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BMW joins the mirrorless car club at CES

Another item the future promised us is finally arriving: cameras for rearview mirrors. It's coming on the Cadillac CT6, Audi played around with the idea in its Le Mans racers, and Tesla has plans to get in on the action. And now add BMW to that list with the i8 Mirrorless concept revealed at the 2016 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. In BMW's scheme, three cameras replace the mirrors. One big adjustment from years of automotive convention is the lack of any side glances for the driver. A display in place of the conventional rearview mirror shows a composite wide-angle image. Imminent hazards, such as a vehicle in the blind spot, are shown with yellow warning icons. Previous mirrorless designs have mounted cameras flush with the body, but the i8 Mirrorless uses wing-like side cameras. They also serve as turn signal indicators. We assume that the narrow profile is more aerodynamic than the housing for a large piece of reflective glass. Also in BMW's CES bag of tricks is the BMW i3 Extended Rearview Mirror. This uses a rear-facing, roof-mounted camera that overlays images on the conventional interior mirror. But we do have some questions – what happens when the cameras get dirty? Mirrors still work even when partially obscured by dirt. And when will these ideas see production? Stay tuned as we'll follow up with answers from BMW's booth on the CES show floor soon.

Color me electric: a nine-year-old designs a crayon-colored Mini wrap

Perhaps one is never too young to help design the look of a car … with the help of a box of crayons. DonÂ’t tell nine-year-old Oliver Gorrod, who lives in Oxfordshire in England, that it canÂ’t be done. Young Oliver has finished first in a contest sponsored by MINI Electric in the U.K. and crayon-maker Crayola to create an exterior color wrap for the EV that “champions nature.” “I like the idea of all cars being electric, as they are better for the environment, animals and the planet. My car is designed as camouflage, so it blends into natural environments,” said the young man, who was among hundreds of entrants aged from four to 10 years from the U.K. Oliver wins the honor of his design being featured as a vinyl wrap for a car (he only wins the wrap) and a bundle of Crayola art materials for himself and his school. Oliver will also get an invite to visit MINI Plant Oxford for a private tour. “The creativity of the designs were fantastic," said Federico Izzo, director for MINI UK & Ireland. "We are excited to bring OliverÂ’s design to life and hope he will continue to innovate and dream big in the future.” Added Jade Childs of Crayola, “We are delighted to share Crayola art materials with Oliver and his class as part of the competition prize, and we hope they will continue to be inspired and express themselves as they explore, discover, play, pretend, and dream.” Design/Style Green BMW MINI Green Culture Hatchback Electric

BMW preparing new M4 GTS with water injection

Last month, BMW revealed a new safety car for the MotoGP series. Only instead of just taking one of its production models and giving it some flashing lights, special livery and emergency equipment, the Bavarian automaker used the specially equipped M4 to showcase a new water injection system. And now word has it that the tech is being worked into a new M4 GTS. The system sprays water into the combustion chamber in order to lower the temperature of the air and increase the engine's efficiency, thus allowing it to produce more power without overheating, and relying less on ambient temperatures. It does require refilling a 1.3-gallon water tank in the trunk, though. According to Car and Driver, it's that same system that BMW will be installing in the new M4 GTS, taking the place of previous M3 GTS specials. If precedent is anything to go by, the M4 GTS will also be stripped of excess weight and feature a tighter suspension, stickier tires and more, in order to make BMW's muscle coupe even more hardcore and focused for the track. We could be looking at a debut as early as Pebble Beach in August.