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2014 BMW 4 Series drops its top, priced from $48,750*

BMW will debut its new 2014 4 Series Convertible at the Los Angeles Auto Show in November, and after seeing plenty of spy shots and, most recently, some leaked images, we now have all the official details. To no one's surprise, the 4 Series convertible is, essentially, a topless version of BMW's new-for-2014 4 Series coupe, and will be offered in the United States in the same 428i and 435i guises.
On the base end, that means the 428i Convertible arrives with the company's 2.0-liter turbocharged inline four-cylinder engine, good for 240 horsepower and 255 pound-feet of torque, and available with either rear- or all-wheel drive. BMW says the 428i will sprint to 60 miles per hour in a respectable 6.2 seconds. For folks in need of more thrust, BMW will happily sell you a 435i Convertible, available only with rear-wheel drive, powered by a 3.0-liter, twin-turbocharged inline-six that produces 300 hp and 300 lb-ft of twist. Hitting 60 mph in the 435i will take roughly five and a half seconds with the standard eight-speed auto. Curiously, BMW did not mention anything about a six-speed manual transmission for either model, so looks like this droptop might be an auto-only affair. We've contacted BMW for confirmation, so we'll keep you posted.
Like the 3 Series Convertible it replaces, the 4 Series uses a three-piece folding hardtop configuration, and BMW says that added sound deadening reduces audible wind noise by about two decibels. Folding the automatic roof takes just 20 seconds, and can be done at speeds up to roughly 11 mph. For chilly, top-down driving (something we're big fans of), there are now three-temperature neck warmers for the front seats - just like what Mercedes-Benz offers with its AirScarf system.

AC Schnitzer packs 400-hp, tri-turbo diesel into 1 Series

At first blush, this might look like your run-of-the-mill BMW 1 Series, maybe with a few modifications. What you're actually looking at is a monster hot hatch with 400 horsepower and 590 lb-ft of torque. From a diesel. For this year's Essen Motor Show – Germany's equivalent to SEMA – the Bimmer specialists at AC Schnitzer prepared the ACS1 5.0d concept you see here. Its selling point (if only it were for sale) is the combination of BMW's most powerful diesel engine and its smallest model. It utilizes the 3.0-liter triple-turbocharged inline-six diesel engine from the M50d versions of the 5 Series, X5, and X6 sold in Europe. That engine is normally rated at 376 hp and 545 lb-ft, which is already a ton of muscle. But Schnitzer has bumped up the output on both counts, and slotted it into a 1 Series hatchback. The result is a 0-62 time of just 4.5 seconds, leaving the M135i and M235i in a cloud of diesel soot. Of course, Schnitzer has plenty more to showcase at Essen this year, including modifications for the 3 Series, X6 M, and Mini JCW. And you can bet all the other major European tuners will be on hand at the expo to show their wares, too. But as far as outlandish creations go, this monster diesel hot hatch is what's caught our attention. Compact and incredibly powerful The 1-series by AC Schnitzer with impressive motorsport quality At first sight, you do not expect brute force from the BMW 1-series. So the performance of the compact Bavarian after the AC Schnitzer tuning experts have equipped it with the M50d power plant and impressive performance upgrade, is even more incredible. Originally designed for the 5-series, the "Diesel M-Technik" pack propels the 1-series a long way forward. The smallest BMW series now has an impressive drive concept from AC Schnitzer. After the performance upgrade, the concept engine of the ACS1 5.0d delivers 294 kW/400 hp and 800 Nm torque for generous thrust. Equipped in this way, it takes just 4.5 seconds to sprint from 0-100 km/h. The acceleration from 80-180 km/h is even more impressive: the ACS1 5.0d takes just 7.9 second for this. The smallest of the compacts, the 114i, is already impressive thanks to a power increase by 52 hp to 154 hp. The four-cylinder petrol engine of the 116i, thanks to motorsport technology, now delivers 204 hp instead of 136 hp. The same figure is also achieved by the 118i, which previously had 170 horses under the bonnet.

Macron hosts BMW and Volvo execs as they consider moving operations to the U.S.

PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday will host a dinner with a number of European chief executives to convince them not to move production to the United States, where lower energy prices and the Inflation Reduction Act is proving a lure. European leaders have been alarmed by massive anti-inflation measures passed by Joe Biden's administration, which make tax breaks conditional on U.S-manufactured content and which EU industries say make investment in Europe less competitive. "We're having difficulties with companies which are starting to consider offshoring their production or making future investment outside Europe," a French official said, listing high energy costs and the U.S. legislation as reasons. At the Elysee palace, Macron will seek to convince executives from companies including chemical groups Solvay and Air Liquide, carmakers Volvo and BMW, pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca and telecom groups Ericsson and Orange to stay in Europe and choose France for their future investments. Macron, who has called on the European Union to launch its own 'European Buy Act' to subsidise European production, has encountered resistance from the more anti-protectionist members of the bloc. It was unclear what Macron would tell the executives to convince them not to move to the U.S. But France has unveiled a number of measures over the weekend to cushion the impact of high energy bills for French companies. European companies have been increasingly strident about the impact of soaring energy prices since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which has pushed up gas and electricity prices. Eric Trappier, CEO of Dassault Aviation, who heads the French federation of metals industries, warned in the Les Echos newspaper over the weekend that Europe should protect its own industry more aggressively or see it move to other shores. Related video: Government/Legal Green Plants/Manufacturing BMW Volvo