bmw-megacity
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The upcoming BMW i3, the car formerly known as the Megacity Vehicle and the first production all-electric car from BMW, is set to revolutionize the way mainstream cars are engineered and built, with most of its internal structure and body being composed of lightweight composite materials such as reinforced carbon-fiber plastic. Sadly, buyers won’t get to hop behind the wheel until at least 2013 and even then the U.S. may not see the car until a later date. However, to keep us enticed, some important new details have spilled onto the web. Though yet to be confirmed by BMW, the guys at...
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BMW Confirms 'i' Electric Sub-Brand, Lineup: MegaCity Now i3
Auto marketers and PR people have a love-hate relationship with the Internet. It lets them connect directly with users and fans, but it also transmits facts, leaks, and rumors at lightning speed. That meant that this morning's BMW press conference, telecast live from BMW Welt in a snowy Munich...
John Voelcker -
BMW Releases More Details, Photos Of ActiveE Electric Car
The BMW ActiveE, first unveiled at the 2010 Detroit Auto Show, is BMW's second attempt at an all-electric vehicle. It follows the not-very-pleasant Mini E, of which 600 examples were tested in the U.S. and Europe during 2009 and 2010. Ahead of the upcoming Geneva Motor Show, BMW has now released...
John Voelcker -
BMW May Only Lease Its Advanced MegaCity 'i' Electric Car
Of all the electric vehicles planned by major automakers, few are more eagerly awaited than the BMW MegaCity 'i' all-electric urban car, expected to go into production late in 2013 or early in 2014. It's a BMW, which means it will be sporty and handle well. It's likely to be the smallest BMW since...
John Voelcker -
VW Vexed By 'Anarchic' Audi A1 E-Tron Electric? Nein, Says Audi
We've loved the concept of the Audi A1 e-Tron concept since its launch at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show last March. It's a range-extended electric vehicle (like the 2011 Chevy Volt) that uses a tiny Wankel rotary engine to run a generator that produces electricity to power the car once its lithium-ion...
John Voelcker -
BMW Green Vehicles, Including Megacity Electric, Named 'i'
The BMW "MegaCity" carbon-fiber all-electric car, scheduled for launch in 2013, may be the most radical BMW in decades. BMW had confirmed that this first production electric car to wear the BMW badge would be the first of a sub-brand within the make, much as its "M" series of performance editions...
John Voelcker -
Let us run a few engines past you. A warbling flat six. A growling V8. The howl of an inline four changing cam profiles. The smooth buzz of a rotary. How about some names now? Hemi. Vortec. Powerstroke. VTEC. Renesis. Ecoboost. Noticing a pattern? The first list is clearly engine layouts, and the second are trademarked brand names for particular motors. The similarity amongst them all is that you could probably link every single layout and name with a particular car company, or sometimes even with a particular model. Rotaries for example have been synonymous with Mazda for many years now, and...
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BMW Green: Plug-In Hybrid Sports Coupe, MegaCity Plant OKed
BMW is moving full steam ahead with its plans to offer new, radically more fuel efficient vehicles in the next decade. Today, the company said it would put its striking Vision EfficientDynamics concept car into production, to be offered for sale starting in October 2013. And, it signed off on an...
John Voelcker -
Five Electric Cars We Can't Wait To Drive
In recent months we've been lucky enough to get our hands on several different and important electric cars, be they range-extended EVs such as the 2011 Chevrolet Volt, electric family cars like the 2011 Nissan Leaf or even the 2011 Smart ForTwo Electric Drive, a compact electric microcar most at...
Antony Ingram -
From The Fastest To The Greenest: BMW F1 Expertise For EVs
"Racing improves the breed". So said the late Soichiro Honda, believing that the lessons learned on the racing cars and motorcycles could be used to improve the marque's road vehicles. The evidence is plain to see. Technologies such as anti-lock brakes, traction control, unibody chassis...
Antony Ingram -
Audi A1 E-Tron Pilot Project To Start In Munich, 2011
With BMW slowly revealing further details of their upcoming Megacity EV and teasing us with the 2009 MINI E, and Mercedes-Benz giving us the A-Class E-Cell, it was only a matter of time before rival Audi hit the roads with their own small EV. Revealed at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show in March, their...
Antony Ingram