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Takata air bag recall list

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration confirmed yesterday that 33.8 million vehicles with Takata airbags are going to be recalled. It's the largest recall in automotive history. The already record-breaking rate of automotive recalls this year shows no signs of slowing down, especially since millions of cars with defective airbags made by global supplier Takata are under ongoing scrutiny. The federal government is warning owners that inflator mechanisms in the air bags can rupture, causing metal fragments to fly out when the bags are deployed. The faulty air bags have already been blamed for multiple deaths. How do you know if your vehicle is safe? The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released an updated list of vehicles under recall. Sometimes however, the government's website will crash and the list may not be complete. Check your VIN at the NHTSA website to make sure. The list of cars affected by the recall has not been released, but seem to span multiple models over the years for many of the automakers.

BMW now wants to build 'ultimate machine driver'

The lines between the auto industry and Silicon Valley have been blurring for a while now. Google, for example, is hiring people from deep within the automotive world to spruce up its autonomous driving project. Apple is doing the same, and Tesla's sort of on both sides. More examples are easy to find. That's why it's no surprise, really, that there's a movement happening behind the scenes at BMW to reinvent the roundel. Speaking at the Geneva Motor Show this week, BMW board member Klaus Froehlich told Reuters that the Bavarian automaker is refocusing its sights on Silicon Valley. The goal, Froehlich said, is to have half of BMW's research and development staff to be computer programmers. Their mission: to build the AI that will maneuver upcoming self-driving BMWs. In other words, after 100 years of building what the company calls the ultimate driving machine, BMW is shifting over to the ultimate machine driver. We should've seen it coming with that autonomous driving video last year. Many automakers are working on autonomous cars these days, and this is all nothing new for BMW, but Froehlich's comments show an increased focus on cars that will drive you. "For me it is a core competence to have the most intelligent car," Froehlich said. "Our task is to preserve our business model without surrendering it to an Internet player." Some of the tasks that Froehlich sees for an expanded software team will be developing better cloud connection, so that a self-driving car can get messages from a central network. It means perhaps licensing BMW's plug-in powertrains to smaller companies that maybe can't build their own but have other strengths that BMW can access. By developing its own staff and working with partners – the same strategy automakers have used for years – BMW is trying to get ready for the autonomous future. Related Video: News Source: ReutersImage Credit: Harold Cunningham/Getty Images Green BMW Technology Emerging Technologies Autonomous Vehicles Electric Future Vehicles bmw i research and development klaus froehlich

BMW 2 Series caught uncovered during shoot

Before we know it, the BMW 1 Series will be no more in the United States. Well, sort of. The current six-year-old coupe and convertible will be replaced by the fancy new 2 Series you see here, spotted completely uncovered during a photo shoot, with the 1 Series nomenclature being reserved for the hatchback and GT models that might not ever make it Stateside.
The roofline of the new 2 Series doesn't appear to have to changed all that much from the current 1 Series coupe, but the front and rear fascias have indeed been smoothed out. (Truth time: As much as your author adores the 1 Series, he's always found its rear end to be, well, weird.) It looks good, seen here in M235i guise, with large wheels, slimmer headlamps and large air intakes on either side of the front fascia.
The 2 Series is expected to come to the States, likely in M235i and 228i variants, though rumors suggest that we won't get a non-M 235i model. The M235i is expected to be powered by the N55 turbocharged inline-six that we currently enjoy in the 335i sedan, producing something like 320 horsepower. The 228i, unsurprisingly, should use the 2.0-liter turbo-four from the 328i, making around 240 hp. Both engines will almost certainly employ eight-speed automatic transmissions and six-speed manuals.