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2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo

"The Ultimate Driving Machine" has been BMW's tagline for nearly 40 years. Launched in the 1970s, the marketing campaign was a stroke of genius by ad firm Ammirati & Puris, as the phrase helped differentiate the imported Bavarian cars from their fellow European rivals by subtly pointing out that Mercedes-Benz and Audi were offering luxury models, while BMW was selling sporty and youthful driving dynamics. The campaign worked - some would argue that stands among the most effective ad campaigns ever - and countless Baby Boomers embraced the brand's fun-to-drive image by taking delivery of the company's new models.
BMW still boasts that its vehicles are "The Ultimate Driving Machine" four decades later, but the brand is very different today. It offered just a few model lines in the mid-1970s, and only a handful of vehicles within. In 2014, the automaker offers an exhaustive range comprised of nearly a dozen lines with almost 50 different models. To survive and thrive, BMW has decided it must massively broaden its appeal.
One of the latest arrivals to BMW's ever-growing stable is the 2014 3 Series Gran Turismo. The five-door hatchback is best thought of as a smaller version of the company's 5 Series Gran Turismo built on stretched 3 Series platform that, in the case of this test car, shares the running gear of the 328i xDrive sedan. On paper, the five-passenger vehicle checks all the proper boxes with regards to performance, utility and economy. But does this family-focused 3 Series still deliver driving dynamics that qualify it for the title of Ultimate Driving Machine?

BMW now wants to build 'ultimate machine driver'

The lines between the auto industry and Silicon Valley have been blurring for a while now. Google, for example, is hiring people from deep within the automotive world to spruce up its autonomous driving project. Apple is doing the same, and Tesla's sort of on both sides. More examples are easy to find. That's why it's no surprise, really, that there's a movement happening behind the scenes at BMW to reinvent the roundel. Speaking at the Geneva Motor Show this week, BMW board member Klaus Froehlich told Reuters that the Bavarian automaker is refocusing its sights on Silicon Valley. The goal, Froehlich said, is to have half of BMW's research and development staff to be computer programmers. Their mission: to build the AI that will maneuver upcoming self-driving BMWs. In other words, after 100 years of building what the company calls the ultimate driving machine, BMW is shifting over to the ultimate machine driver. We should've seen it coming with that autonomous driving video last year. Many automakers are working on autonomous cars these days, and this is all nothing new for BMW, but Froehlich's comments show an increased focus on cars that will drive you. "For me it is a core competence to have the most intelligent car," Froehlich said. "Our task is to preserve our business model without surrendering it to an Internet player." Some of the tasks that Froehlich sees for an expanded software team will be developing better cloud connection, so that a self-driving car can get messages from a central network. It means perhaps licensing BMW's plug-in powertrains to smaller companies that maybe can't build their own but have other strengths that BMW can access. By developing its own staff and working with partners – the same strategy automakers have used for years – BMW is trying to get ready for the autonomous future. Related Video: News Source: ReutersImage Credit: Harold Cunningham/Getty Images Green BMW Technology Emerging Technologies Autonomous Vehicles Electric Future Vehicles bmw i research and development klaus froehlich

Defying Trump, major automakers finalize California emissions deal

WASHINGTON — The California Air Resources Board (CARB) and major automakers on Monday confirmed they had finalized binding agreements to cut vehicle emissions in the state, defying the Trump administration's push for weaker curbs on tailpipe pollution. The agreements with carmakers Ford Motor Co, Volkswagen AG, Honda Motor Co and BMW AG were first announced in July 2019 as voluntary measures prompting anger from U.S. President Donald Trump. A month later, the Justice Department opened an antitrust probe into the agreements. The government ended the investigation without action. The Trump administration in March finalized a rollback of U.S. vehicle emissions standards to require 1.5% annual increases in efficiency through 2026. That is far weaker than the 5% annual increases in the discarded rules adopted under President Barack Obama. The 50-page California agreements, which extend through 2026, are less onerous than the standards finalized by the Obama administration but tougher than the Trump administration standards. The automakers have also agreed to electric vehicle commitments. Volvo Cars, owned by China's Geely Holdings, said in March it planned to join the automakers agreeing to the California requirements. It has also finalized its agreement. The settlement agreements say California and automakers agreed to resolve "potential legal disputes concerning the authority of CARB" and other states that have adopted California's standards. In May, a group of 23 U.S. states led by California and some major cities, challenged the Trump vehicle emissions rule. Other major automakers like General Motors Co, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV and Toyota Motor Corp did not join the California agreement. Those companies also sided with the Trump administration in a separate lawsuit over whether the federal government can strip California of the right to set zero emission vehicle requirements. Ford said the "final agreement will reduce emissions in our vehicles at a more stringent rate, support and incentivize the production of electrified products, and create regulatory certainty." BMW said "by setting these long-term, predictable, and achievable standards, we have the regulatory certainty that is necessary for long-term planning that will not only reduce greenhouse gas emissions but ultimately benefit consumers as well."