2005 Bmw Z4 3.0i Convertible 2-door 3.0l on 2040-cars

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BMW i creates high-design solar charging carport

With the first deliveries of the i3 under way, and the recent i8 press launch, the marketing push in the US for the BMW electric sub-brand has begun. These i vehicles are supposed to have a completely different feel from the rest of the brand's lineup. To complement their earth-friendly ethos, the Bavarian company commissioned BMW Group DesignworksUSA in California to create a solar carport concept that could keep the models sustainably topped up on power. It premiered alongside the i8 in Los Angeles at the electric sports coupe's media launch.
At first glance, the BMW i Solar Carport Concept looks like a pergola from a winery or a well-groomed garden, but like the i vehicles, the deeper you look, the more high-tech features there are. The sides feature carbon elements in a similar way that the i3 and i8 have a carbon fiber-reinforced plastic body. Bamboo forms the uprights because its quick-growing nature makes it rather sustainable, and the solar panels are strung along the top to harness energy.
Obviously the sun can't provide all of the energy that the electric cars need, and a BMW Wallbox Pro charger is also connected to the power grid as a supplement. It includes a readout telling users the amount of solar energy versus municipal electricity it's using.

BMW brings burlesque, Warhol, M1 and 6 Series Grand Coupe to Paris Photo LA

BMW has worked with Paris Photo for ten years. This year, the photography exposition lands in Paramount Studios in Los Angeles for the first time, and BMW is not only coming with it, the Bavarians are bringing the Art Car that started it all: the 1979 M1 painted by Andy Warhol. For those attending the show, there will also be making-of video of Warhol working on the car - but if you remember the mini lecture that EVO magazine's Henry Catchpole gave on the Art Cars, you'll remember that Warhol finished the car so quickly that the cameraman barely had time to get the film rolling.
With that will also be a series of photos of the BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe dropped into noir scenes accompanied by burlesque models, all taken by photographer Uwe Düttmann. It's the first time they'll be exhibited at Paris Photo. You can check out a few of them in the high-res gallery above, and there's a press release below with more info.

There's no substitution for BMW's E30 Mmmmm3

If you told someone that you had a friend with a four-cylinder BMW who "would let me wash the car," and in exchange for the privilege then let you drive that clean BMW once around the block, your first question would probably be "What kind of BMW is this?" There's a chance you wouldn't be surprised once you found out the coupe in question was the E30 M3, a car our own Zach Bowman dubbed the "Mmmmm3."
Petrolicious talks to Gabor Mester about the car he fell in love with, a black version of the original "Munich mauler" that was owned by the parents of a high-school friend - oh, and Mester was also in high school when this washing and driving took place. When the original owners were ready to sell, Mestor was ready to buy, and he hasn't had a single regret about it since.
You can enjoy his story in his words in the video below.