2004 Bmw Z4 on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Next BMW 7 Series interior spotted

The next BMW 7 Series looks to be leading a rather dramatic change of the company's interior styling, judging by this new series of spy photos. In the trio of shots, we can see that the next 7 Series will replace the high-quality plastic buttons of the brand's iDrive, HVAC and secondary audio controls with some very, very pretty aluminum pieces. We can also see what looks like haptic touch controls for some of the HVAC systems. While the 7 Series interior has never been bad, it's lagged notably behind the Audi A8 and new Mercedes-Benz S-Class. This brightwork should be taken as a good sign, then, that BMW is preparing to take the fight to its countrymen. Aside from the handsome new switchgear, the large, wide nav screen looks like a pop-up unit, while it appears to be running a new version of the company's infotainment system. These spy photos also give us our most detailed look at the 7 Series' new laser headlights. According to our spies, these will be an optional extra, while LED headlights will be standard. The high-output lights will flank a wider pair of kidney grilles that our spies claim will give the 7 a sportier look. Changes in back are still camouflaged, although our shooters claim the new lamps will be more angular than the current car's. Expect the next 7 Series to make its debut in the second half of 2015, which could indicate a debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show.

Xcar celebrates 100-year anniversary with Model T tribute

Never mind the fact that XCar hasn't been making videos for the last 100 years, the British duo have gone all silent-moving-pictures in order to make their centenary case for the Ford Model T, a car that was already seven years old in 1915. It's not a review, but a mostly sepia-tinged look at the car that started the mass-market adventure by taking that biblical advice to be fruitful and multiply and populate the Earth abundantly. Since it looks like Xcar is celebrating some kind of milestone, we've also included another video below of the first Xcar review we could find, covering the BMW M1, from the much more recent past - circa 2012.

2014 BMW 4 Series Convertible [w/video]

Here it is, the fifth generation of BMW's 3 Series Convertible - only this one begins with a "4," having been rechristened as a droptop version of the new 4 Series Coupe. With thirty years of work on this same recipe and having gotten it so right for much of that time, the Munich compact premium convertible has been a WYSIWYG affair for decades: once you saw its sedan paradigm, you knew what it was going to look like in roofless two-door form, and what you saw is exactly what you got.
It is ridiculous to think that BMW would choose this new model and its new nomenclature to muck things up. The new car has, though, gotten larger and roomier, and even though it's now part of the racier coupe division within the company's compact line, it has gotten more, shall we say, mature. Driving even further away from the days when handsomely tipped bartenders could work their way into one, The Ultimate Tanning Machine had shed even more elan, going instead for elegance and an attitude befitting its $49,675 starting price (including $925 for destination).
It strikes a few odd notes, but what it does best, it still does better than anything else out there in its price range.