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Petrolicious reconnects with the BMW M coupe

With the look of a clown shoe on wheels, the BMW M Coupe was a product of using what was around to create something great. Starting with the Z3 convertible, BMW's engineering team added a bulbous roof to improve rigidity, and for the M version, it dropped in the inline six from the contemporary M3. While the result wasn't a beauty queen, the car more than made up for any aesthetic complaints in driving pleasure. Petrolicious talks to owner Alex McCulloch about just what makes the tiny three-door so special in its latest video. With a fairly short wheelbase, plenty of power, and a rear suspension from the E30-chassis BMW 3 Series, the M Coupe can be a quite handful at the limit. "I used to say it wanted to kill me, but now we've reached an agreement where it's not quite as murderous," McCulloch says. He's eventually found that the only real way to exploit the coupe to its fullest is on the track, where he competes in time trials. To get lap times as low as possible, the BMW now wears quite a few mods, but McCulloch says that it's all reversible. Figure out what competitive hang gliding has to do with driving in this clip from Petrolicious. Related Video:

2014 BMW 328d ready to burn oil in just four cylinders

Despite showing off the new 328d sedan in New Jersey yesterday, BMW though it only fair to bring the first four-cylinder diesel it will ever sell in the US to the New York Auto Show today as well. Unfortunately, the company remains vague about pertinent details like fuel economy and price, but we did hear again that the oil-burner will be capable of getting 45 miles per gallon on the highway. BMW's Oliver Ganser told AutoblogGreen, "We do not want to give out" the city or combined mpg ratings quite yet, but The New York Times got someone to estimate a fuel economy of mid-30s in the city.
The two-liter TwinPower turbocharged and direct injected engine and eight-speed automatic transmission (sorry, no manual will be available) put out 180 horsepower and 280 pound-feet of torque and should get the 328d up to 60 miles per hour in just over seven seconds. As we noted earlier, the 328d will be available with every option and trim level - like all-wheel drive - that other 3 Series models have in the US (transmission excepted) and should start at under $40,000 when it goes on sale this fall.
Officially, the 328b will be able to accept biodiesel blends up to B5 (or, just maybe B7), which is standard diesel with five (seven) percent biofuel. Read more about that and other aspects of the 328d here.

X1, 3 Series power BMW back into global luxury autos sales lead

BMW managed to eke ahead of Audi for the global luxury sales crown in February. According to Bloomberg, BMW saw deliveries swell by 7 percent in February, besting the 3.2 percent jump enjoyed by Audi and giving BMW a 407-unit delivery lead over its rival last month. Mercedes-Benz, meanwhile, continued to falter, with the brand selling some 37,229 fewer machines than BMW, whose factories are running at full capacity to keep up with demand. Models like the X1 (shown above) enjoyed a sales increase of 40 percent in February while the company's bread-and-butter 3 Series jumped by 26 percent.
Mercedes-Benz hopes to stem its continued market share loss with the addition of the entry-level CLA sedan to its portfolio in April. The company is set to roll out an updated version of its cash-cow E-Class at the same time, and a new-generation S-Class will follow along shortly thereafter. Meanwhile, the company is increasing production to meet demand for its A and B-Class models.