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BMW unleases new M4 as MotoGP safety car

BMW has some considerable racing prowess to crow about, and draws on those credentials to create models like the new M4. But it's not about to rest on the laurels it's won at the end of innumerable races past and present. Mere months after the release of its latest performance coupe, BMW has already revealed a new M4 touring car for the DTM series, and has now unveiled its new M4 safety car for the MotoGP motorcycle championship.
Revealed on the BMW M Facebook page and set to debut at the front of the grid at the season opener in Qatar a couple weeks from now, the new M4 safety car is just the latest in a long string of official vehicles it has provided to the MotoGP series. Previous examples have included everything from the 1M Coupe to the M6 and the X6 M.
Like its predecessors, the M4 safety car features emergency lighting, special equipment and of course BMW's trademark white livery with red, navy and light blue stripes that, in this arrangement, give the new Williams Martini Racing livery a run for its money. Logos promote the BMW M Performance Parts you can buy to bring your own Bimmer up to spec, which on this car isn't likely have changed much from stock.

Autoblog Minute: UAW and FCA avoid strike, Clarkson teases new show

FCA avoids a worker strike, a former Top Gear host teases us with a picture from Amazon's new car show, and Toyota predicts autonomous cars by 2020. Autoblog senior editor Greg Migliore reports on this edition of Autoblog Minute Weekly Recap. Show full video transcript text [00:00:00] FCA avoids a worker strike, a former Top Gear host teases us with a picture from Amazon's new car show, and Toyota predicts autonomous cars by 2020. I'm senior editor Greg Migliore and this is your Autoblog Minute Weekly Recap. A UAW strike of FCA was avoided thanks to a zero-hour tentative agreement reached this week. Worker concerns that were renegotiated in the new [00:00:30] deal include adjustments to the two-tier wage scale, health care costs, and production outsourcing. Now check-in with Autoblog as we update our reports on this evolving story. Shooting began on Amazon Prime's new automotive show starring the former Top Gear crew. That's Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May. Now Clarkson threw out a tweet from day one of filming on location at Algarve Motor Park in Portugal. The picture features the show's [00:01:00] three stars and crew posing with the holy trinity of hyper cars. That's a McLaren P1, a Ferrari LaFerrari, and a Porsche 918 Spyder. This Prime show is being called Gear Knobs though the name is unofficial. Now if a tweet is any indication of what we can expect, who cares what it's called this is gonna be awesome. (Eds Note: Clarkson tweeted Friday that the show will not be called Gear Knobs.) Toyota predicts drivers could be obsolete on highways as early as 2020, with technology dubbed the Toyota Highway Teammate or THT. Toyota is using a modified [00:01:30] Lexus GS to show what this is capable of. THT is already able to create a driverless freeway car that's capable of changing lanes, making passes and taking curves. Plus, it can keep safe distances from other vehicles. Toyota is currently testing this on Tokyo's Shuto Expressway. Those are the highlights from the week that was. Be sure to check out my full recap this Saturday. And I'll have some added insight on the BMW M4 GTS. For Autoblog, I'm Greg Migliore. [00:02:00] Show Logo Autoblog Minute is a short-form video news series reporting on all things automotive. Each segment offers a quick and clear picture of what's happening in the automotive industry from the perspective of Autoblog's expert editorial staff, auto executives, and industry professionals.

BMW i3 finding favor with fire, police departments

Of all the models that BMW makes, you might figure that the i3 would be the least likely to be used for a police car, ambulance, or fire truck. Yet the little EV is proving a popular choice among emergency services around the world. Drawing on its extensive experience in equipping emergency vehicles, BMW offers first responders i3 EVs with the tools they need, straight from the factory. That means special livery, roof bars, strobe lights, megaphones... the works. The Bavarian automaker even developed a ConnectedRescue system based on the Connected Drive technology to enable fluid, on-the-go communications between emergency dispatchers and the vehicles on the road to help responders get to the scene with the information they need. The system is being implemented initially in Germany, but we wouldn't be surprised to see it rolled out elsewhere as the i3 gains momentum among emergency services worldwide. With all that specific equipment and zero emissions to boot, it's little wonder that the i3 has already zipped its way into emergency motor pools in locations as varied as Milan, London, and Los Angeles. There's even one being used in Warsaw, Poland, to transport cash around the city with zero emissions. We're more used to seeing Brinks armored trucks carrying our deposits between branches, but if a carbon-fiber EV is capable of doing the job, who are we to argue? Emission-free cash transport with the BMW i3.The all-electric BMW i3 also proves its value as an emergency vehicle for police forces, rescue services and fire departments. 04.11.2015 Powerful, agile, interconnected and, above all, locally emission-free: Thanks to these qualities, the all-electric BMW i3 is now also increasingly proving its worth as an emergency vehicle for police forces, rescue services and fire departments. BMW is offering the world's first premium vehicle designed from the start for solely electric mobility, featuring a range of optional extras specifically aligned to the requirements of emergency forces, thereby opening up new fields of action for electric mobility within the urban environment. Authorities Bavaria, Milan, Los Angeles and London have meanwhile added the first BMW i3s to their emergency vehicle fleets. And another special version is in use for locally emission-free cash transport in the Polish capital of Warsaw. The BMW i3 features a vehicle architecture that was specifically developed for electric and plug-in models.