1999 Bmw M3 on 2040-cars

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Tesla says Model 3 is best-selling midsize premium sedan in America

Auto sales figures are sort of fuzzy numbers, no matter how you slice them and no matter which manufacturer you're talking about. Unless you're specifically tracking vehicle registrations, automakers generally self-report the figures. So, you have to trust that they aren't doing anything too tricky. Plus, not every sale is equal, as some are logged as dealership loaners or demo models, some go to fleets (like to a rental car agency), and still others are, of course, bought by traditional customers looking for a new daily driver. With that preamble out of the way, when we saw a tweet from Tesla claiming that the all-electric Model 3 is the best-selling midsize premium sedan in America, our interest was piqued. According to Tesla, market share of the Model 3 has just surpassed the Mercedes-Benz C-Class, which had up until now led the Audi A4, BMW 3 Series, and Lexus IS as the best-selling sedan in its class. Note that the graph from Tesla below is, we think, specific to four-door models. So, is it true? Judging by the numbers we can find, including some from Bloomberg, which has a running chart to track Model 3 registrations, the answer is... probably. We don't know exactly how many Model 3 sedans Tesla is currently cranking out, but Bloomberg estimates production at about 2,560 units per week, and total sales for 2018 at 34,414. We know the number is increasing regularly, though, and Elon Musk has said most recently production sits around 500 units per day, which, on a seven-day cycle, would be 3,500 per week. We looked up Mercedes' sales figures for the month of May, 2018, and found that the German brand sold 5,419 C-Class models last month, for a total of 23,917 for the year (incidentally, that's down more than 30 percent from the year prior). While the bulk of those sales would surely be made up of sedans, it would also include a small percentage of coupes. Either way, it's likely that Tesla is currently producing and selling more Model 3s than Mercedes is C-Classes. Now, it's also worth considering if the C-Class is the only vehicle from Mercedes that directly competes with the Model 3. We'd guess customers may also cross-shop the CLA sedan with the Tesla, and if that's the case, you might decide it's worth adding in Mercedes' 2,527 CLA-Class sales last month and 9,622 so far for the year. The same argument could be made for certain versions of the BMW 2 and 4 Series.

BMW i3 gets tuner treatment from Eve.Ryn

The BMW i3, especially when wearing its Capparis White paint job, already looks a bit like some sort of futuristic escape pod launched to Earth from a spaceship. It was only a matter of time until the electric car got touched by the eager hands of a tuner to make it even more eye-popping. It is, after all, a BMW. Japanese tuner Garage Eve.Ryn appears to be the first to give the i3 the inevitable once over. The result is a much more aggressive-looking EV, called the i3 EVO. We say aggressive-looking, because we have no information to suggest that the makeover was anything but cosmetic. The i3 EVO has slightly exaggerated fender flares, which stand out with their strips of carbon fiber along the edge. The redesigned front bumper looks like it could have been fashioned out of Star Wars stormtrooper armor, complete with fake air intakes and, of course, a helping of carbon. The rear end gets a diffuser, too. The large wheels feature blue accents, which help to highlight the Ice Blue bits already on the vehicle. For a closer look, check out the i3 EVO photos in the gallery and there are more like it on Eve.Ryn's Facebook page, in galleries here, here and here, as well as a more recent set of images showing the car emblazoned with Energy Motor Sport (a company that appears closely related to Eve.Ryn, on the distribution end) decals on the sides. There's no telling what the body kit does for the aerodynamics of the car, but it would be interesting to find out what effect Eve.Ryn's handiwork has on the i3's range. Either way, this surely won't be the last time a tuner finds a way to reimagine the BMW i3, so, love it or hate it, you might as well get used to it.

BMW M4 pitted against i8 in drag race

Germany's Auto Bild has set up a very intriguing drag race to settle not just an inter-brand rivalry within BMW but a question of the old school versus the latest tech. The BMW M4 is a leader among the traditional sports coupes with a turbocharged inline-six spinning the rear wheels, but the M has to tackle the cutting-edge i8 with its turbocharged three-cylinder augmented with electric drive. See what happens when they go head to head. Even on paper, the race looks quite close. The i8 weighs about 300 pounds less than the M4 and also slightly nudges it out on net torque at 420 pound-feet versus 406 lb-ft. Also in some shots, the pavement looks just a little bit damp here, which would benefit the i8's all-wheel drive setup. However, the M-car has a healthy horsepower advantage with 425 hp against the hybrid's 357 hp. The race commences after a short introduction. Watch and see whether the traditional tech or latest layout wins the day. Related Gallery 2015 BMW M4 Coupe: First Drive View 38 Photos Related Gallery 2015 BMW i8: First Drive View 62 Photos News Source: Auto Bild TV via YouTubeImage Credit: Related images Copyright 2014 Michael Harley, Drew Phillips / AOL Green BMW Coupe Hybrid Performance Videos drag race race bmw m4