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2014 BMW 2 Series configurator drifts online

Monday marked the official, live unveiling of the 2014 BMW 2 Series. Not a company to rest on its laurels, BMW has unveiled the online configurator for the replacement to the much-loved 1 Series. Potential customers can select from either the 228i or go all-out and get the M235i. We shouldn't have to explain which car we've been building all day.
As a recap, a base 228i starts at $32,100 not counting a $925 destination charge. It includes 240 horsepower, 258 pound-feet of torque and, when optioned with the six-speed manual rather than the eight-speed automatic, a perfect 50/50 weight distribution (the 8AT balances at 50.3 in front and 49.7 in back). The M235i, meanwhile, starts at $43,100 (although you can't actually buy one for that, because the configurator forces you into a $1,450 Dakota leather interior). It offers up significantly more grunt, with 320 hp and 320 lb-ft from its 3.0-liter, turbocharged straight six.
Click over to the configurator and play around.

2014 BMW 328d rated at 32/45 mpg

BMW still hasn't released official fuel economy numbers for its diesel-powered 2014 328d, but now, those mileage ratings have been posted on the EPA's FuelEconomy.gov website. As expected, the 328d is quite an efficient little machine, with the rear-wheel-drive sedan good for 32 miles per gallon in the city and 45 mpg highway. That even bests the 30/42 mpg of the smaller Volkswagen Jetta TDI.
The last time BMW offered a diesel 3 Series in our market, it was the six-cylinder 335d, which - while mighty quick and excellent to drive - was only offered as a rear-wheel-drive sedan and was rated at 23 mpg city and 36 mpg highway. For 2014, BMW will offer the 328d with optional xDrive all-wheel drive, though that reduces the fuel economy numbers to 31/43 mpg. Beyond that, the BMW will even sell you a 328d xDrive wagon, which nets the same 31/43 mpg rating, according to FuelEconomy.gov.
Look for the 2014 BMW 328d to hit dealerships this fall, and when it launches, it will be the only diesel offering in its class (until the next Mercedes-Benz C-Class arrives, anyway). Lexus and Infiniti will offer hybrid versions of the IS and Q50, respectively, but we've always had a taste for torque, and the 328d's 2.0-liter engine with 180 horsepower and 280 pound-feet of twist shouldn't disappoint.

Mini Vision Next 100 Concept: It's the autonomy, stupid

The concepts that Mini and Rolls-Royce showed off today – the Vision Next 100 Concept and 103EX, respectively – are all about autonomy. The Rolls-Royce doesn't even have a place for a "driver." And even though both are very much blue sky concepts, corporate parent BMW thinks it will make fully-autonomous cars within the next five years. That's according to Peter Schwarzenbauer, Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, MINI, BMW Motorrad, Rolls-Royce, and Aftersales BMW Group, who also told us that both cars, at least in concept, are fully electric. The Rolls-Royce has dual-drive, 250kw motors mounted fore-and aft, on front and rear axles. While the Rolls is clearly a luxury concept for the monied few, the Mini is very much focused on a shared economy. Holger Hampf, Head of User Experience, BMW Group, said the chief design challenge of a car-sharing world is producing a car that could in theory mean different things to different borrowers. You get exclusivity because each car would morph according to the borrower's desires. BMW/Mini already have a car-sharing program in London called DriveNow, and a pilot program in Seattle called ReachNow, focused on the idea of shared exclusivity. ReachNow, which allows Mini/BMW owners to lend their cars out in an AirBnB-type scheme or to borrow "fleet-style cars," are immutable – however the car that was ordered is what the borrower or the owner will get. That's great if you're the owner, but it's also challenging for both anyone who'd buy that car used or for anyone borrowing the car. And if the future of most cars is a shared model (Ford is now offering multi-person leases among up to six buyers in a pilot program in Austin, Texas), customization is impossible. The result is what Schwarzenbauer derogatorily calls "normed." He says carmakers have to relearn to brand for a world where ownership is devalued but customization is key. To that end the MINI VISION NEXT 100 is "skinned." We've seen this before with the BMW NEXT concept that was revealed at the NY Auto Show this past spring, and the idea is to use the exterior of the car as a canvass that changes according to setting. Indeed Mini envisions that in a multi-driver household, the vehicle's customization could easily include changing colors according to driver preference – automatically. Dr.