2003 Bmw Z4 2.5i Convertible 2-door 2.5l Low Milage Runs Great on 2040-cars

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BMW puts a sheep in wolf's clothing with 2 Series Active Tourer M Sport

BMW is charting new territory with the 2 Series. No, not the two-door model - that's just the kind of rear-drive coupe for which the brand is known. But the Active Tourer (which only shares its series designation with the coupe) is a front-drive tall hatchback/MPV category buster, and that's not exactly what comes to mind when you think of Bimmers. As such, the 2 Series Active Tourer is bound to turn off some of the brand's faithful, but this latest M Sport kit could at least ease the pain somewhat.
The sport package for the Active Tourer packs all the usual suspects: a more aggressive aero kit, retuned suspension, blacked-out grille, 17- or 18-inch alloys and an interior with sports seats trimmed in blue-stitched Alcantara. Top all that off with an Estoril Blue paint job and you've got a compact family hauler that might look the part, and maybe handle a bit tighter, yet it naturally stops short of the full M treatment (or even an M Performance spec like you'd find in the M235i coupe). All of which is probably just as well, because that might be the only thing BMW purists would object to more than the existence of a front-drive BMW MPV in the first place.

BMW Z8, Lambo LM002 sell for $192,500 apiece in Detroit [w/poll]

Think a car are a bad investment? That all depends on what kind of car you're talking about. Because while most cars depreciate in value as soon as you drive them off the lot, others can do even better than hold their value. The cars that appreciate tend to be pretty high-end exotics, but they don't have to be multi-million-dollar classics to command a premium at auction. Just look at the results from RM Sotheby's Motor City sale in Detroit this past weekend. The auction house moved a solid $7.4 million worth of metal, which is pretty impressive when you consider that – unlike events at Lake Como or Pebble Beach – not one of the lots dipped into seven figures. 1930s-era American classics performed the strongest, with Duesenbergs, Packards, Auburns and the like all fetching hundreds of thousands. But what intrigued us most were the European exotics that rounded the top ten results. Amidst the Depression-era American steel were a BMW Z8 from 2001 and a 1988 Lamborghini LM002, each of which sold for an equal $192,500. Hardly the highest figures paid for European exotics this year, but considering how much they were worth just a few years ago, they've proven solid investments. BMW only made 5,703 examples of the Henrik Fisker-designed retro Z8, of which only 2,543 were brought to the United States, where they originally sold for $128,000. The most anyone had ever paid for one at auction, according to Sports Car Market, was $184,082, just this past March at Silverstone. That makes the price achieved this weekend a new record for one of the slinkiest vehicles the Bavarian automaker has ever made, representing an impressive 50-percent increase in value over the course of fourteen years. This particular example – chassis WBAEJ13481AH60437 for those keeping track – is decked out in silver over black, with less than 15,500 miles on the odometer. This Rambo Lambo was produced early in the 301-unit production run, with the sought-after carbureted engine and 32,000 miles on the clock. It didn't set any records at the same price, other examples of the LM002 having traded over the past few years for over $200k. But considering that Sant'Agata originally charged around $120-130k for the SUV when it was new, its selling price still represents about 50-percent appreciation (leaving inflation aside).

Automakers' sound systems: Crank it, don't yank it

Years ago, one of the first things most music lovers did after buying a new vehicle was drive to an aftermarket stereo shop to get the crappy stock components swapped for better gear. And you'd typically get not only better sound but also more bang (and boom) for your buck. But in the past decade or so, the overall quality of OEM audio has dramatically increased, while car electronics became more complex, removing the incentive for most new vehicle owners — and all but the most hardcore DIYer — to start from scratch. In 2010, I did a comparison of the average costs for OEM electronics vs. similar offerings from the aftermarket, and back then automakers' stock premium systems were by far the best bargain — and are probably an even better value now. The premium 14-speaker, 1,200-watt JBL system in the all-new 2019 Toyota Avalon is a prime example of this trend. It's standard on the top two Limited and Touring trims and is available as a $680 audio upgrade on the XLE and XSE. I doubt you can even buy 14 speakers and 1,200 watts of amplification from the aftermarket for 700 bucks, much less have it all installed. And because the system is bundled with Toyota's Entune infotainment system, Apple CarPlay and a surround-view camera, removing the head unit means you would likely lose these features. Another advantage of OEMs and their audio partners is they can design the car around the audio system. In the past, automakers would typically place speakers where convenient for packaging, not for optimal sound reproduction, and audio engineers were forced to compromise. But as with the Avalon's premium JBL audio system, this is starting to change. At a recent behind-the-scenes peek for media into the process of developing the system, Toyota and Harman engineers delved into the minutia of sealing the inner panel of the front doors to create an enclosure for 6x8-inch woofers, making space in the pillars for JBL horn tweeters and extensively measuring the acoustic properties of the interior to tune the sound to the space. I'm met some creative and skilled car stereo installers, but none with a degree in psychoacoustics. The system is also the first to feature Quantum Logic Surround that creates a multi-channel listening experience from two-channel sources. And it includes Harman's Clari-Fi processing that "rebuilds key details lost" in compressed audio formats used by streaming music services and MP3s.