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Spirit Lake Cycles brings a new look to vintage BMW bikes

It doesn't take a lot of room to work on motorcycles. In fact, Spirit Lake Cycles, which gets the spotlight in the latest video from Petrolicious, started out of a kitchen. Now, this two-man operation has created a small business to bring a custom look to vintage BMWs. The company is best known for a bike that it calls the CBMW. Based on an R90/6, the name comes from the cycle's Honda-sourced fuel tank. The streamlined design and white pinstripes lend the look of one of the Bavarian brand's own early creations, but the chopped fenders and under-seat exhaust show a much more modern style. Spirit Lake Cycles doesn't always go for such a highly modified design, though. The other cycles that Petrolicous highlights, including a gorgeous BMW R90S, appear far closer to stock than the show bike. The company says its motorcycles are meant to be ridden, and you can see the proof of that in this video.

FCA joins BMW, Intel and Mobileye on autonomous car project

Today, BMW, Intel and Mobileye announced that FCA would be joining their effort to build a sharable and scalable platform for autonomous cars. This project has been moving ahead full steam, with Intel purchasing Mobileye earlier this year, not long after Tesla and Mobileye parted ways. Not long after that, parts supplier Delphi joined the autonomous effort. The group's current goal is to have 40 autonomous test vehicles on the road by the end of 2017. The eventual end game is to create a new architecture that each partner can use and adapt to its needs. The platform will support level 3 to level 4/5 automated driving, and can be adapted to suit brand identity. The main headquarters for the effort will be in Germany. FCA staff will join the already established group of engineers from BMW, Intel and Mobileye. The group expects this new platform to hit the streets by 2021. It's unclear how this will affect FCA's relationship with Waymo, Alphabet's autonomous vehicle project. Waymo currently uses modified Chrysler Pacificas for its fleet. In addition to FCA, the trio of BMW, Intel and Mobileye have extended an invitation to any other automakers and suppliers that want to join the project. Related Video: News Source: BMW/Intel Green BMW Chrysler Fiat Autonomous Vehicles mobileye

A BMW i3 will cost you $100,000 in Brazil

Brazil is a long way from the US, and the price of the BMW i3 in that South American country is even further away from what Americans pay for the same electric vehicle. But that hasn't stopped a few wealthy Brazilians from taking the plunge. The BMW i3 REx – i.e., the one with the gas-powered range-extender – is the first mass-produced vehicle of its kind to be imported to Brazil (there are a few Nissan Leaf vehicles in fleet use), and those intrepid buyers are forking over about $100,000 to own the vehicle, according to Just-Auto. The country's first 100 i3's were recently received in Sao Paolo, and about 30 of them have been sold. That pricetag is a wee bit higher than in the US, where the i3 starts under $42,000. BMW did open a $261-million factory in Brazil this year, but the i3 continues to be produced exclusively in Germany. It's not just fancy new plug-in cars and World Cup tickets that cost a lot in Brazil. The Volkswagen Golf, which retails for less than $18,000 in the States, costs about $23,000 in Brazil and the Economist ran a series of articles last year explaining how currency changes have resulted in the dollar-to-Brazilian real exchange rate surging in recent years.