4dr Sdn Low Miles Sedan Automatic Gasoline 4.4l 8 Cyl Monte Carlo Blue Metallic on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Translogic 189: 2015 LA Auto Show

The LA Auto Show has become known for its green cars and concepts, and 2015 was no exception. Translogic host Jonathon Buckley gets all the details on BMW's 330e plug-in hybrid straight from BMW President of North America Ludwig Willisch. Then we get up-to-date on Honda's latest FCX Clarity hydrogen fuel cell car. We round out our tour with a stop at the Elio Motors booth for a look at their updated, three-wheel P5 concept and a chat with CEO Paul Elio. But first, we jump in a time machine at the Volvo booth to discuss Concept 26, an interpretation of how car interiors might evolve in the era of self-driving cars. "The reason why we talked about it as a time machine [is] because, really, Concept 26 is giving you back something that is so precious," explained Volvo senior director of design Tisha Johnson. "We're letting you delegate driving to the car, so that you can then have that time to yourself." Click here to learn more about our host, Jonathon Buckley.

Tesla only 8th greenest automaker, BMW is best, says Newsweek

We imagine some readers will be surprised by this. Newsweek has just put out its rankings for the top "green" companies in the world, and while Tesla Motors chief Elon Musk can crow about how green his electric vehicles are, the company as a whole apparently falls behind some traditional automakers. Quite a few of them, actually. In Newsweek's Global 500 list of the greenest 500 largest publicly-traded companies in the world, BMW ranked best among automakers at Number 26. Not surprisingly, Toyota was close behind at 35, while Nissan came in at 152. What's a little more puzzling is that Tesla fell behind Ford (178), and General Motors (289). That's a lot of pickups versus a few Model S EVs. Go figure. Then came Hyundai (306) and Honda (316), which are a little more palatable. Tesla? It came in at 431. Newsweek's measurement standards include eight categories that include a lot of verbiage and involve things like energy productivity (which is defined as revenue in US dollars divided by total energy consumption), greenhouse-gas emissions productivity (revenue divided by GHG emissions), water usage, waste levels and something called "green revenue" (revenue derived from products that "contribute positively" to the environment). Newsweek says that its results are reproducable by a third party. Take a look at the list here and find the details on how the numbers are compiled here. Featured Gallery 2014 BMW i3: First Drive View 33 Photos News Source: Newsweek via Torque News Green BMW Tesla

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.