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BMW recalling all 2000-06 3 Series models over airbags in US, 1.6M globally

We just can't seem to get away from recalls involving the faulty airbag inflators supplied by Takata. There are already millions of vehicles in need of repair as a result of these ever-expanding campaigns, and BMW is adding another 1.6 million worldwide. The Bavarian automaker is issuing a recall for certain 3 Series models, including 574,000 of them in the US, to replace the passenger-side, front airbag inflator.
Specifically, the campaign covers 3 Series models from the 2000 through 2006 model years built between May 1999 and August 2006. "It's only the E46" generation of cars that are affected, which are now two model revisions old, according to BMW of North America spokesperson Matt Russell, speaking to Autoblog.
These models suffer the same problem as the rest of the vehicles with the faulty inflators. It's possible for the part to rupture during airbag deployment and possibly spray shrapnel at the occupant. However, according to BMW, the automaker isn't aware of any actual cases of this happening in any of its vehicles.

Will next BMW Project i car be an i6?

BMW may be steadily working its way through the single digits when it comes to the i sub-brand of plug-in vehicles for the next few years. The automaker started with the i3 and the i8, and we heard rumors about an i5 and an i7. Oh, and we've heard about a potential i4, too. None of these have been confirmed. Still, next up is the i6, according to Automobile. There aren't a ton of details, but the all-electric vehicle would be about the same size as the 3-Series line that's long been a workhorse for the German automaker. Like the other Project i vehicles, the i6 would have a lot of carbon fiber in order to reduce weight and help with range extension. The model would also likely have multiple electric motors as well as a state-of-the-art lithium-polymer battery that would provide a big single-charge range, though, again, no specifics on that number. Word got out earlier this year about a supposed i5 model that would be a plug-in hybrid with a gas-powered engine and two electric motors that combine for about 540 horsepower. Other reports said that the four-door sedan would actually fall under the i7 badge. BMW North America chief Ludwig Willisch said this past spring that the sedan in question wouldn't be seeing the light of day any time soon. BMW has already doubled US sales of its two Project i vehicles this year. Through November, Bimmer's sales of its i8 plug-in hybrid quadrupled from a year earlier to about 1,600 units, while sales of the i3 electric vehicle jumped 89 percent from a year earlier to about 9,600 vehicles.

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.