1988 Bmw M5 No Reserve on 2040-cars

Auto blog

The List: The Red BMW - A Retrospective

We can't help but use this time of year to look back at the days before and reminisce about friends who are no longer in our lives. For The List, Jessi and Patrick were often joined by a little, red BMW 3 Series that, at times, felt like a third host of the show. Having been bought used for just a thousand bucks, the red BMW proved to be surprisingly durable. Through jumps, dunks and monster trucks, it remained our little trooper 'till the very end, and on the way taught us all how important a faithful four-wheeled companion is to the life's work of completing one's automotive bucket list.
For our last episode of The List in 2013, we give you The Red BMW - A Retrospective.
Have an RSS feed? Click here to add The List.

Mercedes leads in US luxury car thefts

Mercedes-Benz makes some fine automobiles. The Silver Arrow'd cars are so good, apparently, that thieves can't help but try to steal them. The German brand is at the top of the charts for luxury car thefts in the US, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, with New York City leading the way. (And those New Yorkers complain about Detroit being bad!)
The C-Class was the most stolen model, with 485 ganked between 2009 and 2012 in NYC alone, while the E-Class and S-Class (which also boasted the worst recovery rate, at 59 percent) both finished in the top ten. Following the C-Class was the BMW 3 Series and Infiniti G. Not surprisingly, each of these were the most common models in their respective lineups. Los Angeles and Miami are also prime hotspots for luxury car thefts, according to the Detroit News report.
While getting your car stolen is pretty awful, there was one inspiring statistic compiled by the NICB - the average recovery rate across the board was 84 percent, with the Cadillac CTS getting recovered 91 percent of the time.

2016 BMW 7 Series spied for the first time ever

Ladies and gentlemen, Bimmerphiles and automotive voyeurs of all stripes: here is your next-generation BMW 7 Series. Captured in photographs for the first time ever while doing a spot of cold-weather testing in Sweden, this newly slim 7er will most likely debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 2015 and launch in the 2016 model year.
Sources indicate that BMW is targeting a much lighter curb weight for the 7 Series, and will use learnings gained with the i3 and i8 development to add carbon fiber-reinforced plastics in the construction. In return we'd expect the new model - which uses the internal model designation "G11" - to offer improvements in handling, acceleration and fuel economy. As with the current 7 Series lineup, expect the engine range to include turbocharged inline-six engines, one or more V8s and a V12 option.
It's fair to say that, with the car's debut still years down the road, that BMW will work to launch with an impressive suite of in-car technology, too. A completely new version of iDrive shouldn't be ruled out. These shots mark the beginning of a long journey to 2015, and we expect to have loads more information to share in the coming months and years, so stay tuned.