2001 Bmw Z8 Bright Red/crema 6 Speed Only 13,500 Miles on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Is Audi getting complacent and suffering from brain drain?

The argument is made in a Reuters article: Audi is falling behind other luxury brands, such as Mercedes-Benz and BMW, due to a lack of research-and-development spending and "brain drain," or the migration of top executives and R&D chiefs to other parts of the Volkswagen Group. Reuters notes that Audi's current R&D chief is the third in 16 months.
Audi, which contributed to 40 percent of VW Group's $11.6 billion in profit the first nine months of the year, is delivering cars at a record pace: 1.31 million were delivered from January to October 2013 versus BMW's 1.35 million. Yet Audi, Reuters reports, doesn't have a halo car akin to BMW's new electrified i3 and i8 or an answer to Mercedes' plug-in-hybrid S-Class, and the R&D spending at Audi is less than BMW and Mercedes by a fair margin. It's noted in the article, however, that Audi benefits from other R&D spending within VW Group.
Reuters mentions that BMW "trumpets its new 'i' series" and the new Mercedes CLA and GLA ranges are winning "rave reviews" as part of its argument that Audi's recent lack of technological innovation could hurt future sales. Those cars do pack tons of new technology, some of which are firsts for mainstream production cars. But last time we checked, the i3 could be causing BMW's stock to slide, the CLA isn't receiving the rave reviews that Reuters would have you believe and the GLA hasn't been reviewed yet.

BMW rethinks all-wheel-drive M cars

BMW M hasn't been able to decide whether it wants to jump on the all-wheel-drive bandwagon or not (with the exceptions of the X5 M and the X6 M, which are based on AWD architecture). That might be changing though, since M's president Friedrich Nitschke recently realized that 70 to 80 percent of Mercedes-Benz E63 AMGs are ordered with all-wheel drive. Earlier this year, Nitschke said that there were no new AWD M models planned, so this comes as somewhat of a surprise.
"On our cars we are thinking of all-wheel drive, but it won't come before we get the successor of the M5 and M6," Nitschke said in a Motoring report. "That's the timing and it's not practical to react in the current life cycles."
"On our cars we are thinking of all-wheel drive." - Friedrich Nitschke, BMW

BMW 3 Series wagon configurator up, priced from $41,450

If you're still smarting from the shock of the BMW 3 Series Gran Turismo, we have good news for you. BMW has just fired up the configurator for the 2014 3 Series wagon. Prices start at $41,450, excluding an $895 destination and handling fee. The price tag will buy you a 328i xDrive Sports Wagon with a 2.0-liter inline four-cylinder engine boasting 241 horsepower paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission as standard equipment. The automaker's xDrive intelligent all-wheel drive is also standard, as is a fuel-saving auto start/stop function and 17-inch alloy wheels wrapped in all-season run flat rubber.
Buyers can step up to Sport Line trim for $2,600, and doing so graces the 3 Wagon with 18-inch wheels, high-gloss black accents outdoors as well as a sport leather steering wheel, high-gloss or aluminum interior trim and a black signature key fob. Luxury Line trim will set you back $2,300 abd features chrome trim accents outdoors and wood trim inside along with other goodies. Buyers can also opt for Modern Line trim at $2,300, complete with a turbine-design 18-inch alloy wheel, matte chrome trim bits outdoors and a range of interior trim options.
Our favorite of the bunch? That would be M Sport trim. While the tweaks are largely aesthetic, we dig the notion of 8-way power adjustable sport seats indoors and exclusive M Estoril Blue paint outside. Expect to pay $3,950 for the pleasure. Head over to the BMW site to build your own.