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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.

BMW M4 Convertible spied with naked top and trunk

Our trusty spy photographers have been at it again, snagging these first images of the forthcoming BMW M4 Convertible without camouflage on its retractable roof and rear deck. You'll recall that this is not the first time we've seen the followup to the M3 Convertible, but that the last batch of images we had were encumbered by a lot more camouflage - this car is virtually naked by comparison.
Not surprisingly, the M4 looks to share its folding hardtop design with the standard 4 Series droptop, and it should operate in a similar manner as well. It's no surprise, but it looks like BMW is going to try and make the transition from M4 Coupe to M4 Convertible as effortless as previous efforts converting the M3 to an M3 Convertible. That should mean that below the beltline, this car is nearly identical to the coupe we saw in Detroit.
As for the camo'd features on these spy photos, the hood, front fascia, rear fascia, quarter panels, side sills and mirrors have all been shown on the M4 Coupe, and don't really bear mentioning. There's been no word of just where the M4 Convertible will make its debut, although considering the lack of disguise on this car, Geneva seems like a likely destination.

BMW reveals new seven-seat 2 Series Gran Tourer [w/video]

Everything is turning up Gran over at BMW these days. The 4 Series and 6 Series sprout extra doors to become Gran Coupes. The 3 Series and 5 Series get weird rooflines to become Gran Turismos. And now the 2 Series Active Tourer has grown an extra row of seats to become the Gran Tourer. What we're looking at is essentially the same mini-minivan/tall-hatchback that emerged almost exactly a year ago as the first front-drive model in BMW's history. Only in the guise of the new 2 Series Gran Tourer, it's been stretched to accommodate that third row of seats to give it seven-seat capacity – which was to be expected, of course, but is still fairly impressive considering how compact this vehicle actually is. It may be less than ten inches longer than the five-seat Active Tourer, but it's still smaller than just about any seven-seater on the market, and to hear the Bavarians tell it, it's "the world's first premium compact model to offer up to seven seats." Those seats are optional and can fold under the floor, and the middle row splits 40:20:40 and folds flat at the push of a button to give the 2 Series Gran Tourer a flexible cargo capacity ranging from 22.7 cubic feet all the way up to 67 cu ft. All of that in a vehicle no longer than a Ford Focus, which even in European wagon form can only swallow 53 cu ft with the seats folded – and you can forget about the extra seats in the Focus. European buyers will be able to choose between five engine options with three or four cylinders and ranging from 116 horsepower to 192. Available all-wheel drive might make you forget it's riding on a front-drive platform altogether (but not likely). Either way, the five-seat Active Tourer hasn't found its way to US showrooms, so we won't expect to see this new seven-seat version here either. At least not for the time being. But we'll surely have the chance to check it out in person for you next month at the Geneva Motor Show. The new BMW 2 Series Gran Tourer. 11.02.2015 With the new BMW 2 Series Gran Tourer, BMW has carved out yet another new vehicle segment. With its generous space, versatility and groundbreaking flexibility, the BMW 2 Series Gran Tourer is the world's first premium compact model to offer up to seven seats and fully meet the mobility requirements of young families. Compact yet capacious.