1999 Bmw M3 Base Convertible 2-door 3.2l on 2040-cars

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Ward's reveals annual 10 Best Engines list for 2013

Ward's Auto has released its annual 10 Best Engines award winners. The 2013 list covers the full width and breadth of the internal combustion spectrum, from a spate of efficient four-cylinders to the most powerful production V8 on the planet. As always, the entries must be available in a production vehicle in the first quarter of 2013 with an MSRP of less than $55,000. The supercharged 3.0-liter V6 from the Audi S5 held on for the fourth consecutive year, and BMW earned two spots on the list with its turbo 2.0-liter four-cylinder and turbo 3.0-liter inline-six.
Ford pulled in two awards for its 2.0-liter EcoBoost four-cylinder and and the supercharged 5.8-liter V8 from the Shelby GT500. Honda matched BMW and Ford with two wins of its own. Wards awarded the 2.4-liter four-cylinder from the Honda Accord Sport as well as the 3.5-liter V6 from the Honda Accord. Chrysler, General Motors and Subaru each garnered a spot on the list as well for the 3.6-liter V6 in the Ram 1500, the turbo 2.0-liter four-cylinder in the Cadillac ATS and the 2.0-liter four-cylinder the Subaru BRZ, respectively. You can read the full press release below for more information.

BMW factors big in Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation

Product placement is big business, especially for automakers and especially in blockbuster action film franchises involving spies and assassins. Just ask Aston Martin or Jaguar Land Rover about their involvement in the James Bond movies, or Audi about the role it plays in the Transporter series. But when it comes to Mission: Impossible, it's all about the Bimmers. BMW has been featuring prominently in the popular action franchise, putting its i8 hybrid sports car front and center in the last installment, Ghost Protocol. And it will grab the spotlight once again in the upcoming Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation. Watch this latest trailer just released by Paramount Pictures and you might be able to pick out the M3 driven by Tom Cruise, the X5 by Jeremy Renner and the S 1000 RR motorcycles ridden by a whole crew of bad guys. Wheels aside, it's our best look yet at the upcoming fifth installment in the popular movie franchise, so if you're a fan, you'll want to check it out as the movie's not set to be released until the end of July. High-speed, high-tech, high excitement 24.03.2015 Munich/Los Angeles. BMW confirmed today its role as exclusive worldwide automotive partner of the next installment of Paramount Pictures' legendary action film franchise, "Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation", in theaters from July 31. This is the second time BMW has "accepted the mission" to lend its superior technological support to the film's production crew, enabling it to deliver breathtaking automotive stunt scenes shot around the globe. BMW previously partnered with Paramount on the 2011 successful release of "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol". The film's official trailer, released worldwide yesterday, offers fans a first glimpse of the high-adrenaline action that only Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his Impossible Mission Force (IMF) team can deliver – including spectacular driving scenes where the new BMW M3 is put through its paces. Its renowned high-performance capabilities made the fifth generation M3 sports car the perfect choice to perform precision driving sequences, the likes of which have never been seen before. The M division's philosophy and dynamic design leaves no doubt about the M3's motorsport genes while the BMW Motorrad S 1000 RR, which is also seen in the film trailer released yesterday, represents the ultimate performance on two wheels.

Is BMW the only real competition to Tesla Motors?

Tesla Motors chief Elon Musk probably isn't losing a ton of sleep over the new plug-in efforts by the makers of the "Ultimate Driving Machine," but maybe he should. That's what the Motley Fool is saying, presenting the case that the California company's real competition will come from BMW. What about the plug-in efforts of General Motors or Ford? Musk can hit the snooze, Motley Fool says. Unlike automakers that are "jamming battery packs into the existing vehicle design," BMW has built its i3 battery-electric and i8 plug-in hybrid supercar from the ground up. Like Tesla, BMW puts its battery packs into the floor of its vehicles. Most importantly, the i3 - and especially the i8 - are real performers. While the i8 is about 40-percent more expensive than the Tesla, it matches the Model S's 0-60 mile per hour acceleration times and handily beats its top speed figures. Tesla sold about 6,900 vehicles during the last three months of 2013 and BMW had more than 10,000 i3 orders on the books by late November and the first year's allotment of i8s is already sold out. The German automaker has what the Fool calls an "outside chance" of selling more plug-in vehicles than Tesla by next year, but Tesla is gearing up its gigafactory to get ready to sell a half-million EVs in 2020, so the race is most certainly on. You can read more over on the Fool.