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The List: Best of proving grounds

Proving grounds are where automakers and enthusiasts alike go to push their vehicles to their mechanical limits. The Rubicon Trail, located in the Sierra Nevada, is the ultimate off-road test, while Germany's Nurburgring is a grueling 13 mile road and track course. Jessi and Patrick visit both iconic proving grounds in this "best of" compilation of The List. If you like what you see, stay tuned to watch the full episodes, or click here to go directly to our episode archive and pick out some of your own favorite moments of The List to revisit. The List #0004: Conquer the Rubicon Trail The List #0073: Drive the Nurburgring Have an RSS feed? Click here to add The List. Click here to subscribe to The List in iTunes. Click here to learn more about our hosts, Jessi and Patrick. BMW Jeep Off-Road Vehicles Racing Vehicles The List Videos Original Video

BMW's new i DC Fast Charger will give free juice to i3 drivers

From solar chargeports to the first SAE Combo Fast Charger, BMW is offering or promoting more charging options for the i3 than most people will know what to do with. This is not a bad thing. At the Plug-In 2014 conference happening in San Jose, CA this week, BMW announced a new i DC Fast Charging unit as well as the ChargeNow DC Fast program, which is similar in some ways to Nissan's No Charge To Charge. Let's start with the chargers. Smaller and much cheaper than other DC fast chargers, an i DC Fast Charger costs just $6,548 plus installation. Remember, it was a big deal in 2011 when Nissan's DC fast charger was less than $10,000. The i DC Fast Chargers use the SAE Combo connector, so will also work in EVs from Ford, VW and Chevy and other automakers, when available. They take 30 minutes to charge an empty i3 to 80 percent full. All a driver will need in order to use the charger is a ChargePoint (or ChargeNow) card. Most of the first units will likely end up at BMW i dealers across the US. In a separate announcement, the ChargeNow DC Fast program will allow BMW i3 drivers to get free charging until the end of 2015 at participating NRG eVgo Freedom Stations. The catch is that they need to use the ChargeNow card at least once by the end of 2014. eVgo is promising to install at least 100 compatible DC fast chargers in California by the end of next year, so this should be relatively easy in at least one of the 50 states. We will have more from San Jose soon. BMW Unveils BMW i DC Fast Chargers and ChargeNow DC Fast program at Plug-In 2014. BMW i DC Fast Chargers, developed in collaboration with Bosch Automotive Service Solutions, are half the size of current DC Combo fast chargers, compatible with multiple electric vehicles and significantly more affordable. BMW i DC Fast Chargers run on the ChargePoint network giving BMW i3 drivers access with a ChargePoint or ChargeNow card. ChargeNow DC Fast enables BMW i3 drivers to charge at no cost, at participating NRG eVgo Freedom Stations equipped with DC Combo Fast Charging, through 2015. San Jose, CA/Woodcliff Lake, NJ – July 28, 2014... At Plug-In 2014, a conference dedicated to discussing key issues for the long-term success of electric vehicles, BMW of North America launched its BMW i DC Fast Chargers which can charge the BMW i3 all-electric vehicle's battery up to 80 percent in 30 minutes.

2015 BMW X4 is a budget X6

We won't argue that crossovers are hugely successful vehicles, with automakers working to provide functional CUVs in a wide range of sizes. But over at BMW, things are just getting out of hand, as evidenced by this new X4 "Sports Activity Coupe" that debuts here at the 2014 New York Auto Show.
BMW is seeing fit to offer vehicles in even the most niche of niches, and the X4 is no exception. Want proof? Have a look at the X4, and the compare it to the X3, the 3 Series Gran Turismo, the 3 Series Sport Wagon, and the 4 Series Gran Coupe. Aside from marginal differences in things like ground clearance and the exact slope of the hatchback, what, exactly, is the difference?
Like the other models we just mentioned, the X4 is powered by either a 2.0-liter turbo-four with 240 horsepower or a more powerful, 3.0-liter turbo-six with 300 horsepower, and unsurprisingly, power is sent to the ground exclusively via the company's xDrive all-wheel-drive system. An eight-speed automatic transmission is the sole gearbox available with either engine. All sounds very familiar, right?