recall Affects Seven Automakers

The recall of faulty airbag inflators supplied by Takata has exploded today to grow to seven automakers. In most cases, only models in certain high-humidity regions were affected because the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found in its investigation that moisture played a role in determining whether there would be a problem. However, some companies opted for national campaigns. The exact number of affected models for these campaigns isn't yet known at this time. BMW is recalling an undisclosed number of 325i, 325Xi, 330i and 330Xi models from the 2001 through 2005 model years and the 2001-2006 model year versions of the 325Ci and 330Ci for the driver side and passenger side inflators. Only vehicles currently registered in Florida, Puerto Rico, Hawaii and the US Virgin Islands are covered under this recall. Neither Chrysler's filing with NHTSA nor its press release list the specific models affected, but a company spokesperson told Autoblog that at this time it only covers the driver and passenger side inflators for the 2006 Dodge Charger in Florida, Puerto Rico, Hawaii and the US Virgin Islands In most cases, only models in certain high-humidity regions were affected because the NHTSA found that moisture played a roll in determining if there would be a problem. Ford is recalling an estimated 58,669 cars that include the 2005-2006 model years of the Ford GT for the driver and passenger inflators, the 2007-2007 model years of the Mustang for the driver side and 2004 Ranger for the passenger side. It covers vehicles originally sold or currently registered in, wait for it... Florida, Puerto Rico, Hawaii and the US Virgin Islands. Honda is issuing three separate recalls regarding the problem. First, the company is recalling the 2002-2003 model years Civic, CR-V and Odyssey and the 2003 model year of the Accord, Element, Pilot and Acura MDX to replace the passenger's side inflator. This covers all models nationwide. Second, Honda is repairing the passenger's side airbag inflator in the 2003-2005 Accord, Civic, CR-V, Element, Pilot, the 2003-2004 model year versions of the Odyssey, the 2003-2005 model year Acura MDX and 2005 Acura RL. However, only for vehicles located in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. Owners will be notified in July. Finally, Honda is separately replacing some models' driver's side inflators.

Recharge Wrap-up: Renault's electric motors, BMW i3 is AM free

Why isn't AM radio offered in the BMW i3? Some drivers – particularly those interested in local traffic reports – have noticed its absence. BMW says that the electromagnetic interference from the electric drivetrain caused poor performance, and that while reception wasn't always terrible, it wasn't up to their standards. Rather than have customers complain to their dealers, who would be unable to do anything for them, BMW has disabled AM reception in the i3. Some customers have hacked their cars in order to enable the AM radio, despite possible warranty issues, and have found the reception to be acceptable. Read more at Green Car Reports. Saab's current parent company, National Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS), broke ground for production and R&D facilities in Tianjin, China. The facilities are part of joint ventures with the city of Tianjin and State Research Information Technology (SRIT). In addition to investments of over $190 million from SRIT and Teamsun, NEVS has received $1.6 billion in credit from the Bank of China to develop its business there. The new Tianjin factory will have a capacity of 200,000 new energy vehicles per year. The facility in Trollhattan, Sweden will provide manufacturing planning, training, and product supply for the Tianjin plant. Read more at Green Car Congress, and in the press release from NEVS. Renault is building the new R240 electric motor for the Zoe at its Cleon plant. The plant and its employees, which specialize in the Energy dCi diesel engine, have adapted to produce high volumes of the electric motor as well, including a 6,000 hours of training for the staff and millions of dollars in investments. "We aim to become the leading powertrain plant for the Alliance," says Cleon plant director Mendi Ammad. The plant is capable of producing 50,000 units of the R240 motor per year, with that number expected to double in the future. Read more about the plant and the production process the press release below. NEW ELECTRIC MOTOR STRENGTHENS POWERTRAIN EXPERTISE AT CLEON ZOE's new electric motor, unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show, is a 100% Renault motor manufactured at the French site of Cleon, already specialized in highly technical powertrain production. Until now, the flagship of the Cleon plant was the Energy dCi (130, 140, 160) internal-combustion engine. The diesel unit with advanced technological content has made a name for itself at Groupe Renault, the Alliance and with our partners.