2003 Bmw 3 Series M3 Sports Convertible Manual on 2040-cars

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What does the open patents deal mean for Tesla ... and BMW?

Gift to the world or trade bait? Tesla Motors announced this week it would open its patents for other automakers to use. That has analysts guessing whether the California-based electric-vehicle maker is looking to either swap trade secrets with other automakers or to expand the proverbial pie that represents the plug-in vehicle market. For its part, Tesla says the answer is B. BMW, which is establishing its i sub-brand of plug-in vehicles, would be a natural collaborator with Tesla, Forbes says. In fact, executives from the two companies met in Europe this week. Details were not released, but a BMW spokesman said, "Both companies are strongly committed to the success of electromobility and discussed how to further strengthen the development of electromobility on an international level." While Tesla brings battery technology to the table, BMW offers its carbon-fiber advancements that lighten vehicle-body weight. Those advancements are key to range-extending efforts and could do wonders for Tesla on its journey to help spur technology for the sake of getting more of the general public to accept plug-in technology as a viable first-car option. Then again, Forbes says Tesla, whose investors include Mercedes-Benz parent Daimler and Toyota, may be keeping its best technologies to itself by not patenting certain advancements at all. What's in Tesla's patent pool? uAutoInsurance analyzed Tesla's 249 patents and found that 104 of them related to battery technology, while 28 pertained to recharging activity, which wasn't surprising (about a quarter of those 249 patents couldn't readily be categorized). Tesla also has nine patents related to sunroof technology. The company is based in California, after all.

Driving the 2025 Genesis GV80 Coupe and Ford Explorer | Autoblog Podcast #844

In this episode of the Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Senior Editor, Electric, John Beltz Snyder. John recently attended the launch of both the 2025 Genesis GV80 Coupe and the 2025 Ford Explorer. In the fleet, we've been driving the Jeep Gladiator, BMW 5 Series and Chrysler Pacifica Plug-In Hybrid. In the news, Nissan has updated the Frontier for 2025, while the 2025 Toyota GR Corolla gets an available automatic transmission. Send us your questions for the Mailbag and Spend My Money at: Podcast@Autoblog.com. Autoblog Podcast #844     Get The Podcast Apple Podcasts – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes Spotify – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast on Spotify RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown Cars we're driving 2025 Genesis GV80 Coupe 2025 Ford Explorer 2024 Jeep Gladiator 2024 BMW 530i xDrive 2024 Chrysler Pacifica Plug-In Hybrid 2025 Nissan Frontier gets a suite of meaningful upgrades 2025 Toyota GR Corolla gets available automatic transmission Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on Apple Podcasts Autoblog is now live on your smart speakers and voice assistants with the audio Autoblog Daily Digest. Say “Hey Google, play the news from Autoblog” or "Alexa, open Autoblog" to get your favorite car website in audio form every day. A narrator will take you through the biggest stories or break down one of our comprehensive test drives. Related Video:  2025 Explorer SUV interior review This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe could be coming

Dig the BMW 2 Series coupe but wish it had more doors? Well you're in luck, sir or madam, as that's just what BMW has in store. According to Autocar, the Bavarian automaker is planning to launch a 2 Series Gran Coupe. And what's more is that there'll be an M2 version with four doors as well. Not to be confused with the 2 Series Gran Tourer – a front-drive city car based on an entirely different platform – the 2 Series Gran Coupe would follow the same formula that BMW applies to the 4 Series and 6 Series Gran Coupe. That is to say a sedan with sleek "coupe" styling, sized to compete with the Mercedes-Benz CLA and Audi A3. BMW unveiled a similar design as the BMW Concept Compact Sedan at the Guangzhou Motor Show last year. The production 2 Series Gran Coupe will likely look more like the existing 2 Series coupe, only a bit longer to accommodate the additional doors. It's also possible the Gran Coupe could have a liftgate at the back instead of a trunklid. The best part is that an M2 version is likely. The M2 coupe is one of our favorite cars; a four door option would increase the appeal to many. It's expected to pack the same 3.0-liter turbo six as the M2 coupe, good for 365 horsepower and mated to either a six-speed manual or seven-speed DCT. In classic German automaker fashion, this makes sure BMW doesn't cede a market slice to the Mercedes-AMG CLA45 and the forthcoming Audi RS3 sedan, but the Bimmer will stick with a rear-drive layout instead of its all-wheel-drive rivals. Of course there will be other, less powerful versions as well, including gasoline and diesel engines with three cylinders or four, and potentially even a plug-in hybrid. Buyers will also be able to choose between rear- or all-wheel drive setups. As no official announcement has been made, it's anybody's guess as to when we could see any variant for sale in the US. Related Video: