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Germany says nein to EU ban on new fossil-fuel cars from 2035

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's government will not agree to European Union plans to effectively ban the sale of new cars with combustion engines from 2035, Finance Minister Christian Lindner said on Tuesday. In its bid to cut planet-warming emissions by 55% by 2030 from 1990 levels, the European Commission has proposed a 100% reduction in CO2 emissions from new cars by 2035. That means it would be impossible to sell combustion engine cars from then. European Parliament lawmakers backed the proposals this month, before negotiations with EU countries on the final law take place. Speaking at an event hosted by Germany's BDI industry association, Lindner said there would continue to be niches for combustion engines so a ban was wrong and said the government would not agree to this European legislation. Lindner, a member of the pro-business Free Democrats, which shares power with the Social Democrats and Greens, said Germany would still be a leading market for electric vehicles. (Reporting by Christian Kraemer; Writing by Madeline Chambers; Editing by Miranda Murray and Edmund Blair) Green Government/Legal Green Audi BMW Mercedes-Benz Volkswagen Opel SEAT Skoda

Will next BMW Project i car be an i6?

BMW may be steadily working its way through the single digits when it comes to the i sub-brand of plug-in vehicles for the next few years. The automaker started with the i3 and the i8, and we heard rumors about an i5 and an i7. Oh, and we've heard about a potential i4, too. None of these have been confirmed. Still, next up is the i6, according to Automobile. There aren't a ton of details, but the all-electric vehicle would be about the same size as the 3-Series line that's long been a workhorse for the German automaker. Like the other Project i vehicles, the i6 would have a lot of carbon fiber in order to reduce weight and help with range extension. The model would also likely have multiple electric motors as well as a state-of-the-art lithium-polymer battery that would provide a big single-charge range, though, again, no specifics on that number. Word got out earlier this year about a supposed i5 model that would be a plug-in hybrid with a gas-powered engine and two electric motors that combine for about 540 horsepower. Other reports said that the four-door sedan would actually fall under the i7 badge. BMW North America chief Ludwig Willisch said this past spring that the sedan in question wouldn't be seeing the light of day any time soon. BMW has already doubled US sales of its two Project i vehicles this year. Through November, Bimmer's sales of its i8 plug-in hybrid quadrupled from a year earlier to about 1,600 units, while sales of the i3 electric vehicle jumped 89 percent from a year earlier to about 9,600 vehicles.

BMW i8's three-cylinder sounds like it's shaping up quite nicely

We've run across some rather interesting news... or perhaps we should say interesting sounds. The folks from Bimmerpost have scrounged up a short video showing a preproduction BMW i8 running through a few gears in Sport mode at a quick pace, and if you were concerned that the somewhat eco-friendly nature of the upcoming German sports car would neuter its ability to stir the aural senses, fret not.
Judging by the lovely noise coming from the engine compartment of the i8 in the video, BMW's expertise in tuning high-strung, small-bore engines - remember, BMW Motorrad has quite the penchant for well-conceived motorcycle engines - has come through loud and clear. Now, it's worth mentioning that BMW's controversial Active Sound technology will be included with the i8, so the production car may not sound exactly like this version, which is running with the tech disabled. Owners won't have the ability to disable Active Sound on production i8s.
In related news, Bimmerpost reports that BMW will equip the i8 with an external Active Sound Design system to go along with its Pedestrian Protection System. That means those on the outside will likely hear piped engine recordings from the rear and a sort of "howl" from the front in order to warn pedestrians that the otherwise quiet (when running on electricity, that is) car is approaching. It will also feature technology that can stop the car before contacting a pedestrian.