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BMW 2 Series shows us its insides

We've already seen the upcoming BMW 2 Series testing in both coupe and convertible body styles, and now we're getting our first glimpse inside the new entry-level coupe. Judging by the sportier exterior that we've seen in previous spy shots, this car appears to be equipped with an M-Sport package, so this is likely not what the base interior will look like.
Compared to the current 1 Series, this new coupe will have cleaner cabin design including fewer buttons on the center stack and an instrument panel with more of a dual-brow design. This car has cloth seats with what appears to be a suede-like accent trim and blue stitching, and the seat's pattern is mimicked on the door panel. The 2 Series will also have a better integrated iDrive controller that operates the widescreen display mounted atop the instrument panel in a similar fashion as what we've seen recently on the Mercedes-Benz A-Class and CLA-Class.
As mentioned about the exterior, the bigger wheels, blue brake calipers, dual exhaust outlet and subtle decklid spoiler all lead us to believe that this is the M-Sport, but it isn't sporty enough - inside or out - to make us think this is the rumored M2 model.

Germany says nein to EU ban on new fossil-fuel cars from 2035

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's government will not agree to European Union plans to effectively ban the sale of new cars with combustion engines from 2035, Finance Minister Christian Lindner said on Tuesday. In its bid to cut planet-warming emissions by 55% by 2030 from 1990 levels, the European Commission has proposed a 100% reduction in CO2 emissions from new cars by 2035. That means it would be impossible to sell combustion engine cars from then. European Parliament lawmakers backed the proposals this month, before negotiations with EU countries on the final law take place. Speaking at an event hosted by Germany's BDI industry association, Lindner said there would continue to be niches for combustion engines so a ban was wrong and said the government would not agree to this European legislation. Lindner, a member of the pro-business Free Democrats, which shares power with the Social Democrats and Greens, said Germany would still be a leading market for electric vehicles. (Reporting by Christian Kraemer; Writing by Madeline Chambers; Editing by Miranda Murray and Edmund Blair) Green Government/Legal Green Audi BMW Mercedes-Benz Volkswagen Opel SEAT Skoda

Behind the scenes of BMW's 'Drift Mob,' Part 1

Generally speaking, marketing and journalism don't mix, but every now and then, what goes into the marketing of a car - the 2015 BMW M235i, in this case - is worth documenting. In that spirit, we took BMW up on its offer to bring us behind the scenes of its upcoming "drift mob" video, starring five red M235i coupes frolicking around a traffic circle in a major world city (BMW has asked us to be coy about which one so as not to blow its cover before the shoot).
The five drivers can all be considered legends of modern-day drifting and stunt driving: Rhys Millen, Samuel Hübinette, Dai Yoshihara, Rich Rutherford and Conrad Grunewald.
As the only US media outlet in attendance, Autoblog plans to follow up with a full story on the experience once BMW polishes and releases the video in a month or so. In the meantime, check out our photos of this epic practice session we captured on our first day hanging with the crew, and be sure to watch this space for more behind-the-scenes action.