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Mercedes 'could' do BMW i rival. But it won't

It's a safe bet that if one automaker does something, its big rival won't be far behind with a response. This is true no matter the country in question. So with BMW's i sub brand enjoying a firm, green standing, it seems like only a matter of time before Mercedes-Benz answers. Or not. Speaking to Autocar, the company's head of sales and marketing, Ola Kallenius, said Mercedes could absolutely conjure up an ultra-efficient sub-brand filled with unique, eco-friendly models to compete with the i3 and i8. Or, you know, it could just apply a fuel-sipping philosophy across the company's range and crush i with a far wider array of models and powertrains. "We could choose for the purpose-made electric vehicles to create some sort of sub-brand but, right now, Mercedes is focused on investing tremendous resources into the path towards zero emissions," Kallenius told Autocar. "It's something that will affect the whole portfolio." And that's not all. "What we're going to do in terms of the road to zero emissions is invest heavily in alternative drivelines and electrification," Kallenius said. "That's a very wide strategy, but it means that by the end of next year we will have 10 plug-in hybrid models, which, I think, is the widest portfolio of any luxury manufacturer." Zing. Kallenius went on to say that on top of the PHVs, MB will sell three all-electric models – two Smart-badged vehicles and the not-for-US B-Class – while its next fuel-cell model, a GLC-based CUV, will hit dealers at the end of 2017. Related Video:

Coming Toyota Supra to forgo hybrid, get a BMW six-cylinder turbo?

For years, almost all of the talk about the Toyota FT-1 concept becoming a resurrected Supra envisioned a hybrid under the hood. And then the latest take on Future Toyota 1 showed up at the 2014 Detroit Auto Show and - although Toyota wouldn't say a word about any engine at all - horizons began to expand. Imaginary fancies were aided by the news that Toyota had partnered with BMW to develop a sports car on the next-generation BMW Z4 platform, which would necessarily mean an engine bay designed to accept an old-fashioned hunk of gas-burning iron-working solo. Car and Driver now turns the whole thing around, reporting that there will be an inline-six with forced induction provided by BMW under the hood. What about that hybrid, though? The report states, "there's currently no indication that the Silk Road cars will offer hybrid options" - 'Silk Road' being the codename for the jointly-developed vehicles. CD makes a point to note that said tidbit came from Germany, not Japan. However, designers at Toyota's Calty studio did tell Automotive News last year that they designed the body with an inline-six in mind, a nod to the Supra's history. Hybrid rumors aren't dead yet, though - remember, we were hearing about all-wheel drive and supercapacitors in May 2014. The coupe is predicted to be a 2018 model, making its appearance sometime in 2017, and be "about 10 percent" smaller than the FT-1 concept. Related Video:

2016 BMW X1 First Drive [w/video]

Perhaps more than any other model, the X1 exemplifies the shift going on at BMW. That the X1 is the first front-drive-based car to wear the BMW badge in the US is both remarkable and doesn't matter at all. Some background: The first X1, sold here for the latter half of its six-year run, was an Old BMW. Based on E90 3 Series underpinnings, it was basically a tall, last-gen 3 wagon, a car on short stilts. We loved it. It drove almost exactly like a good 3 Series at a time when that 3 Series was no longer available. It sold in okay numbers. It's gone now. This new X1, the 2016 model, is a sort of about face, or at least a right-hand turn in the engine compartment. This is New BMW. The base engine is again a 2.0-liter four-cylinder, a new design based on the company's modular engine architecture that can spit out threes, fours, and sixes using the same component set. It's mounted transversely, not longitudinally like in the rest of BMW's US offerings. It loses some horsepower to the last X1's 2.0 (228 hp versus 240) and a bit of torque (258 lb-ft down from 260). Again, few will notice. The optional 3.0-liter turbocharged six from the last generation is gone. Not many customers chose it, and the six likely wouldn't fit under the hood of this rearranged X1. EPA fuel-economy numbers match those from the 2015 xDrive28i exactly – 22 mpg city, 32 highway – so no gains there. So packaging won. There's really no other explanation for the longitudinal-transverse swap, except that maybe it's less expensive to build this way. EPA fuel-economy numbers match those from the 2015 xDrive28i exactly – 22 mpg city, 32 highway – so no gains there. But the packaging advantages are abundant. The interior is somewhat narrow, but it's opened up a bit by the lack of a transmission tunnel that would normally eat space between the front occupants. Instead, the center console is set low, with a tall shift lever rising practically from the floor up to meet your hand. There's storage forward of the shifter and a folding center armrest that opens for small items. The original X1 was sold here with rear-wheel as well as all-wheel drive. For obvious reasons, that won't be the case this time around. BMW also won't sell a front-drive model here (although one is offered in Europe and elsewhere) likely because it would involve the admission that this is not your average BMW, but instead a New BMW, one designed for more people and fewer enthusiasts.