2002 Bmw M3 Base Convertible 2-door 3.2l on 2040-cars

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BMW i3 with range extender won't get all the EV tax benefits in NJ

Everyone loves that new-car smell, but not everyone loves that new-car tax. And whoever in New Jersey thought the extended-range version of the BMW i3 plug-in would be exempt from said tax was sorely mistaken, Green Car Reports says. To paraphrase the Garden State's favorite son, Bruce Springsteen, the first kick those drivers will take is when they hit the ground. BMW said last year that the BMW REx would qualify for new-car tax exemptions in New Jersey and in Washington State. The car's all-electric range was recently estimated at 72 miles and it has another 87 miles of gas-powered range-extended capability. Unfortunately, the range extender not only tacks on $3,850 to the car's sticker price but adds on almost that much again because New Jersey's seven-percent sales tax applies to all cars with any sort of gas-powered engine. BMW didn't respond to a request for comment about the New Jersey situation from AutoblogGreen. In other New Jersey electric vehicle news, the Consumer Affairs Committee of the New Jersey State Assembly will discuss the legality of Tesla selling directly to consumbers tomorrow. The extended-range i3 is involved in a different issue on the other side of the country. BMW said earlier this year that the REx would qualify for California's white zero-emission vehicle stickers that allow for solo access to high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes. These unlimited white stickers can go on any EV, but the REx version only qualifies for the green stickers, which are designated for plug-in hybrids and extended-range plug-ins and the state has run out of those.

Watch a trio of Santas ride up Mulholland Drive

Santa Claus might have his eight reindeer - or nine, when it's foggy - to help him deliver presents in most parts of the world, but in southern California, it looks like he's traded up from Dasher, Dancer, Prancer and company to BMW, Yamaha and Ducati. RNickeyMouse is usually the place to check out spectacular motorcycle crashes on video along LA's Mulholland Drive, but a recent video caught a trio of Santas carving up the iconic, twisty road.
The three Santas are together, riding what appears to be a BMW S1000RR, Yamaha R1 and a hard-to-tell custom bike that could be a Ducati 1098. The video, which is posted below, also catches a bonus Santa riding solo on another S1000RR. Happy Christmas to all, and to all a cool bike!

Mini Rocketman concept reportedly going into production as an EV

Remember the Mini Rocketman Concept from the 2011 Geneva Motor Show? If you don’t thatÂ’s OK, as itÂ’s been almost an entire decade since Mini pulled the wraps off. Despite the massive time lapse, Mini decided to revive the concept, not just for show. The companyÂ’s finally going to put the Rocketman into production, as an electric vehicle. We've heard this before, a few years ago, but nothing was set in stone. Now it seems a decision has been made. AutoCar in Britain recently learned that the Rocketman will fulfill its premise as the companyÂ’s first subcompact city car. The production model, scheduled for 2022, will reportedly be heavily reworked and built as a joint project with Chinese automaker Great Wall Motors. “WeÂ’re advancing plans for a model along the lines of the Rocketman. ItÂ’s a car we have been looking at for a long time, but to build it profitably at the price point we think customers are prepared to pay, you need a joint venture partner to share costs. Great Wall Motors has provided that opportunity with a shared electric car platform that will be used by Mini,” an anonymous “senior BMW official” was quoted as saying. The production Rocketman will retain its three-door hatchback design and is expected to serve as the manufacturerÂ’s newest entry-level model. It will be built by Great Wall Motors in Jiangsu, China, while BMW oversees the design and production with plans to sell it in all markets globally. When the Rocketman first surfaced at Geneva, it was essentially BMWÂ’s direct response to DaimlerÂ’s Smart ForFour. However, even with positive feedback from prospective customers, the project was shelved because development discussions between BMW and its initial partner, Peugeot, ended abruptly. The companies were reportedly going to share platforms and powertrains in another joint venture. In the new agreement with the Chinese company, the production model will apparently use a small-car platform used by Great Wall Motors called the Ora R1. The Peugeot-BMW project was going to use either a three-cylinder gas or diesel engine. But the new model will gain an all-electric powertrain by Spotlight Automotive as a part of BMWÂ’s massive plan to launch up to 25 new plug-in hybrid and all-electric vehicles by the end of 2023. One of those models is the newly released all-electric Cooper SE.