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2014 BMW Z4 sDrive35is

The BMW Z3/Z4 roadster has never really had a widespread following because it has either been too humble and small a roadster (albeit with some fun and very low-volume M editions) or it has been - in this E89 generation - too casual an image leader with no racier aspirations. The current 480-hp Z4 GTEs don't count, since they are as stock a Z4 as today's Pamela Anderson is the same blonde actress we knew as Heidi on Home Improvement. You know, sort of like those ever-so-slightly modified Toyota Camry coupes competing in NASCAR.
The ultimate highpoint for the BMW Z roadster franchise was at the very start of its life in the mid-90s, in the James Bond film GoldenEye with Pierce Brosnan. The Stinger missiles that Q's team installed behind the Z3's headlights were never fired, and BMW never even offered this self-defense package as an option. Yet another case of the ol' bait and switch.
And in all these subsequent years of Z3s and Z4s strutting their long-hooded stuff, the little sporting Bimmer could really have used a live Stinger missile or two to spice things up. The current Z4 exists, it is pretty dang sexy, and BMW seems content to let it linger there. We just drove the new midlife version of the roadster near BMW headquarters in Munich, and it served to reinforce our feelings.

Ex-Rolls-Royce design chief Ian Cameron killed at home

Former Rolls-Royce design chief Ian Cameron, the man who oversaw the automaker's design renaissance with the Phantom and Ghost ranges, was stabbed to death at his home in Bavaria (translated) on July 12. German newspaper reports have identified a suspect via surveillance camera (translated) whom police say is the killer. Apparently, the man went shopping at a store less than a mile from Cameron's house, then changed clothes and showed up at Cameron's door. A surveillance image before the suspect gets to the house shows him wearing the items that neighbors described, notably light pants, a dark blue hoodie, a red backpack and "yellow-green gloves." Someone reportedly cut the wires on the home security system, the suggestion being that the suspect or someone else involved had cased the house for at least a few days. It's said the killer rang the doorbell, attacking as soon as Cameron opened the front door, stabbing the designer to death. Verena Kloos, Cameron's wife, escaped to a neighbor's house and called police. This is a bizarre incident. Reports have floated the motivation that the killer wanted one of the vehicles in Cameron's car collection at the Bavarian property. Instead of going after a car, though, the killer ran off in his distinctive outfit, staying in the open long enough for neighbors to give a detailed description. He then changed clothes and ditched the backpack on a lakeside promenade not far from Cameron's house. Strangest of all, the man apparently left the clothes near the backpack, and the backpack contained items the man had bought during his shopping trip before the murder.  At the time of writing, police are searching throughout Germany but haven't caught the suspect. With a clear picture and a likely trove of DNA evidence, authorities have excellent leads. Anyone who can help is asked to get in touch with the Furstenfeldbruck Criminal Investigation Department at (+49) 8.14.16.120. Cameron's career started at Pininfarina in 1975, culminating in a greatest hits of designs while at BMW. He has exterior design of the third-generation Range Rover on his resume, as well as the BMW Z8. It was Cameron's Phantom, though, that helped create an entirely new Rolls-Royce after BMW bought the brand. CEO Chris Brownridge wrote on LinkedIn that "Ian played a significant role in shaping Rolls-Royce from when it was first acquired by BMW Group and moved to its home at Goodwood, West Sussex.

European car sales up 8% in February

Three weeks ago an analyst increased projections for European car sales this year, expecting them to climb three percent compared to last year instead of 2.7 percent. That number is a postive sign after years of hard times but it turns out February was especially good, overall European sales climbing eight percent on a wave of southern European recovery and discounts - and this comes after five months of gains including January's 7.2-percent jump over the year before.
The only country of Europe's five largest markets to post a decline was France, just as it did in January, Germany, the UK and Italy posting solid double-digit numbers, Spain rocking the charts with an 18-percent increase because of a government program to encourage trade-ins.
The only brand to miss the wave was Volkswagen, dropping 0.8 percent as it watched the double-digit growth at sister brands Audi, Seat and Skoda lift the Volkswagen Group sales up by seven-percent. Peugeot overcame flat sales at Citroën to improve the group by 3.5 percent, BMW and the Mercedes-Benz/Smart combo rose by four percent, the Fiat group jumped 5.8 percent, Ford was up 11 percent, the Renault Group 11.5 percent, General Motors 12 percent and the Toyota clan by 14 percent.