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2016 BMW M2 First Drive

Don't skip down to the conclusions, because I'll save you the trouble and spell it out for you right here. The 2016 BMW M2 is superb. Lay out your criteria for a contemporary sport coupe. Then check all the boxes. There are gripes. We've gotten good at uncovering the little issues in an age where the difference between the best and worst car in a class is smaller than ever. But they're that: little. It's a small price to pay for a vehicle that delivers so much more to the driver than the M235i – engagement, performance, pleasure – that it seems a bargain at $52,695 to start. Moreover, it's the right-sized M car we've wanted since the M4 burst its chrysalis and turned into an extra-large, if not overweight, butterfly. BMW had us out to Monterey to sample two M2s: a 7-speed DCT on Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, and a six-speed manual on the fog-kissed Pacific Coast Highway. The formula here is old-school – thank heavens. It's a compact sport coupe with swollen wheel arches and a hot-rodded inline-six. The proportions are classic: longish hood, short rear deck, reasonably airy greenhouse in the tradition of sporting BMWs, and plenty of meat on the sticky tires. Long Beach Blue paint provides depth to the sheetmetal scalloping and contrast to the fender flares – and the M2 looked great in this bold color. I can't say the same for the less-exciting grey example parked in the hospitality tent. Like most modern turbocharged BMWs, the torque curve is fatter than an In-N-Out Double Double, Animal Style. The overall rightness of the proportions compensates for the more polarizing details. The dimples in the rear bumper, the "scoops" in the lower secondary air inlets, the obligatory fender vent (which is at least small). They're all intended to communicate aggressive sportiness, and succeed to varying degrees, but it's just jewelry. Inside, BMW's excised some of the cheapness that plagued the 2 Series' predecessors. The blue contrasting stitching looks great, the sport steering wheel is perfectly sized, and the carbon-fiber patterned accents at least provide a little texture to break up an unapologetically black interior. On the other hand, the door pulls are not only cheap-looking, but also so large they're impossible to ignore. It's a baffling misstep in an otherwise simple and classy interior. As a quick aside, the HUD is clear and functional – not a new feature for BMWs, but worth noting.

BMW bringing 9 Series concept to Beijing

It appears that BMW is ready to take another step upmarket with a new concept flagship luxury sedan at the Beijing Motor Show at the end of April. The showcar is said to preview the company's rumored 9 Series, a sedan that would be positioned against top trims of the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, like the rumored S600 Maybach.
According to Automotive News Europe, the concept sedan wears styling language adapted from the curvaceous BMW Pininfarina Gran Lusso Coupe (pictured above) shown at the 2013 Villa d'Este Concours d'Elegance in May. It rides on BMW's new, modular platform - codenamed G11 - for the company's largest cars, an architecture also expected to be shared with the next 7 Series and future Rolls-Royce vehicles. It's rumored to bring the weight of the 7 closer to the 5 Series, which would be several hundred pounds lighter when comparing the base models of both current vehicles. We spotted the next-gen 7 Series testing over a year ago, and both it and the 9 Series are expected to go on sale in 2016.
Unfortunately, at the moment there is no official information about the concept. "We don't have any official news yet on anything in Beijing," Julian Arguelles, BMW USA spokesperson, tells Autoblog. However, it's heartening to think that BMW might be adapting the gorgeous shape of the Gran Lusso for production.

What does the open patents deal mean for Tesla ... and BMW?

Gift to the world or trade bait? Tesla Motors announced this week it would open its patents for other automakers to use. That has analysts guessing whether the California-based electric-vehicle maker is looking to either swap trade secrets with other automakers or to expand the proverbial pie that represents the plug-in vehicle market. For its part, Tesla says the answer is B. BMW, which is establishing its i sub-brand of plug-in vehicles, would be a natural collaborator with Tesla, Forbes says. In fact, executives from the two companies met in Europe this week. Details were not released, but a BMW spokesman said, "Both companies are strongly committed to the success of electromobility and discussed how to further strengthen the development of electromobility on an international level." While Tesla brings battery technology to the table, BMW offers its carbon-fiber advancements that lighten vehicle-body weight. Those advancements are key to range-extending efforts and could do wonders for Tesla on its journey to help spur technology for the sake of getting more of the general public to accept plug-in technology as a viable first-car option. Then again, Forbes says Tesla, whose investors include Mercedes-Benz parent Daimler and Toyota, may be keeping its best technologies to itself by not patenting certain advancements at all. What's in Tesla's patent pool? uAutoInsurance analyzed Tesla's 249 patents and found that 104 of them related to battery technology, while 28 pertained to recharging activity, which wasn't surprising (about a quarter of those 249 patents couldn't readily be categorized). Tesla also has nine patents related to sunroof technology. The company is based in California, after all.