2004 Z4 Roadster Prem Pkg Conv Pkg Auto Trans Low Miles Mint on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Infiniti Q50 Red Sport 400 priced at $48,855, AWD at $50,855

Infiniti's most powerful production model, the new Q50 Red Sport 400, now has a starting price. You'll need at least $48,855 for the rear-drive model or $50,855 for all-wheel drive. (Both figures include the $905 destination charge.) A fully loaded, rear-drive Q50 RS400 with Direct Adaptive Steering, navigation, adaptive cruise control, a heated steering wheel, and Infiniti's entire alphabet soup of safety equipment, tops out at $57,045. (Again, add $2,000 for AWD). When it comes to rear-drive competition, the closest base price to the Q50 is the 320-hp BMW 340i. This German undercuts the Infiniti by two grand, $46,795 to $48,855. But the BMW outprices the Q50 as soon as you start selecting options. A 340i with similar equipment to a loaded Q50 Red Sport 400 costs just under $60,000. All-wheel-drive German competitors also lose out in the price war. Like with the rear-drive models, the BMW 340i xDrive undercuts the Q50 RS400 by around $2,000. Add the options, and the Infiniti becomes a better value. The other two big German rivals, the Audi S4 and Mercedes-Benz C450 AMG start at a higher price and only get more expensive. Technically the S4 starts cheaper than the Q50, but only with the standard manual transmission. Selecting the S-Tronic dual-clutch model kicks the price from $50,125 to $51,125, and going for the top-end Prestige trim will bump potential Audi owners up to $57,025. Throw on must-have S4 options, including adaptive cruise control, adaptive dampers, and a sport differential and you'll be shell out $64,425 for the Audi. The Mercedes-Benz C450 AMG is the priciest choice in this group, starting at $51,725, or roughly $900 more than a base Q50 RS400 with AWD. Options, again, are the downfall here. Building a C450 to match a loaded Infiniti will drive the Mercedes' price up to $64,315. While it occupies something of a weird space relative to these vehicles, it's also worth mentioning the Cadillac CTS VSport. It's the only car in this impromptu pricing comparo that can outgun the Q50, with its 3.6-liter, twin-turbo V6 good for 420 hp and 430 lb-ft of torque. It also starts at $60,950, although that includes plenty of standard equipment. All this means that the Q50 Red Sport 400 represents a relative value. It packs more power than the Germans – 80 more than the 340i, 67 more than the S4, and 38 more than the C450 – and a more comprehensive list of options, too.

BMW, Toyota warn about Chinese market slowing down

BMW and Toyota are the latest automakers to become concerned about the closing throttle on the once rapidly accelerating vehicle market in China. There might be drastic effects on their ledgers at the end of the year. With the Chinese stock market no longer looking so healthy, the people just aren't buying as many new cars as in the past. Things got really bad in June after the first drop in deliveries in two years. BMW has already reduced Chinese production by 16,000 units so far this year. Despite the slowdown, the company has kept a brave face. "We experience that volatility in all emerging markets," BMW CEO Harald Krueger said in a conference call, according to Automotive News. The problem for Toyota is a bit stranger. Through July, the automaker's Chinese deliveries were actually up 12 percent. However, the gain was offset by falling sales prices. "This is making our business in China quite difficult. The business environment is getting tougher," Toyota Managing Officer Tetsuya Otake said, Automotive News reported. Much of the weakness in China has come in the middle part of the year, and from January through June deliveries were still up 8.4 percent. This means the effects haven't hit the financial results of some automakers too hard quite yet. In the second quarter, General Motors referenced the "challenging conditions" there but still posted a growing net income of $1.1 billion. Despite falling global sales, Toyota managed record income for the quarter, too.

Recharge Wrap-up: Portland's Electric Avenue, hacking a Tesla

Portland, Oregon has opened a city block set aside for electric vehicles. Dubbed "Electric Avenue," the EV-only zone replaces one that was taken over by new construction. The new Electric Avenue is an improvement, though, with four universal, 50-kW fast chargers and two Level 2 chargers. Currently, charging is free when customers pay for the metered parking. Portland's original Electric Avenue became a gathering place for EV drivers and an opportunity for companies to test charging technology. Read more at Ecomento. Hackers Kevin Mahaffey and Marc Rogers discussed hacking a Tesla Model S at the Def Con hacking conference. They outlined the car's vulnerabilities, particularly regarding the central information display, instrument cluster and the gateway. The hackers were able to exert control over certain subsystems, but they also pointed out some of the ways in which the car is protected from outside manipulation. Among other things, they were able to turn the car on and off, lock and unlock the doors, control the brakes under five mph, and shift the car into neutral above five mph. Tesla, who was also on hand for the presentation, has patched many of the vulnerabilities. Read more at Tom's Hardware. The BMW i3 is now available through DriveNow in Copenhagen, Denmark. After the carsharing program's success with the electric car in Germany, the UK and US, BMW (which owns DriveNow along with car rental company Sixt) has created a fleet of 400 i3 EVs in the Danish capital. With the help of bus operator Arriva, the BMW fleet is interconnected with public transportation. "Here in Copenhagen we are now already witnessing mobility of the future," says BMW's Dr. Bernhard Blattel. "It is on-demand technology, interconnected, quiet and electric." Read more in the press release below. Four hundred BMW i3 for interconnected mobility in Copenhagen. BMW i supports the improvement of life-quality in cities; Electric car sharing as the key component; DriveNow with the BMW i3 shortly also in Copenhagen, directly interconnected with public transport. Copenhagen. Following the successful introduction of the BMW i3 to the DriveNow fleets in Germany, the UK and the USA, the next major step is being taken with the commissioning of 400 BMW i3 in Copenhagen on September 3rd 2015. What is new here is an all-electric fleet which is also interconnected with public transport.