Bmw M3 E36 Sedan Very Rare! on 2040-cars

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2015 BMW M4 Convertible is here to put wind in your sails

Each generation of the BMW M3 has included a convertible model. Even the distant E30, the patriarch of the M3 line, had an ultra-rare (only 787 were built) droptop model. The convertible became more common on the successive generations, with the hardtop-convertible E93 being the most recent. Considering this history, there seemed very little doubt that as the M3 became the M4, a convertible would be in the cards. Now, the new droptop has arrived.
Set for its global debut at the 2014 New York Auto Show, the 2015 BMW M4 Convertible features, like its forbearers, everything that's great about the hardtop variant while adding an unlimited amount of head room. That means the same 3.0-liter, 425-horsepower, 406-pound-foot, twin-turbocharged straight six sits under its domed hood, while either a six-speed stick or a seven-speed M dual-clutch transmission dispatches power to the fat rear tires.
As for specific differences between the hardtop and the new convertible, obviously, the droptop is heavier. A lot heavier. Where an M4 with a six-speed manual tips the scales at 3,530 pounds, the M4 Convertible weighs in at 4,055 pounds. Believe it or not, BMW has actually trimmed 90 pounds from the last-generation M3 convertible, code-named E93. This marginal weight reduction from the third-generation convertible to the fourth is barely half of the 174 pounds BMW was able to subtract when transitioning from M3 Coupe to M4 Coupe.

BMW Hack: the auto industry's big cyber-security warning sign [w/video]

A cyber-security hole that left more than two million BMWs vulnerable may be the most serious breach the auto industry has faced in its emerging fight against car hackers. Security experts are not only concerned that researchers found weaknesses inside the company's Connected Drive remote-services system. They're worried about how the hackers gained entry. German researchers spoofed a cell-phone station and sent fake messages to a SIM card within a BMW's telematics system. Once inside, they locked and unlocked car doors. Other researchers have demonstrated it's possible to hack into a car and control its critical functions, but what separates this latest exploit from others is that it was conducted remotely. In an industry that's just coming to grips with the security threats posed by connectivity in cars, the possibility of a remote breach has been an ominous prospect. The fact it has now occurred may mean a landmark threshold has been crossed. "It's as close as I've seen to a genuine, remote attack on telematics," said Mike Parris, head of the secure car division at SBD, a UK-based automotive technology consulting company. "At this point, the OEMs are trying to play a game of catch up." Previous researchers in the automotive cyber-security field have launched remote attacks that are similar in nature, though not the same. In 2010, academics at California-San Diego and the University of Washington demonstrated they could remotely control essential functions of a car, but they needed to be within close proximity of the vehicle. In November 2014, researchers at Argus Cyber Security remotely hacked cars with an aftermarket device called a Zubie plugged into their diagnostic ports. But the remote attack was predicated on the Zubie dongle having physically been installed in the car. With the BMW hack, researchers compromised the car without needing physical access or proximity. The German Automobile Association, whose researchers conducted the BMW study, said it infiltrated the system "within minutes" and left undetected, a feat that raises the possibility that a hacker could do the same in a real-world scenario. Messages Were Sent Unencrypted Security analysts described the BMW infiltration as a "man in the middle" attack. Researchers mimicked a cellular base station and captured traffic between the car and the BMW Connected Drive service, which drivers can access and control via an app on their cell phones.

Hyundai, BMW and Ford win Concept Vehicle of the Year awards

More than two dozen jurors started with a pool of 23 concept cars introduced at the most recent Los Angeles, Detroit, Chicago, Toronto and New York auto shows, then pared it down to three winners in three categories for the twelfth annual North American Concept Vehicle of the Year Awards. The trophy-bearers are said to be those "vehicles most likely to shape the future of the automobile industry," and lead their classes in the Concept Car, Concept Truck and Production Preview divisions.
Hyundai had two cars as finalists for the Concept Car category, the competition boiled down to the Hyundai HCD-14 Genesis concept, Veloster C3 Roll Top, Honda EV-STER and the Toyota Corolla Furia. It won with the HCD-14 Genesis that was introduced at the Detroit Auto Show, a sharp sedan that sharply divided opinion between those who thought it was too much, those who thought it was too much Audi A7, and those who thought it was perfect. The award panel's judges, however, thought so much of it that it's got two awards in one sitting, not only taking concept car honors, but because it earned the highest overall score in the competition it also takes the crown for Most Significant Concept Vehicle of 2013.
The final selection in the Concept Truck category was down to the Ford Atlas, Kia Cross GT, Nissan Resonance and Volkswagen Cross Blue. The Ford Atlas took the silverware, after also winning the Eyes on Design award - shared with the Nissan Resonance - at the Detroit Auto Show where it was introduced.