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2015 BMW i8 Prototype

M Meets Edison
The real telling moment for the new BMW i division will be seeing how the recently tested 2014 i3 sells in its various markets, since that is the car that changes how we perceive our expectations of the brand. But this 2015 BMW i8 green supercar has all the earmarks of a slam-dunk project, we just needed to drive it and make sure for ourselves.
BMW has a spectacular test facility in southern France, called Miramas, and that's where we just had our first brief go behind the wheel of the i8. There were three cars for us there and they were dressed up in exactly the same paisley camo that we've all seen in the spy photos published everywhere for the past year. The interiors, though swathed in masking to hide all the details, varied in their color.

Mini Cooper SE Convertible wheels made entirely from recycled aluminum

Mini has revealed an interesting fact about its limited-run Mini Cooper SE Convertible: It's the first production car with wheels made from 100% recycled aluminum. Despite sharing the same look as wheels available on the regular SE hatch, they're actually much more environmentally friendly. The wheels were developed with Swiss wheel manufacturer Ronal. The company sells aftermarket wheels under the Ronal and Speedline brands, and it supplies OEMs. And it's no stranger to more environmentally-friendly wheel production. It supplies wheels for the Audi E-Tron GT that are made using a smelting process that produces oxygen rather than carbon dioxide, and it now has a line of claimed carbon-neutral aftermarket wheels. But back to the Mini's wheels. Using all recycled aluminum has the obvious benefit of not requiring new aluminum to be manufactured. But the benefits are greater than just the raw material use. Mini points out that a major improvement in carbon emissions comes from being able to skip the electrolysis process for new aluminum manufacturing. Pure aluminum is extracted from aluminum oxide (which is in turn taken from the mineral bauxite). To do this large amounts of electricity are passed through molten solutions of aluminum oxide and cryolite (which takes energy to heat) across graphite cathodes and annodes. Not only does this use a lot of electricity that has its own carbon costs, the oxygen that separates from the aluminum bonds to the graphite annodes, yielding more carbon dioxide (which is why the production of those Audi wheels is also interesting). In total, Mini says the recycled wheel production reduces carbon emissions by 75%. More specifically, it estimates about 0.16 kilograms (0.35 pounds) per kilogram (2.2 pounds) of aluminum used. Mini also stresses that this process still maintains all the strength of conventional wheels, just in a greener way. And of course, the wheels themselves are recyclable again. Mini, and BMW more broadly, are looking at ways to upscale the process and to source suitable recyclable products, likely other old wheels from cars no longer on the road. Though neither company said anything about when we'll see fully recycled wheels more widely available. Related Video: MINI Electric Pacesetter inside and out

BMW joins the early holiday advertising fray with three new ads

October 31 is no longer known as Halloween, or All Saints' Eve or even as that day when all children simultaneously develop huge cavities. It's now known as the day before Christmas/holiday advertising begins. Seriously, as of November 1, it seems like companies across the country and from every industry have declared open season on holiday ad campaigns. It's all premature enough that we're already feeling our inner Grinch showing, but at least some of the ads are better done than others.
Among them are new spots from BMW, which has arrived with this mini-campaign of three 30-second, Christmas-themed spots. There's a cameo from Santa Claus, who's at the helm of a sleek M6 Gran Coupe in one spot, while a 3 Series Gran Coupe slices through a slalom of Christmas trees in another. The final spot, called "Road Home", doesn't focus so much on the brand's "Ultimate Driving Machines," as it does the trip home for the holidays.
We've embedded all three videos below, so take a look and then let us know what you think of this seemingly perpetual holiday marketing calendar creep - and the BMW ads in particular - in Comments.