BMW News
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Last week, we were 90 miles north of the Arctic Circle, putting the Volvo C30 electric through its paces. But we weren’t the only people driving electric cars in the Arctic Circle as our colleagues over at Motor Authority found out earlier today. As our own Viknesh Vijayenthiran reports, Motor Authority has been given an exclusive spy-video of a camouflaged i3 being tested somewhere in Northern Europe. Due some time in 2013 as a 2014 year model, the all-new i3 will offer BMW’s usual level of build quality and luxury combined with a highly-efficient electric drivetrain. On...
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BMW ActiveHybrid 7 Updated For 2013, Better MPG Expected
There are two different approaches to take when developing a hybrid. You can use the technology to make large improvements to the efficiency of a particular vehicle, or you can use it to improve the performance of a vehicle without making huge sacrifices in economy. The 2011 BMW ActiveHybrid 7 can...
Antony Ingram -
Battery Maker A123 To Supply Cells For Tata Hybrid Buses
Lithium-ion cell maker A123 Systems announced today that it would supply complete battery packs to Tata Motors, the largest vehicle maker in India, to be used in hybrid systems for commercial vehicles. The lithium-ion battery packs will first be deployed in city transit buses in the latter half of...
John Voelcker -
BMW Reminds Us i3, i8 Electric Cars Are Coming With New Video
BMW’s 2014 i8 plug-in hybrid sports car might have been spotted wearing standard-issue "carmoflague" while cold-weather testing in Sweden, but now the German automaker wants to remind us how it really looks. The reminder comes courtesy of BMW’s latest teaser video, showing the i8 and...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
BMW To Use Carbon Fiber In Next 7-Series Luxury Car
Not too long ago Mercedes-Benz announced they would be making a carbon-fiber derivative of the next E-Class sedan, and now BMW has also announced it will use the material in its future models. The BMW 7-Series luxury car will use carbon fiber and other light-weight materials, to reduce weight in a...
Antony Ingram -
2012 BMW 3-Series: Saving Gas In A Sports Sedan
"The Ultimate Driving Machine" - It's one of the most well-known taglines of the motoring world, and each successful generation of BMW is designed to improve that driving experience further. However, in times of austerity and rising gas prices, it's not enough to simply concentrate on performance...
Antony Ingram -
When it comes to diesel cars, the choice in the U.S. is a little thin next to the selection of diesels on sale in Europe. After all, where else could you buy an example of the "Ultimate Driving Machine" that can average 60 miles per gallon? Just such a car will be launched at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show, with the BMW 116d EfficientDynamics. Based on the new 1-Series compact, the 116d EfficientDynamics uses a 116 horsepower, twin-turbocharged diesel engine and common rail injection to deliver almost 62 mpg on the European combined cycle. It can accelerate to 62 mph in 10.5 seconds. With CO2...
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Is The 2012 BMW ActiveHybrid 5 Really Green, Or Not?
Just ten years ago, cars like the 2002 Toyota Prius traded performance for unbelievably-high gas mileage, bringing the concept of eco-friendly gasoline electric hybrid cars to the masses. Recently however, automakers like BMW have used full hybrid technology to give high performance luxury cars...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Could BMW Drop Diesel For Hybrid In New 3-Series?: Report
The 2011 BMW 335d is quite a machine. With gasoline-rivalling power and performance and gasoline-shaming economy, it seems to offer the best of both worlds. That's only set to improve in the next generation based on the new 3-Series, but will U.S. buyers be getting the ActiveHybrid 3 instead of a...
Antony Ingram -
BMW Opens Registration For ActiveE Electric Car Leases
Want to boldly go where few have gone before? If so, you might just have what it takes to become an "Electronaut", BMW's term for the select few who'll be piloting the 2012 BMW ActiveE for the next few years. BMW has started the recruitment process to find 700 potential ActiveE drivers. BMW's...
Antony Ingram -
2012 BMW ActiveHybrid 5: Pricing Announced At Detroit
BMW's ActiveHybrid 5 is the long-awaited hybrid version of the 5-Series mid-size sport sedan, and pricing details have finally been announced at the 2012 Detroit Auto Show. Due to go on sale in late Spring 2012, the ActiveHybrid 5 will have an MSRP of $61,845, including the $895 Destination and...
Antony Ingram -
With 4,000 VIP BMWs, How Green Are London's Olympic Games?
Like a karaoke singer following a top rock band, London has its work cut out in hosting the 2012 Olympic games, following China's impressive 2008 games. The city won't have as much trouble beating Beijing's pollution levels though, which is why London is claiming its games will be the "greenest...
Antony Ingram -
We’re less than a week away from the 2012 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, and that means automakers are eagerly dropping hints about what we’ll be seeing next week. For BMW, that means posting six screenshots from its unreleased iOS smartphone application for the 2013 BMW i3 electric car. Posted just hours ago on the BMW i Facebook Page, the screenshots hint that the BMW i3 iPhone application will be far more sophisticated than the current slew of electric car smartphone apps. As well as allowing BMW i3 owners to check on their car’s state of charge...
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BMW Won’t Be Giving Lexus Diesel Engines, BMW Confirms
At the end of November, BMW and Toyota Europe announced they had entered into a green engine partnership in order to work together on diesel engine and battery technology. At the time, we pointed out the European-based collaboration was unlikely to result in any new drivetrain options for U.S...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
BMW And GM On The Brink Of Fuel Cell Partnership?
It's sometimes easy to forget about fuel cell vehicles, with so much emphasis by manufacturers on electric cars and hybrids as a way of weaning ourselves off gasoline. Honda still perseveres however, as does Mercedes-Benz with recent concept cars such as the F125!, shown at September's Frankfurt...
Antony Ingram -
BMW, Toyota Release More Information On Green Engine Partnership
Earlier this week our sister site Motor Authority reported that the European arms of BMW and Toyota had plans to work together on exchanging diesel and hybrid car technology in a mutually beneficial agreement. Now the two firms have outlined the full details of the agreement in a press conference...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Expecting A BMW-Engined Toyota Or BMWs With Toyota Hybrids? You Shouldn’t
Earlier today, our sister site MotorAuthority covered a story detailing a new green-engine partnership between BMW and Toyota for European-built BMW and Toyota cars. But while the partnership will give Toyota full access to BMW’s range of clean diesel engines and give BMW the chance to use...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Are The BMW i3 And i8 Electric Cars A Mission Impossible?
At the 2011 Los Angeles Auto Show, BMW introduced its press conference with a preview of the next installment of the Tom Cruise Mission Impossible movie series. BMW features prominently in this production, with its plug-in hybrid supercar i8 as one of the team’s advanced tools. The movie's...
George Parrott -
Yesterday afternoon, BMW hosted a Special Sneak Peek Preview Event of the BMW i3 and BMW i8 concept electric cars in New York. Both cars will make their official U.S. debut at next week's Los Angeles Auto Show. After an hour-long photo session, we were addressed by Richard Kim, exterior designer for the BMW i range, and Rich Steinberg, manager of electric vehicle operations and strategy. Kim said that when he and his team were originally commissioned with the task of designing these cars, they worked from an office separate from their peers, to help them start with a clean slate. As a result...
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BMW Pairs Electric And Traditional Turbos To Boost Efficiency
To improve fuel efficiency, engines are gradually shedding accessory drives. Electric power steering is now commonplace, and electric air conditioning compressors are used on hybrid cars to keep them cool while the engine's off. Now, BMW has taken a new tack to electrifying ancillary equipment...
John Voelcker -
First Drive: BMW ActiveE Electric Car Prototype
A couple of weeks ago, BMW invited me to come to Munich and take part in the first drive of production versions of the BMW ActiveE, their second battery electric test vehicle. A bit of background: I've been something of a high-profile MINI E pioneers, maintaining an active blog about my...
Tom Moloughney -
2013 BMW ActiveHybrid 3: Is This The Greenest 3-Series Ever?
BMW today announced the sixth generation of its quintessential 3-Series, the compact sport sedan that is its highest volume seller and the face of BMW globally. Along with the return of four-cylinder engines in 3-Series cars for the U.S., this latest and greenest generation adds a new model: the...
John Voelcker -
BMW Purif-i Hand Sanitizer Even Cleaner Than i3 Electric Car
The world of car-branded merchandise has resulted in some unusual items in the past. Ferrari, for instance is well known for its scarlet-clad teddy bears and a hugely expensive carbon fiber measuring stick. On the other hand, Porsche Design, a company affiliated with the sports car maker, makes...
Antony Ingram -
BMW Executives Detail More About 2014 i3 Electric Car
BMW might be working hard to encourage drivers to become electronauts in its Active E electric car trials due to start in the next few months, but the German automaker has already started to drip-feed details of its 2014 i3 electric car to the press. Just last month, BMW unveiled its latest concept...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield