**2009 Bmw M3 Coupe**one Owner**no Accidents**6-speed Trans**only 28k Miles** on 2040-cars

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Cars we're thankful we drove in 2019

We drove a lot of cars in 2019, and there's still a month to go. We drove them in our home office in Michigan, at our remote offices in Seattle, Portland, Ore., and Columbus, Ohio, and throughout the globe on myriad press launches. We could count them, but hey, that seems boastful.  Instead, we want to be thankful. Not only for the opportunity to do this wonderful task some might describe as a "job," but for the new, shiny cars that brighten our days (and most hopefully yours). We asked our fellow editors which car they were most thankful to drive in 2019 ... here are our answers. 2019 Hyundai Veloster N Performance Senior Editor Alex Kierstein Every once in a while a car comes along that changes the narrative on a company or its segment, and everyone scrambles to experience it for themselves. This year, for me, that car’s the Veloster N Performance, perhaps the most transformative car the companyÂ’s ever built. Everyone whoÂ’s driven it, here and elsewhere, says it captures all those intangibles that make great driving hatchbacks great. And IÂ’m thankful that I got a go in it before all of them left the fleet, because it does. It upends the segment long dominated by the GTI, a car that nails its brief. The N is rowdy and loud, sure, but it also has some of the most deftly tuned suspension IÂ’ve come across in a front driver. My advice: if youÂ’re in the market for something fun and unique, go test drive a Veloster N. I think youÂ’ll be thankful you did. 2019 Hyundai Veloster N View 47 Photos 2019 Audi E-Tron Senior Editor, Green, John Beltz Snyder IÂ’m pleased that I got to drive the Audi E-Tron. ThatÂ’s high praise for a year in which I also drove the stellar Jaguar I-Pace. The E-Tron, while not as sporty as the Jaguar, is excellently executed, and feels like a more refined, polished offering. ItÂ’s quick, whisper-quiet, comfortable, stylish inside and out, and incredibly sturdy. Some may lament that it doesnÂ’t do much to stand out from ICE vehicles, but I donÂ’t think it needs to. What it does need to do is win over the electro-skeptical, and I think Audi put its best foot forward with a crossover that can do just that, and more. So, yeah, not only am I thankful that I got to drive it, IÂ’m glad that itÂ’s compelling enough that itÂ’ll hopefully make potential customers feel the same. 2020 Audi E-Tron View 13 Photos 2013 Peugeot 508 West Coast Editor James Riswick My choice totally sucks.

Recharge Wrap-up: BMW integrates EV charging into streetlights, EV Fleet debuts electric pickup

BMW has unveiled prototypes of LED streetlights that also serve as EV charging stations. "Light and Charge is a simple and innovative solution to naturally integrate a reliable network of charging stations in the city," says BMW's Peter Schwarzenbauer. Connected to the ChargeNow network, they're simple to use, and would be readily available when tied to the lighting infrastructure. The two prototypes are currently in use at BMW World, with a pilot project planned for Munich in 2015. Read more at Green Car Congress, or in the (translated) press release below. The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) is accusing retailers of price gouging E85 to discourage its use. An RFA study found that retailers in St. Louis were marking up E85 as much as a dollar, roughly twice as much as the markup on regular gasoline. "Sneaky E85 pricing strategies ultimately give oil refiners the opportunity to wrongly claim that consumers are 'rejecting' E85," Says RFA president and CEO Bob Dinneen, "and it gives them an opportunity to claim they can't comply with Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) requirements above the so-called 'blend wall.'" Read more at Biofuels Digest. Charlotte-based EV Fleet has announced the Condor electric pickup (pictured). The vehicle-to-grid-ready Condor has a 1,000-pound payload capacity, and can travel over 100 miles on a single charge. The company plans to build 300 trucks a month when it revs up production next year, with sales targeted toward fleet managers. See the EV Fleet Condor in the video below, read more at Treehugger, or visit EV Fleet's website to learn more. Here's a bold claim. Mutual fund manager Ron Baron says that every home will have a Tesla vehicle in 25 years. The financial guru, well regarded for his predictive stock strategies, is confident about the long-term outlook for the electric carmaker. He feels that Tesla is far ahead of the electric car game compared to other automakers like BMW, whom he believes will end up switching focus from internal combustion to electric powertrains. Read more at ValueWalk. BMW Group presents innovative street lighting with integrated charging station for electric vehicles. Munich. As part of the Eurocities conference in Munich, discuss in from 5 to 8 November 2014 more than 500 representatives of major European cities on pioneering infrastructure projects, the BMW Group presents the prototype of a highly energy efficient street lighting that is both charging station for electric vehicles.

China’s Great Wall looking to partner with BMW to sell cars in the West

The Chinese automaker Great Wall seems to have moved on from courting Fiat Chrysler. According to Reuters, the company announced in a stock exchange filing that it's looking to collaborate with BMW's Mini brand in some way. Reuters also reports that BMW is open to discussion. We reached out to a BMW representative, and he provided us with an official statement regarding the news. The company didn't specifically say it is talking with Great Wall. What it did say is that it has had success with its current partnership with another Chinese automaker Brilliance, but also that the company is interested in expanding the Mini brand worldwide and in China. The statement says that Mini's future strategy and expansion will include "diversification of partnerships and new cooperation models." It also said that expanding in China "is only possible with a local partner." That sounds to us like BMW is pretty interested in working with Great Wall. This move comes about a month and a half after Great Wall attempted to purchase parts of Fiat Chrysler. The company was reported to be talking to FCA to purchase the Jeep brand, and it later confirmed that it was interested in that brand, a few, or the whole company. But things seemed to fall apart when Fiat Chrysler's CEO Sergio Marchionne announced it hadn't received any offers and wasn't working on any kind of deal with another company. Now it may seem a little odd that Great Wall would shift from trying to buy an SUV brand, or a company that is beginning to concentrate on crossovers and trucks, to one that specializes in compact cars. After all, they're fairly different segments. Our theory is that Great Wall isn't necessarily interested in the specific products, but more that it's looking for a gateway to Western car markets. It's not something new for the company. As far back as 2013, the company made it clear it was looking to start selling cars in America. It also started looking into a manufacturing facility in Mexico earlier this year, which would supposedly supply vehicles to both Mexico and the U.S. Now when Great Wall announced its American sales intentions, it was targeting a date of 2015. That obviously didn't happen, and it probably has something to do with the company's products. Most of the cars under the Great Wall and Haval brands bear an uncanny appearance to discontinued models from other companies that compete in the West.