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BMW planning to bring an autonomous vehicle to market by 2021

At a press conference in Munich today, BMW announced that it plans to have a fully autonomous vehicle on public roads by 2021. Tech companies Intel and Mobileye will be partners in the project, and the group will be working on an open platform for use by other manufacturers and developers. BMW has been developing autonomous technology for ten years. Despite the recent death of a Tesla driver while using the company's Autopilot system, BMW believes its technology will be fully ready for the roads in the next five years. The group is using a combination of real-world and digital simulations to test their products, with BMW, Intel, and Mobileye each sharing a bit of the project. Tesla uses a version of Mobileye's current driver-assistance technology. BMW eventually hopes to have vehicles that don't require anyone to be in the vehicle while it drives, allowing for drop-off, pick-up, and self-parking capabilities. The group's open platform is something it hopes other manufacturers can use. The goal is to foster an archetype that regulatory bodies can use to make industry-wide laws and standards. The auto industry seems poised for a shift toward EVs and autonomous vehicles. Volkswagen recently announced a plan to bring 30 electric cars to market in the next 10 years. Local Motors has developed autonomous, electric public transport. It's not clear what sort of vehicle BMW will bring, but it did have a modified i8 on display at the conference. Related Video: News Source: BMW Green BMW Technology Emerging Technologies Autonomous Vehicles intel mobileye

Car designer Frank Stephenson wants to show you something ... smaller

Influential car designer Frank Stephenson has often thought small. Now he’s thinking smaller. Throughout the past three decades, he has shaped — literally — some of the most indelible designs in automotive history: the modern Mini, the Ferrari FXX track star, the Maserati Gran Sport, a range of stunning McLarens and down to the funky 21st-century version of the Fiat 500. Now heÂ’s turned his pen to fashioning watches. His Cosmos analog piece, made to mirror “a black hole in space” and detailed “with an orange pinstripe which simulates the supernova glow of a neutron star,” features a Japan-built quartz movement and was created in concert with the Time Concepts company. “ItÂ’s the age-old adage ‘car people are watch people,Â’ so it was a natural step for me to get creative with timepieces too,” Stephenson said in a statement. “The collection showcases the love I have for exceptional and emotionally charged design, just like what is required in designing world class cars.” While Stephenson, who is 64, may be best known publicly for his vision of “affordable style” with the Mini and the Fiat, his ethos also translated to the utilitarian. In the case of BMW in the mid-1990s, the company was hustling to market an SUV, and turned to him for inspiration. His team had six months to complete the project. The result was the high-end X5, which Stephenson sketched during a two-hour flight. In 2018, Stephenson established the independent design company, Frank Stephenson Design, based in London. Related video: Design/Style BMW Ferrari Fiat Maserati McLaren MINI Gadgets watch frank stephenson

Why you can expect lots more crossovers from BMW

BMW is becoming the ultimate crossover sales machine. More than a third of the German brand's US sales in 2015 were crossovers, and the automaker expects 40 percent of 2016 sales to be the all-purpose runabouts. What's more, BMW of North America CEO Ludwig Willisch said that when the X7 gets here the percentage will take another leap. Even though BMW was one of the automakers to raise warning flags about how China's depressed car market would impact earnings, the Willisch said the Munich brand couldn't get enough of the X1, X3, and X5 in the first three quarters of 2015 in any of its key markets. Remedy is on the way with an expansion of the Spartanburg, SC plant. When it's finished later this year the US factory will be able to build 29 percent more product than before, annual capacity rising from 350,000 to 450,000. Spartanburg currently builds the X3, X4, and X5. There's every reason to believe that BMW will post another record US sales year in 2015, adding a lot of fat to its profit statement in what should be a record year overall. TrueCar predicts 17.5 million light vehicle sales in the US last year, a 6.1-percent increase over 2014. BMW could also take the luxury crown after posting a monster month of December sales, we'll know when the numbers are reported this week. The huge numbers have come with the help of incentives. BMW spent slightly more than competitors Mercedes-Benz and Lexus, but only fractionally up on 2014 incentive spending.