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BMW adds on-street parking to DriveNow carsharing in SF

BMW is putting a new spin on the concept of the San Francisco treat. The German automaker cut a deal to clear out 80 street-parking spaces for its DriveNow car-sharing program in the notoriously parking-constrained City by the Bay. Bimmer is also more than doubling its all-electric ActiveE car-sharing fleet in San Francisco to 150 vehicles from 70. Starting later this month, customers will be able to access the DriveNow website or app to find, reserve and park the electric Bimmers on certain streets in San Francisco's Mission district. Once the car is ready to be turned back in, the vehicle's in-car screen will also indicate what "drop-off" zones the driver can use to end the reservation. It's all very high-tech, and BMW is looking to expand the program to other San Francisco neighborhoods like Bernal Heights, the Haight, Noe Valley and Potrero Hill. There's also a contest for users to name the 80 new vehicles, but it involves a really complicated lettering system. "New" here means new to DriveNow, since these ActiveE electric vehicles are really those that were, until recently, used by the Electronauts in BMW's EV leasing program. Since those leases are ending, the cars need to go somewhere. We think carsharing is a great home for them. BMW, which also runs DriveNow in the German cities of Berlin, Hamburg, Cologne, Munich and Dusseldorf, said in March that it was looking to add the service to as many as 15 more cities in Europe as well as another 10 in the US. BMW debuted DriveNow in San Francisco in August 2012, though parking the cars has always been an issue. Check out BMW's press release below. BMW Group's DriveNow Car-Sharing Service Expands to Street Parking in San Francisco. San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee and BMW Group board member Dr. Ian Robertson provided details about DriveNow at a news conference on ... Eighty All-Electric BMW ActiveE Vehicles Added to the DriveNow Fleet to Increase the Convenience of Finding and Parking Emission-Free Cars. San Francisco, CA – May 8, 2014... BMW Group subsidiary DriveNow, a flexible, premium car-sharing program, will expand to offer street parking in multiple neighborhoods in San Francisco, beginning in select areas of the Mission District and will add 80 electric BMW ActiveE vehicles to the existing fleet, increasing the total number of ActiveE vehicles in the San Francisco Bay Area to 150. DriveNow members will have the opportunity to name the 80 electric vehicles in a two-week social media challenge.

Ward's announces 10 Best Engines 2015

Ward's Auto has named its 10 Best Engines for 2015, covering a range of powerplants from fuel-sippers to fire-breathers. As with past years, forced-induction reigns supreme, with seven of the ten engines featuring a turbo or supercharger. This year is slightly different, though, as two of the seven blown engines are turbocharged three-cylinder mills, from the Ford Fiesta and Mini Cooper. They're joined by the 2.0-liter turbo four from the Volvo S60, the 1.8-liter turbo four from the Volkswagen Jetta and the 2.0-liter boxer from the Subaru WRX. BMW and Chrysler were the only marques to be named to this year's list twice, with the electric motor from the i3 joining the Mini's three-pot, and the 3.0-liter turbodiesel V6 in the Ram 1500 and Jeep Grand Cherokee repping the diesel crowd, alongside a certain supercharged monster. Hyundai also took a prize with a zero-emissions powertrain, with the Tucson FCV's 100-kilowatt fuel cell making the list (apparently Ward's is quite generous with what it deems an "engine"). Rounding out the list are two Autoblog favorites, each displacing 6.2 liters, but producing their power very differently. On the one hand, Chevrolet's overhead-valve, 455-horsepower V8, found in the Corvette, makes its power the old fashioned way. And in the other corner, we have one of the most exciting engines of the year – the 707-hp, 6.2-liter, supercharged Hellcat V8, featured so prominently in the Dodge Challenger and Charger SRT Hellcat. "We spend a lot of time reading the powertrain tea leaves throughout the auto industry, and we're proud that this year's list is a microcosm of all the latest innovation coming from automakers," said Ward's Editor-in-Chief Drew Winter in a statement. "It's not just a list for enthusiasts or for environmentalists," he says. "There's something for every vehicle shopper and every budget. All the powertrains on this list deliver a first-rate driving experience," Winter added. Scroll down for the full list from Ward's, and let us know which engines you think belong and which should have been included in this year's rankings. Ward's 10 Best Engines of 2015 Announced by Penton's WardsAuto Honorees span most diverse and technically advanced engines in 21 years of recognized powertrain excellence SOUTHFIELD, Mich., Dec. 10, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Penton's Wards 10 Best Engines of 2015 have been announced.

BMW rolls out new M4 safety car for DTM

Ever since revealing the M4 on nearly five months ago, BMW has been hard at work getting its new muscle coupe out on the track. It's made a touring-car version to compete in DTM and a safety car to set the pace at MotoGP races, and now it's combined both into a new safety car for DTM as well.
The ninth M4 on the DTM grid is based on the production version, but fitted with numerous upgrades over the course of a two-month conversion process. For starters, it's been equipped with nearly exterior component from the M Performance Parts catalog, including the quad-tipped exhaust, front splitter, rear spoiler and diffuser, blacked-out grille, special mirror caps, side sills... the works. But that's not the end of the story.
BMW M GmbH also gutted the interior, removing the rear bench and replacing it with a roll cage. It's got a pair of Recaro racing buckets with Schroth harnesses, plus special LED emergency lighting, radio communication system and, of course, special livery (albeit nowhere near as cool as the MotoGP one) to distinguish it as the official safety car when it makes its debut at the Nürburgring on August 17.