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BMW against Merkel's female board member quota in Germany

There may soon be more women in power positions in the world of German business under a proposed law from Chancellor Angela Merkel's coalition government. If passed, the law would force large, publicly traded corporations to have female members make up at least 30 percent of their supervisory boards (which are responsible in part for business strategy) by 2016. In addition, all companies would have to increase the female proportion on their management boards, which conduct regular business. The law seems likely to pass next month. "We've decided to do this and it will happen," said Merkel in a speech about the new rule, according to Bloomberg. Women currently have just six percent of management board seats in the country. Big businesses in the country aren't on board with proposed law, including automakers. "BMW as a company doesn't believe in quotas," said spokesperson Jochen Frey to Bloomberg. "While we hold that opinion, we want and strive for diversity in our workforce in terms of gender, ethnicity and age." Currently, 25 percent of Bimmer's supervisory board is female, a bit higher than the national average in Germany of 22 percent. German car companies are hardly alone when it comes to having a paucity of women in positions of power. Honda only added its first female member to the automaker's board of directors earlier this year, and Toyota and Nissan showed similarly low numbers. A 2013 list from Fortune ranked many of the most powerful women in the auto industry as coming from North America.

BMW M3 gets throwback livery for Oktoberfest [w/video]

BMW is ringing in Oktoberfest this year with the special M3 you see here. The performance sedan has been done up in a retro livery that harkens back one of the BMW M1 Procars from 1981, and was even designed by the same artist responsible for the original 34 years ago. But you'll have to go to Munich to see it. To understand the significance of the livery, you first have to know something about the BMW M1 Procar. The spec racing series was formed in 1979 around the M1, the legendary mid-engined sports car designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro and co-developed with Lamborghini. The road-going M1 models used in the series were modified for racing with more powerful engines, more aggressive aero, and other competition-spec components, and were driven by many F1 drivers in support races at European grands prix. Some even competed against other entries in broader races. Many of the cars featured liveries with BMW's signature red, dark blue, and light blue stripes, but others ran more unique color schemes. The "Munchner Wirte" (Munich hosts) car was one such example, running at Le Mans with a custom livery designed and hand-painted by artist Walter Maurer. It featured Munich landmarks like the Olympic Stadium, Frauenkirche church and BMW's headquarters, along with a roast-chestnut vendor and an Oktoberfest beer tent. 34 years later, Maurer has applied the same livery to the M3 you see here. It'll be displayed at this year's Oktoberfest, which kicks off this weekend in – you guessed it – Munich. As if we needed another excuse to visit Europe in the fall and swill some of the world's finest beers by the liter. Check out the video below for BMW's official welcome to Oktoberfest visitors. Oktoberfest date for one-off BMW M3 "Munchner Wirte". Munich. BMW M GmbH is set to unveil a BMW M3 in "Munchner Wirte" livery to coincide with this year's Oktoberfest in Munich (19 September – 4 October). The one-off car will underscore the company's ties with motor sport in general and the city of Munich in particular. The livery design of the BMW M3 "Munchner Wirte" harks back to that of the legendary BMW M1 Procar from 1981, complete with Bavarian-style facade painting and blue and white twisted cords, along with depictions of Munich landmarks (such as the Olympic Stadium, Siegestor, Frauenkirche church and BMW's headquarters – the "four-cylinder" building), a roast chestnut seller and the Wiesn-Schanke beer tent at the Oktoberfest.

In Japan, you can buy your a BMW i3 on Amazon [UPDATE2]

UPDATE: The story's been updated to include a response from a BMW spokesman. UPDATE2: The story's been updated to include a response from a BMW's Germany headquarters. We love the "Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought" section for this one. Sleeping bags, cotton T-Shirts and a BMW i3 plug-in vehicle. That's your average Amazon shopping cart, right? It could be in Japan, where the plug-in car is being sold to potential customers online. The online retailer, long the largest in the US, is posting listings of the i3 on its Japanese site, notes Yahoo News, and both the standard electric i3 and the one with the gas-powered range extender are available. There are almost 50 dealers in Japan that can sell the i3, the German automaker's first production plug-in vehicle, but BMW appears to be trying to extend its distribution reach a little further. Of course, it's not a simple point-and-click situation, as prospective customers who order the vehicle online will apparently get a follow-up phone call from a BMW representative asking for proof of both access to a charging station as well as a parking spot. "It's become a tradition that the BMW Group breaks new ground with BMW i and that also goes for the way the vehicles are sold, with several different sales channels being tested and used," a representative with BMW's Germany headquarters wrote in an e-mail sent to AutoblogGreen. "In Japan, a one-off test project, designed only for that market – has seen BMW i3 models offered via Amazon. The delivery and customer service of these vehicles is, of course, handled by authorized BMW i dealers in Japan." BMW started selling the i3 in the US last year, moving about 6,100 units in 2014 and almost 2,700 through the first quarter of this year. Related Videos: Related Gallery 2014 BMW i3: First Drive View 33 Photos News Source: Amazon, Yahoo! News via Green Car Reports Green BMW Electric Amazon online