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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.

2015 BMW i8 Prototype

M Meets Edison
The real telling moment for the new BMW i division will be seeing how the recently tested 2014 i3 sells in its various markets, since that is the car that changes how we perceive our expectations of the brand. But this 2015 BMW i8 green supercar has all the earmarks of a slam-dunk project, we just needed to drive it and make sure for ourselves.
BMW has a spectacular test facility in southern France, called Miramas, and that's where we just had our first brief go behind the wheel of the i8. There were three cars for us there and they were dressed up in exactly the same paisley camo that we've all seen in the spy photos published everywhere for the past year. The interiors, though swathed in masking to hide all the details, varied in their color.

No BMW M2 Convertible in the cards

Despite BMW's history of M-ing all the things, enthusiasts pining for a droptop version of the recently released M2 are about to get some bad news. In a recent interview with CarAdvice, M2 chief engineer Frank Isenberg confirmed, "There will not be an M2 Convertible." "We need to keep it as purist as we did with the 1 Series M Coupe," Isenberg told CarAdvice. "We've got such a nice M235i Convertible. And convertibles are not for racetracks, they're for cruising." Indeed, while the M2 might not be as hardcore as the 1M Coupe that came before it, it's pretty darn great, as we found out in our first drive earlier this month. BMW sees its latest two-door M as a special car, and one that will not spawn additional variants. That sort of makes sense, but remember, this is the same company that has no problem doing a heavy, folding hardtop version of its M4, and an ultra-grand-touring M6 Convertible. Related Video: