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BMW i3 with range extender could arrive after HOV stickers run out in CA

We will weep for the BMW i3 REx owner with ticket #40,001 for California's green HOV stickers. While the standard-issue battery-electric i3 has been deemed eligible for the state's white stickers, which allow for owners to drive in HOV lanes solo, the proverbial jury of the California Air Resources Board (CARB) is still out on the BMW i3 REx, which will have a little-bitty range-extender on board, Transport Evolved says. The issue is that, while there is an unlimited number of white stickers for pure EVs such as the Nissan Leaf and Tesla Model S, the state has limited the number of green stickers, which grant solo-HOV access to plug-in hybrids and extended-range plug-ins, to 40,000. And with almost 29,000 green stickers given out as of the end of last year to cars such as the Chevrolet Volt and the Toyota Prius Plug In, they may run out within two months. The other key point is that the waiting list for the i3 with a range extender is running at about six months as of January, that could cause a bit of hand-wringing among folks looking to buy the REx. BMW said earlier this year that the extended-range version of the i3 would qualify for white stickers because the car is a so-called BEVx, meaning that its range-extender's full-tank range is less than the electric motor's single-charge range. BMW designed the i3 with a small range-extender tank of just 2.4 gallons, but the automaker estimated that California's green stickers wouldn't run out until the end of 2014.

Ken Block and friends race light in silly-beautiful Castrol commercial

How does one make fast, loud, drifting cars better? Well, you can add more fast, loud, drifting cars or you can add lasers. Either or, really. In this case, Castrol did the right thing and added both, creating a highly stylized commercial for its Edge Titanium motor oil starring South African racer Adrian Zaugg, BMW factory driver Augusto Farfus, Audi DTM and Le Mans staple Mike Rockenfeller and some bloke named Ken Block.
Their cars? No surprise, but Block is in his Ford Fiesta GRC, while Zaugg samples a Lamborghini Aventador and Farfus and Rockenfeller drive along party lines, with a BMW M4 and an Audi R8, respectively. And those cars look good, too, thanks to the creative light and laser work on display.
Take a look below for the video from Castrol.

2016 BMW X5 M is big and bold, not beautiful

Awesome as it is, the BMW X5 M has never really been an attractive machine. Big and bulgy are the themes here, and that's only more pronounced with the X5's most recent refresh. But no matter, the X5 M has never been about looks - for this machine, it's all about performance, and BMW's hi-po crossover absolutely delivers in this regard.
Under the hood is the familiar 4.4-liter, twin-turbo V8, though power has been boosted to 567 horsepower and 553 pound-feet of torque - healthy increases of 12 and 53, respectively, compared to the outgoing model. Hitting 60 miles per hour is said to take just four seconds, which is damn impressive considering this thing weighs well over 5,000 pounds.
But the X5 M has always been shockingly good to drive, with limits you'll never reach except in the most hardcore track scenarios (which we'd really like to see, by the way). It's not the prettiest thing ever, but that's okay. It's not exactly cheap, though, with prices starting at $99,650. Woof.