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BMW bringing X3 diesel, X5 PHEV concept to New York

We've seen the i3 and i8 plug-in vehicles at plenty of BMW auto show stands these past few years. At the upcoming New York International Auto Show, the automaker will spread out a bit by showing off both new diesel and plug-in hybrid SUVs. Bimmer will showcase its diesel-powered X3 vehicle, which starts sales this spring as a 2015 model, and a concept plug-in hybrid X5 SUV. There are lots of figures to digest for what will be called the X3 xDrive28d. The vehicle will be powered by a 2.0-liter four-cylinder twin-turbodiesel engine that will deliver 180 horsepower and 280 pound-feet of torque. Propelled in part by an eight-speed automatic transmission, the SUV will be able to go from 0 to 60 miles per hour in about eight seconds. It will be priced with an MSRP of $42,825, which is represents a $3,500 premium over the base X3. BMW hasn't made fuel efficiency figures available, but they should be a nice improvement over the base X3's 24 mile per gallon fuel-efficiency rating in the US. Bimmer is also supposed to bring the X5 eDrive concept plug-in hybrid stateside. We saw it in Frankfurt last fall and then in some on-the-road spy shots more recently. The SUV pairs a 245-horsepower four-cylinder gasoline engine with a 95-horsepower electric motor, and will be able to go as fast as 75 mph and as far as 20 miles on electric power alone. BMW says fuel efficiency will be about 62 miles per gallon, per the more lenient European Union test cycle. That's more than double the current diesel powered X5's 26 combined mpg rating handed out by the EPA. And the model's 0-60 time is less than seven seconds. If you'd like to know more, you can take the better part of the day and check out Bimmer's mighty long press release below. BMW X4 Sports Activity Coupe and M4 Convertible Make World Debut at 2014 New York International Auto Show New BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe and BMW ALPINA B6 xDrive Gran Coupe to make North American debuts Updated BMW X3 Sports Activity Vehicle also makes North American debut including first BMW Advanced Diesel X3 model for the US BMW Concept X5 eDrive showcases new dimension of BMW EfficientDynamics technology Woodcliff Lake, NJ – April 3 , 2014 6:00pm EDT/3:00pm PDT. . . The all-new BMW X4 Sports Activity Coupe as well as the BMW M4 Convertible make their world debuts at the 2014 New York International Auto Show. North American debuts include the all-new BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe as well as the BMW ALPINA B6 xDrive Gran Coupe.

April Fools' Day brings Jeep Sedan, Hyundai N Roadster, Toyota Yaris pickup and more

There is one day out of the year when public relations professionals have permission to lie to journalists and to the public: April Fools' Day. Manufacturers release details about wild, weird and wacky new technology, concept vehicles and services. Some take it to obvious outlandish extremes (Jeep Sedan anybody?), while others plot to mislead with products that are just outside the realm of possibility. Check out all the "jokes" below. BMW Motorrad BMW doesn't want to exclude anybody from experiencing the thrill of high-level racing, so it is introducing 'iRace" autonomous programming on its S 1000 RR sport bike. It includes beginner, sportsman, advanced and unlimited driving modes, and stores GPS information for all Superbike world championship tracks. Hyundai Hyundai is wrong for this. The Hyundai N Roadster is the work of South Korean designer Yeonjoon Park and features a 2.0-liter turbocharged engine, rear-wheel drive and a hard convertible top. Hyundai says this is a "concept (for now)," but we think it'd make a seriously great Mazda Miata competitor. Honda Honda wins the award for the best interactive gimmick, as its press release for the '90s-inspired special-edition Pastport includes a live hotline number with a message from Fred Savage. Call 1-833-PASTPORT for more information. Jeep Put the Jeep Cherokee face on the Chrysler 300's body, and voila! The 2019 Jeep Sedan is born. We can't decide if the name or the rendering is better. Land Rover Accessibility to charging ports is of major concern to anybody with a plug-in vehicle. So, with the recent launch of the Range Rover P400e and Range Rover Sport P400e, Land Rover is putting forth an effort to install more stations around the globe. First up is Scotland's Isle of Skye. Adventurers need juice too! Lexus Australia Lexus expands its Encore service to include doggos. The new service, called Enpaw, will take pups to luxury boarding kennels in style. Toyota U.S. Toyota created the Yaris Adventure pickup for "those who want to tell their friends they own a truck but never veer off pavement." It's part Mazda 2, part RAV4, 100 percent ute and it looks ... great? Creating a new segment might be all fun and games to Toyota, but Ford is reportedly considering a Focus-based ute in a similar, albeit larger, style. Toyota Australia Toyota is launching a new HiAce van, and it's already getting a limited-edition variant called the PieAce.

6 luxury car brands to watch in 2024

2023 was a healthy year for the auto industry, and even with incentives returning and dealer lots filling up, there's plenty to like about the market if you build luxury automobiles, and we expect 2024 to be more of the same, which makes luxury-segment rivalries all the more interesting. Top luxury car brand rivalries? Well, that sounds downright uncivilized. But we know better, don't we? And when every quarterly sales update is an opportunity to remind somebody else that they bought the wrong status symbol, well, who can resist? Certainly not the diehard customers who fly their favorite brands' banners high.  Read more: Auto sales: Industry records best year since 2019 Read more: 2023 auto sales and 2024 preview: Ford Bronco vs. Jeep Wrangler This is a tricky segment to define, but essentially, we're looking at luxury car brands with depth to their portfolios and dealerships that exist to attract real-world customers. The Bentleys, Rolls-Royces and McLarens of the world are luxury cars, certainly, but we're more concerned with brands that have a bit more mass appeal — manufacturers who treat supply constraints as fiascos rather than features. If you disagree with our selections, feel free to let us know in the comments.  And since we're mostly concerned with finishing order, the luxury brands and totals featured here may change as new data come in throughout 2024. Due to the wild swings of the past several years, we're treating 2023 as the baseline by which we'll measure sales performance. And rather than rank brands vs. their finishing order in 2022, when supply-chain and inflationary issues still played havoc with sales figures, we're starting 2024 off with a clean slate.  The mainstream luxury segment is always a dogfight, but with their varied approaches to electrification all of the major luxury brands are in the midst of reshaping the premium landscape. Who is doing it right? Well, according to U.S. shoppers, the usual suspects are up to their old tricks.