Bmw: M3 Base Coupe 2-door on 2040-cars

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2015 BMW X4

BMW has been in the line-blurring business of late, with the original X5 "Sports Activity Vehicle" muddling the line between SUVs and sport sedans in 1999, the 5 Series Gran Turismo challenging what our definition of "Gran Turismo" means in 2009, and pretty, low-roofed four-doors like the 6 Series Gran Coupe and the fresh new 4 Series Gran Coupe broadening the meaning of the word "coupe."
In the midst of all of this, BMW blurred the lines around both the SUV and coupe genres with its big, heavy, and in many ways ridiculous X5-based "Sports Activity Coupe" (cue collective eye-roll), dubbed X6. Auto wags scoffed at its lack of utility, compromised outward visibility and added cost, but a more emotional public was apparently smitten enough by its aggressive looks to avail itself of some 250,000 of them worldwide in six model years on sale.
Enter the all-new 2015 X4 crossover - err, "Sports Activity Coupe" - which BMW hopes will perform as well in the compact category as the X6 has on the next rung up the ladder. Like the X6, the X4 is a tough sell on paper: it's more expensive and less practical than the X3 on which it's based; it's heavier, despite the loss of interior space; and it doesn't even hold as much stuff in the back as the 3 Series wagon. As with the X6, the X4 is essentially a high-riding style statement that, like proper coupes (the two-door kind), says to the world, "You fools can take your need for practicality and shove it. I just want to look good."

Welcome Audi RS6 Avant, goodbye Lincoln Continental | Autoblog Podcast #592

In this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Senior Editor, Green, John Beltz Snyder and Assistant Editor Zac Palmer. Our editors cover a lot this week, starting with the news. They geek out over the Audi RS6 Avant coming to America, and mourn the loss of the Lincoln Continental. They address rumors of the Toyota Land Cruiser's demise, and analyze spy photos of the Ford Mach E electric crossover. They also honor the memory of the godfather of spy photography, Jim Dunne. Finally, they talk about driving the BMW Z4, Ram 1500 EcoDiesel, and another diesel, the diesel-powered Mazda CX-5 Skyactiv-D. Autoblog Podcast #592 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown Audi RS6 Avant headed to U.S. Lincoln Continental discontinued Rumor: Toyota Land Cruiser to be canceled Ford Mach E spied RIP spy photographer Jim Dunne Cars we're driving: 2019 BMW Z4 sDrive30i 2020 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel 2019 Mazda CX-5 Diesel Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on iTunes Related Video:      

Lexus back in luxury sales race after three-year absence

Think the only challengers for the title of best-selling luxury brand hail from der Vaterland? Wrong. Lexus outsold the likes of Mercedes-Benz for the second time in 2014 last month. In fact, the Japanese luxury marque's total sales this year are a mere 12,000 units behind BMW.
Lexus was able to move 26,921 vehicles last month, a year-over-year increase of 21.1 percent, respectively. Mercedes, meanwhile, was just barely beaten, moving 26,617 units in April. The difference, though, is that Lexus has made far bigger year-over-year gains than Mercedes, which recorded a YOY increase of just 4.13 percent.
This is particularly troubling for the Germans, as it marks a return to form for Lexus that we haven't seen since before the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami that decimated Japan. Prior to that natural disaster, Lexus enjoyed nearly a dozen years at the top of the luxury heap.