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BMW raises pricing on many models

Buyers interested in a new BMW will start paying a bit more for their Ultimate Driving Machines, beginning yesterday. The Munich, Germany-based manufacturer has announced price hikes across nearly its entire range, covering model years 2013 and 2014, that will sting higher-end customers in particular.
Price increases are enough to get any consumer riled up, but the incremental nature of BMW's increase makes it a bit easier to swallow. All 1 Series and remaining 3 Series Convertibles (including the M3 Convertible) will see a $300 increase in price. All current-generation F30 3 Series, 5 Series GT and X3 crossovers will get their price bumped by $200. $500 increases are coming for the 6 Series range (not including the M6), while the diminutive X1 gets just a $100 increase.
Cars on the losing end of the price hikes include the newest M cars, the M5 and M6 Coupe, Convertible and Gran Coupe, which are being bumped $2,000. BMW is adding $1,000 to the sticker of all Z4s and the entire X6 range, including the X6M.

BMW-Toyota sports car heading towards Tokyo debut

Earlier this year, BMW and Toyota confirmed a four-part joint venture mostly focusing on increasing improving vehicle efficiency using fuel cells, lightweight materials and better battery technology. Also tucked into the announcement was a "feasibility study" for a shared platform to underpin a future midsize "sports vehicle."
In terms of the latter, it seems that things have stepped up from the feasibility stage to the conceptual stage, as Motor Trend reports we could see a pair of new sports car concepts debut later this year in at the Tokyo Motor Show. There isn't much information about the new program, but the article suggests the sports cars could be all-wheel drive hybrids, with electric motors powering the front wheels and a gas engine powering the rear wheels. While a partnership between Toyota and BMW might not lend itself to a catchy portmanteau like "Toyobaru," here's hoping it will bear fruit that is as exciting as the ones produced by the Toyota/Subaru tie up.

BMW slapped with discrimination suit by EEOC

According to a report from CNNMoney, BMW has been hit with a lawsuit from the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission after revised criminal background check policies resulted in the dismissal of 88 contractors, 70 of whom (that's about 80 percent) were black. A total of 645 contractors were required to submit to background checks at BMW's facility in Spartanburg, South Carolina after BMW switched contract companies at its plant.
Though the 88 persons who were not rehired by the new contractor all had criminal records, that may not necessarily be a legal way to screen applicants, as the EEOC counters: "BMW's policy has no time limit with regard to convictions. The policy is a blanket exclusion without any individualized assessment of the nature and gravity of the crimes, the ages of the convictions, or the nature of the claimants' respective positions."
BMW's actions were in violation of the Civic Rights Act of 1964, according to the EEOC, because they utilized "a criminal conviction policy that disproportionately screened out African-Americans." A recent bulletin offering guidance from the EEOC on the Civil Rights Act can be found here, but the EEOC's stance on the issue has been the same for years: "Since issuing its first written policy guidance in the 1980s regarding the use of arrest and conviction records in employment decisions, the EEOC has advised employers that under certain circumstances, their use of that information to deny employment opportunities could be at odds with Title VII."