Great Lease Buy 14 Bmw X5d Luxury Premium Cold Weather Gps Camera Lighting on 2040-cars

Auto blog

BMW i creates high-design solar charging carport

With the first deliveries of the i3 under way, and the recent i8 press launch, the marketing push in the US for the BMW electric sub-brand has begun. These i vehicles are supposed to have a completely different feel from the rest of the brand's lineup. To complement their earth-friendly ethos, the Bavarian company commissioned BMW Group DesignworksUSA in California to create a solar carport concept that could keep the models sustainably topped up on power. It premiered alongside the i8 in Los Angeles at the electric sports coupe's media launch.
At first glance, the BMW i Solar Carport Concept looks like a pergola from a winery or a well-groomed garden, but like the i vehicles, the deeper you look, the more high-tech features there are. The sides feature carbon elements in a similar way that the i3 and i8 have a carbon fiber-reinforced plastic body. Bamboo forms the uprights because its quick-growing nature makes it rather sustainable, and the solar panels are strung along the top to harness energy.
Obviously the sun can't provide all of the energy that the electric cars need, and a BMW Wallbox Pro charger is also connected to the power grid as a supplement. It includes a readout telling users the amount of solar energy versus municipal electricity it's using.

2015 BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe might be a better 3 Series sedan

At BMW, there really is something for everyone these days. Just take a look at the massive 3 Series/4 Series range - you can have a sedan, coupe, convertible, wagon, or funky-backed Gran Turismo. And now, with the introduction of the 2015 4 Series Gran Coupe, you can have another seda... err, hatchback, actually. But perhaps, a better one.
Compared to the 3 Series sedan, the 4 Series Gran Coupe is both longer and wider by about half an inch, but is shorter in overall height by an inch and a half. Honestly, to our eyes, it looks a little better than the 3 Series, too, what with its longer roofline, more sculpted rear haunches and lower stance. Full interior volume specs for the 4GC aren't available as of this writing, but we expect them to be roughly the same as the 3 Series, perhaps with a small decrease in headroom and rear legroom. Trunk space, at 17 cubic feet, matches the 3 Series sedan, and because the 4GC actually uses a hatchback design, it should be easier to access.
Powertrains are completely carryover from the rest of the 3/4 Series range. The 428i uses BMW's well-liked 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-four with 240 horsepower and 255 pound-feet of torque, and the 435i is fitted with the company's 3.0-liter turbo-six, good for 300 hp and 300 lb-ft. An eight-speed automatic is the only transmission available in the US with either model and rear-wheel drive is standard. Only the 428i can be had with BMW's xDrive all-wheel-drive system, and interestingly, the 428i Gran Coupe is actually expected to be more fuel-efficient than its 3 Series sedan counterpart. The GC is estimated to return 23/35 miles per gallon city/highway, compared to the 23/33 mpg in the 328i sedan. The 435i Gran Coupe should achieve the same 22/32 mpg ratings as the 335i sedan.

The Rinspeed Etos is a BMW i8 that drives itself and comes with a drone

Outlandish as they can be, we've grown accustomed to seeing Rinspeed unveil its avant-garde concept cars at the Geneva show every year. But this time the Swiss studio will present its latest showpiece outside of its native country, taking the veil off at CES in Las Vegas. It's called the Etos, and takes the advanced concept of the BMW i8 even further. Frank M. Rinderknecht and company designed the Etos around autonomous technology. Now if you're wondering why anyone would need a self-driving sports car, we're with you. But if Rinspeed is out to capture our attention, the svelte shape, eye-catching yellow paint, and 20-inch Borbet alloys have certainly done that much. Recognizing the transformation possible in the cabin of a self-driving automobile, Rinspeed fitted the Etos with a retractable steering wheel. That allows unfettered access to a pair of 21.5-inch ultra-HD widescreen displays hooked up to a connected infotainment system that learns from the driver's (or occupant's) habits to minimize the necessity to manually input information. No less than eight exterior cameras work in conjunction to all but completely eliminate the notion of the blindspot. But like so many mullets festooning the streets of Las Vegas and the slopes of the Swiss Alps alike, the party trick is found around back. Not unlike a megayacht with a helipad, Rinspeed fitted a remote-control helicopter on the rear deck that can be used for anything from selfies on the go to retrieving packages along the driving route. The drone lands on a platform with 12,000 individually controlled LEDs and covered in Gorilla Glass furnished, as with the glass roof, by Corning. Combine the drone with the ability to pay tolls and other charges through NFC signal while charging your phone inductively, and the driver/occupant may never need to get out of the car unless he or she wants to (and the singularity controlling all these systems permits). Fortunately Rinspeed made the interior a comfortable place to be, filled with niceties and distractions from a watch winder on the dashboard to the ceramic and titanium trim to the San Francisco skyline stitched, for some reason, into the seatbacks. Few of these features strike us as strictly necessary, and the most outlandish of them (we're looking at you, drone) will likely never be implemented on a production automobile. And what features do will likely find their home in more accommodating vehicles than a two-seat sports car.