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Ruby celebrates 90 years of BMW Motorrad with special helmet collection

BMW isn't the only one celebrating its own 90th anniversary building motorbikes. So is Atelier Ruby, that French manufacturer of jewel-like motorcycle helmets.
Ruby has just released a capsule collection of helmets marking BMW Motorrad's 90th anniversary, and we want them almost as much as a Bimmer bike itself. The Munich 90 collection includes three new designs available in three helmet styles, including the signature blue and red stripes on a white background worn by BMWs of two wheels or four on the racing circuit.
Of course, these helmets, being made by Ruby as they are, won't come cheap, with jaw-dropping prices ranging from $980 to $1,450. Of course there are more cost-effective ways to protect your noggin, but few more stylish.

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 readying impressive track-focused M Power App

There are a lot of questionable automotive apps that people put on their smartphones these days, but BMW has created what could be one of the most useful and integrated car apps ever. The new M Power App, which will be available this summer only for Apple iPhones, allows BMW owners a whole new way to record their performance on the street or on a track. During the launch of the recent BMW M6 Gran Coupe, BimmerPost was able to get a full demonstration of how this new app works.
Far more involved than the current M Power Meter, the M Power App records data from in-car sensors and acts as a telemetry tool to allow drivers to see how they did on a particular track. Aside from an overlay on a track map showing acceleration and braking applications as well as head-to-head comparisons, the app also shows a line graph of everything from brake and throttle inputs to g-force, fuel mileage and engine speed. A small visual on the screen also shows steering angle, and lap times and speeds can all be stored as well. The data can even be shared with others, whether for bragging rights or instruction purposes.
This app works on any newer BMW equipped with the BMW Apps option, but the phone must be tethered to the car and the data understandably cannot be viewed while driving. Scroll down for the video demonstration recorded recently at Austin's Circuit of the Americas.