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VW Golf R, Ram Power Wagon and Subaru Forester | Autoblog Podcast #591

In this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Consumer Editor Jeremy Korzeniewski and Road Test Editor Reese Counts. After some talk about sponges and other randomly received oddities, this episode is all about the cars we've been driving, including the new Subaru Forester, VW Golf R (which is going on hiatus), BMW M340i xDrive and Ram Power Wagon. Then, they take to the mailbag to help a listener pick a sporty new car in the "Spend My Money" segment. Autoblog Podcast #591 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown Sponges, really? 2019 Subaru Forester Sport 2019 Volkswagen Golf R 2020 BMW M340i xDrive 2019 Ram 2500 Power Wagon Spend My Money Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on iTunes Related Video:  

BMW Vision Future Luxury Concept is bold and beautiful in Beijing

BMW officially unveiled the Vision Future Luxury Concept today (or is it tomorrow?) at the 2014 Beijing Motor Show, giving the world's media an in-the-flesh look at not only a future design theme for the brand, but a rumored flagship model.
This is a looker in person, thanks to its Pininfarina Gran Lusso Coupe-inspired design, and it's not too difficult to imagine it in production car form, with smaller wheels, larger mirrors and the other minor transformations that take place from drawing board, to auto show and, finally, to assembly line. In general, it seems like there are more than a few parts of this vehicle that are ready for production.
We didn't talk about it in our initial post, but it bears mentioning that this particular concept is wearing an eDrive badge on its backside, indicating that under the Vision Future Luxury's long hood is some form of plug-in-hybrid propulsion. It's anyone's guess as to what engine, battery and motor combinations BMW is playing with, although it does seem questionable whether BMW would launch a PHEV flagship to do battle with a top-rung variant of the Mercedes-Benz S-Class (which will likely use V12 power).

BMW considering M7 and luxurious 9 Series

BMW just recently rolled out its new flagship 7 Series sedan. It didn't take long for it to introduce not one, but two performance versions as well. But what we've seen until now could only be the start as the Bavarian automaker looks to close the gap between the 7 and the Rolls-Royce Ghost. What you're looking at above appears to be a prototype testing components for a potentially forthcoming M7 – which is something that BMW has never offered before. It's packing what look like enormous, cross-drilled brakes – just the kind of thing an M-fettled 7 would need to keep its mass and momentum in check. It was seen running around with an M5 and X6 M, suggesting that it's the performance division that's playing around with this big sedan for the first time. An M7 would have to pack some serious punch, considering what's already on offer. Both the Alpina B7 (4.4-liter V8) and M760Li (6.6-liter V12) each offer 600 twin-turbocharged horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque driving to all four wheels, capable of hitting 60 mph in the threes. The full M version, then, might need a good 650 hp or more, which would put it out in front of everything else – including the Audi S8 Plus (605 hp) and Mercedes-AMG S65 (621 hp). Even with all that performance and clout, however, the M7 might still not be enough for BMW to close that $200k gap to the bottom of the Rolls-Royce range. That's why it could roll out an even more luxurious and completely separate model, potentially called the 9 Series. The new uber-luxe sedan would take on the Mercedes-Maybach S600 that's proven particularly popular in China, where Automotive News notes that Benz sells half of all the S-Class models it makes. Since they're mostly chauffeur-driven through crowded streets, upscale customers there care less about BMW's traditional focus on handling dynamics and more about comfort. And with the government cracking down on corruption, they've also reportedly been eschewing overt symbols of wealth – like the Spirit of Ecstasy hood ornament, for example. We could expect the 9 Series, then, to offer even more rear-seat legroom than the 7, and be more oriented towards comfort than performance. Related Video: