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2014 BMW 328d xDrive Sport Wagon

There's a running joke among auto writers that the perfect car would be a diesel-powered, rear-drive wagon with manual transmission and no power accessories whatsoever. It would only be available in brown and would somehow be as fun to drive as a Mazda MX-5 Miata. Makes total sense, right?
Realistically, no manufacturer is ever going to completely fulfill our wishes, no matter how much we beg, plead, kick and scream about our dream car that most of us would actually never buy. The best we can do is hope for a vehicle that mixes some aspects of this ideal journalist's car. And in today's world, that vehicle just might be the BMW 328d xDrive Sport Wagon.
No, it's not available with a manual gearbox, and power can only be sent through an xDrive all-wheel-drive system. It's also not available in brown (although both Mojave Metallic and Sparkling Bronze Metallic are acceptable stand-ins), but it ticks the two main boxes of being a diesel-powered wagon, one of only a couple such models in the United States.

Mini Vision Next 100 concept invokes an alternate universe

Sir Alec Issigonis, designer of the 1959 Mini, would probably find Mini's new Vision Next 100 concept amusing. The original Mini was largely an exercise in efficient packaging and clever engineering. That it was handsome, and became iconic, was more a product of its wild success than an intentional product of its exterior styling. While the Mini concept is undoubtedly cleverly packaged, it's almost purely a styling exercise, no matter what sort of futuristic connected/autonomous functionality Mini says it'll have. Mini doesn't seem able to move past the Mini as a caricature of itself. The heavy, floating roof, the vestigial round and friendly "headlamps", the oversized gauge pod. This seems very German, the inability to communicate essential brand attributes without using cliches. Mini is in a styling rut, trying to evolve the same basic styling language with each new generation, stretching it over larger hard points. The Vision Next 100 program would have been a great time to communicate to the public that Mini is more than just styling tropes: it's an attitude, a way of thinking, a connectedness to the driver. More than a badge or bug-eyed headlights. To its credit, the interior is massively decluttered. That's in part to the rear-engine layout, but more on that in a follow-up piece. The comparatively vast footwell and ultra-minimalist dash pair well with the giant windscreen. It feels light, airy, and authentic to the ideals of the originally Mini in terms of space efficiency, without being overly sentimental. Futurism is a thankless profession, and we can't take this concept literally as a vision of what the brand will be in 100 years. We can say this: it doesn't seem that Mini will be able to transcend the styling tropes that currently define Mini. Let's hope they find a way out of their rut. Related Video: Featured Gallery Mini Vision Next 100 Concept View 38 Photos Design/Style BMW MINI Coupe Hatchback Concept Cars Future Vehicles vision next 100

BMW readying competition pack for M5, M6

According to Car and Driver, citing a report in BMW Blog, BMW will be offering performance upgrades - likely called the Competition package - for its M5 and M6 models (including the convertible and Gran Coupe versions of the M6). Both cars will continue to be offered with the normal 560-horsepower, 4.4-liter twin-turbocharged V8 engines, but this new performance pack is expected to add an additional 15 hp to the mix.
No need to worry, however - the upgrades won't simply be limited to a small boost in power. These M5 and M6 models will reportedly get new wheels, black exhaust tips, a more direct steering ratio and reworked suspension geometry which will provide better overall handling. Top speed is said to remain governed at 190 miles per hour, but that these extra improvements will shave one-tenth of a second off the cars' 0-60 times.
No pricing information has been revealed as of this writing, though we imagine it'll likely come at a substantial cost over the current starting prices of the M5 and M6 ($90,200 and $108,350, respectively).