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Permanent erection lawsuit against BMW thrown out

The California man who claimed that he suffered from a 20-month erection after a four-hour ride on his BMW K1100RS motorcycle (similar model pictured above) has had his case dismissed. It seems the court found his claims too hard to believe.
Henry Wolf filed a product liability lawsuit against BMW and seatmaker Corbin-Pacific in the California Superior Court in April 2012 after he claimed a motorcycle ride in September 2010 caused a long-term case of priapism from the "ridge-like" saddle design. He asked for compensation for lost wages, medical expenses and emotional distress from both companies.
Nearly two years later, according to Visor Down, Judge James J. McBride decided that the case didn't have enough supporting evidence. A urologist testified that the plaintiff had priapism, but the court rejected the testimony of a neurologist who claimed the motorcycle's vibration caused the disorder. The defendants presented testimony from the bike's former and subsequent owners. Corbin-Pacific CEO Mike Corbin also spoke in the company's defense.

2016 BMW X5 xDrive40e Review [w/video]

BMW is no stranger to electrification. The company put the world on notice with the launch of its innovative i sub-brand. But the lessons learned from the i3 and i8 aren't limited to these small-volume cars. The more mainstream X5 xDrive40e impresses with lessons learned from i, all without compromising the SUV's character. The combination of a 2.0-liter, turbocharged four-cylinder engine with an electric motor is good for 308 overall horsepower and 302 pound-feet of torque. Sure, 240 hp and 260 lb-ft come from the four-cylinder engine alone, but the electric motor – integrated within the ZF eight-speed automatic transmission's housing – chips in a maximum of 111 hp and 184 lb-ft of torque. The 9.2-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery can sock away enough electricity to drive up to 14 miles on a single charge and will recharge at your average 110-volt socket in about seven hours. Of course, the battery pack and electric motor are a big weight penalty. At 5,220 pounds, the xDrive40e is 430 pounds heavier than the standard xDrive35i. Still, the gas-electric powertrain hustles this husky X5 40e to 60 miles per hour in just 6.5 seconds, less than half a second slower than the 35i. The stopwatch figures are complemented by the best fuel economy of any gas-powered X5, at 56 miles per gallon equivalent and 24 mpg combined. Only the diesel X5 xDrive35d is more efficient, at 27 mpg. But achieving top fuel economy in the 40e isn't as simple as going easy on the throttle. Perhaps more than any vehicle we've tested recently, understanding how all the X5's systems work together is crucial to eking out the most mpgs. The xDrive40e's Drive Dynamics Control will be familiar to anyone that's driven a recent BMW. Eco Pro, Comfort (the default mode), and Sport make the same adjustments to the throttle response, steering weight, and dynamic damper firmness as they do in a standard X5. But in the xDrive40e, they also impact the way energy is recaptured. Comfort/Save offers the best blend of fuel efficiency while achieving maximum energy recapture. Sport mode's aggressive energy recovery is the fastest way to recharge the battery on the go. When it's working, there's a sensation similar to gently stepping on the brakes, though you actually aren't doing anything – this is a familiar experience to the way most EVs use regenerative braking. Comfort mode reduces this effect, and in turn how much energy is recaptured.

BMW strategy gets green with future i8 Roadster, PHEV Mini

Recent concepts like the Vision Next 100 have signaled BMW's plan to become a leader in automotive tech in the near future, but the Bavarian automaker added some concrete details to that strategy during the company's annual press conference. The business promises there are updated i models and more plug-in hybrids on the way, and a vehicle called the iNext could bring an autonomous EV to the road early next decade. Before we see any completely new vehicles, look for BMW to refine its current green models. Later this year, the i3 will get a larger battery capacity, which will increase the hatchback's range. After seemingly endless teasing, the BMW i8 Roadster will finally arrive in 2018, according to a slide during the conference. The company will also launch a plug-in hybrid Mini, but it didn't give a specific arrival date. At the beginning of the next decade, BMW will also introduce a fully autonomous i model. At the beginning of the next decade, BMW will also introduce a fully autonomous i model, which it currently calls the iNext. "BMW iNEXT heralds the next era of mobility," company CEO Harald Kruger said. "This symbol of our technology leadership will demonstrate how we will bring the future of mobility into series production." BMW refers to its research into autonomous driving as Project i 2.0. Just as the initial development of the i models led to better EV tech and innovations in carbon fiber, the new undertaking should result in improvements to networked motoring and driverless tech for the iNext. The company plans to focus on high definition digital maps, sensor technology, cloud technology, and artificial intelligence. The company's product plan for the i range doesn't show any vehicles between the i8 Roadster in 2018 and the iNext early next decade. Perhaps the new model is the fruition of the many rumors about a family-oriented i5. As BMW eyes the future, it still sees the combustion engine as an important tool for the present, and there are still more traditional models to look forward to. Without offering any details, BMW promises more M models are under development. The larger X7 CUV will also arrive soon, and there'll possibly be even more crossovers, too. "We are also taking an in-depth look at the additional potential of this highly attractive segment," Kruger said.