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Honda scores big in Automobile Advertising of the Year Awards [w/videos]

This year the Detroit Auto Show didn't just celebrate the automobile, it celebrated how we find out about the automobile, too. Partnering The One Club, this year introduced the 2014 One Show Automobile Advertising of the Year Award to Cobo Hall, celebrating winners in five different categories of advertising: broadcast television, online, interactive, experiential, and print/outdoor. Winners in those categories were judged by 50 creative directors and journalists, while a Public Choice category was chosen from among nearly 20,000 online votes.
Honda walked off with three of the six awards, its Hands spot taking Broadcast honors, its Sound of Honda getting the Online category and Illusions winning Public Choice. Hyundai made the grade in Interactive with Driveway Decision Maker, Fiat captured Print/Outdoor with its "Letters" ad, and Toyota's Tundra Endeavor Campaign spot and BMW's A Window into the Near Future were co-winners for Experiential.
You can watch all of the press release and winning videos below or check out all of the finalists, announced last month, for a refresher.

BMW planning X4 M Performance diesel? [w/poll]

With the arrival of the new X4 in March, BMW will expand its crossover portfolio by one more model. But while some enthusiasts may have been disappointed by the news that the Bavarian automaker isn't likely to authorize an M version of the compact slantback crossover, this latest development could help bridge the gap.
Although the line used to be quite clear between standard BMWs and M models, Munich has been blurring it with the M Performance treatment. Those have included models like the M135i hatchback and M235i coupe, the diesel-powered M550d sedan and wagon and X5 and X6 M50d crossovers. Now word has it that BMW could follow a similar formula with the X4, creating a sub-M performance model.
What's more is that the X4 M Performance model could go diesel, following a similar formula that Audi undertook with its first performance crossover, the SQ5 TDI. The major difference here is that when Audi brought the SQ5 to these shores, it ditched the diesel for a gasoline engine. Could BMW do the same?

BMW previews new M6 GT3 racing prototype [UPDATE]

UPDATE: A previous version of this post specified the incorrect weight target for the M6 GT3. The text below has been updated with the correct information. BMW may not compete at the top level at Le Mans or in the World Rally Championship, it may have withdrawn from Formula One and shuttered the Formula BMW series, but it's not without its racing programs. Aside from the Minis that dominate the Dakar Rally, BMW fields the M4 in DTM, the M235i Racing in the BMW Sports Trophy and the Z4 in GT3 competitions around the world. But now it's preparing to launch a new GT3 racer based on the M6. Currently undergoing development, BMW has presented its new M6 GT3 prototype at its factory in Dingolfing, Germany. Based on the road-going M6 coupe, the GT3 retains its 4.4-liter twin-turbo V8 engine with dry-sump lubrication, producing over 500 horsepower – which is actually less than the road-going model you can buy, but has to be restricted to meet FIA certification. At less than 3,000 pounds, it is a fair bit lighter than the production version, and promises to deliver blistering performance figures to whichever privateer teams buy one to enter in racing series around the world. The M6 GT3 is slated to hit the circuits next year, when it will join the lineup alongside the M6 coupe, M6 convertible and M6 Gran Coupe, to say nothing of the M6 safety car used in MotoGP. In a related development, BMW Blog reports that the Bavarian automaker is probing potential interest in bringing the M235i Racing to North America. The entry-level model in the BMW Motorsports range, the M235i Racing sells in Europe for the equivalent of $68,000. The next milestone: the BMW M6 GT3 is rolled out at the BMW premises in Dingolfing. 05.02.2015 Munich (DE), 5th February 2015. BMW's new figurehead for the GT racing scene has been given its first run: last Saturday, the test track on the premises of the BMW factory in Dingolfing (DE) provided the stage for the roll-out of the BMW M6 GT3, with which BMW teams will compete in national and international series, as well as at iconic endurance races, from 2016 onwards. The car left the garage for the first time at precisely 14:00 with Jorg Muller (DE) at the wheel. This gave the BMW works driver the honour of creating the next milestone in the development of the BMW M6 GT3. "This is a big moment for everyone who has worked so intensely and passionately on the development of the BMW M6 GT3 in recent months," said BMW Motorsport Director Jens Marquardt.