2005 Bmw X3 2.5i Sport Utility 4-door 2.5l on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Infiniti Q50 Red Sport 400 priced at $48,855, AWD at $50,855

Infiniti's most powerful production model, the new Q50 Red Sport 400, now has a starting price. You'll need at least $48,855 for the rear-drive model or $50,855 for all-wheel drive. (Both figures include the $905 destination charge.) A fully loaded, rear-drive Q50 RS400 with Direct Adaptive Steering, navigation, adaptive cruise control, a heated steering wheel, and Infiniti's entire alphabet soup of safety equipment, tops out at $57,045. (Again, add $2,000 for AWD). When it comes to rear-drive competition, the closest base price to the Q50 is the 320-hp BMW 340i. This German undercuts the Infiniti by two grand, $46,795 to $48,855. But the BMW outprices the Q50 as soon as you start selecting options. A 340i with similar equipment to a loaded Q50 Red Sport 400 costs just under $60,000. All-wheel-drive German competitors also lose out in the price war. Like with the rear-drive models, the BMW 340i xDrive undercuts the Q50 RS400 by around $2,000. Add the options, and the Infiniti becomes a better value. The other two big German rivals, the Audi S4 and Mercedes-Benz C450 AMG start at a higher price and only get more expensive. Technically the S4 starts cheaper than the Q50, but only with the standard manual transmission. Selecting the S-Tronic dual-clutch model kicks the price from $50,125 to $51,125, and going for the top-end Prestige trim will bump potential Audi owners up to $57,025. Throw on must-have S4 options, including adaptive cruise control, adaptive dampers, and a sport differential and you'll be shell out $64,425 for the Audi. The Mercedes-Benz C450 AMG is the priciest choice in this group, starting at $51,725, or roughly $900 more than a base Q50 RS400 with AWD. Options, again, are the downfall here. Building a C450 to match a loaded Infiniti will drive the Mercedes' price up to $64,315. While it occupies something of a weird space relative to these vehicles, it's also worth mentioning the Cadillac CTS VSport. It's the only car in this impromptu pricing comparo that can outgun the Q50, with its 3.6-liter, twin-turbo V6 good for 420 hp and 430 lb-ft of torque. It also starts at $60,950, although that includes plenty of standard equipment. All this means that the Q50 Red Sport 400 represents a relative value. It packs more power than the Germans – 80 more than the 340i, 67 more than the S4, and 38 more than the C450 – and a more comprehensive list of options, too.

Recharge Wrap-up: BMW's 2015 awards, Tesla Superchargers in Poland

Poland will soon get its first Tesla Superchargers. A photo on Reddit appears to show multiple parking stalls with Superchargers under wraps at an Orlen fuel station. Tesla recently signed a deal with the German branch of Polish oil refiner Orlen to install Superchargers at fuel stations in Germany, and it appears the focus is shifting eastward to Poland. Some question whether it makes sense for Tesla to focus on Poland, where the cities have a lot of high-rise dwellings and few private garages. Tesla, however, is known for taking risks on building infrastructure as an investment in future customers. Read more from Teslarati. Is it really true that most pedestrian crashes are the pedestrian's fault? Baltimore County and other authorities claim this is the case, but upon examination, this appears to be because roadways aren't always designed with the entire community in mind. In some cases, for instance, large, multi-lane roads travel through neighborhoods where more residents travel by foot out of necessity. "The really tragic part about it is that the two areas where we've had the most pedestrian fatalities, these are disinvested, depopulated areas," says Dallas City Councilman Philip Kingston. "Those big arterials are completely unnecessary. It's so overbuilt. The infrastructure is built for a bygone era that simply doesn't match what's there now." Read more at Treehugger. BMW won numerous distinctions for sustainability in 2015. Among the automaker's many other accolades for a variety of vehicles, The BMW i3 and i8 were singled out for praise. The i8 won four awards, including Green Car of the Year, from the World Car Awards. It was named All-Wheel Car of the Year by Auto Bild, and best sports car by multiple organizations. The i3 won Car of the Year Australia, Blogger Auto Award for the Small Car category, Auto Bild Value Master award for EVs, among others. Read more in the press release below. Distinctions, prizes and awards for BMW in 2015. Position confirmed as worldwide trendsetter in innovation, design, quality and sustainability. Munich. 2015 was a highly successful year for the BMW Group and this is confirmed by overwhelming worldwide acknowledgement. This year BMW vehicles won numerous national and international distinctions in categories as varied as innovation, design, sporty flair, quality, sustainability and intelligent vehicle connectivity.

BMW working on DCT for its FWD cars?

Having introduced its first front-wheel drive products, a report in BMW Blog says that BMW is developing a dual-clutch transmission to use in some of those vehicles. If that is the case then BMW would be catching up to its competitors, with Mercedes-Benz using its 7G-DCT in models like the CLA, and Audi putting its six-speed S-tronic in the A3 and seven-speed S tronic in the A6. Acura and Hyundai use dual-clutch gearboxes in their model lineup as well. Right now the only self-shifting option in the front-wheel-drive-based BMW X1 is an Aisin-sourced eight-speed automatic, the one we described as "perfectly fine but not a standout" that requires "some prodding to coax a downshift." The eight-speed sport transmission will be an option in late 2016, but its paddle shifters and quicker gearchanges still won't be equal to a DCT. That latter possibility would give BMW a sportier avenue of development if it did wish to create something truly athletic out of the X1 – BMW Blog muses on an X1 M40i or an X1 M (you should be past the point of shock if this happens). The Mini range could also benefit, the JCW trims currently fitted with a six-speed sport automatic being obvious candidates. Assuming Munich engineers are on the case, it is predicted that we won't see this transmission for at least two years.