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These are the top luxury cars bought by people entering the segment for the first time

Let's say you just got a big promotion at work or the kids are moving out of the house, and you finally have some extra money. You decide to blow it all at once and treat yourself by upgrading your ride. Naturally, you look to a luxury automaker. What do you choose?
Models like the Audi A3 and Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class may be tailor-made to introduce buyers to the premium segment, but a new study finds that they don't garner the highest rates of non-luxury customer conquests. It turns out that a Volvo leads among folks moving up to a premium brand, and it isn't even one that's made anymore, at that.
A recent study by Polk and IHS Automotive looked at what models had the highest rates of buyers upgrading from a non-luxury segment. The information comes from its new vehicle registration data through April 2014. All ten top models boasted conquest rates of over 50 percent, but the Volvo C70 led the field with 68.01 percent of its customers coming from non-premium brands.

BMW crushing ActiveE EVs, saving all batteries

It's unlikely to spark a movement and a movie, the way a certain EV1 did a decade ago, but anyone who's seen Who Killed The Electric Car? will likely cringe at this bit of news. Despite the fact that crushing and recycling old vehicles is standard operating procedure in the auto industry, when EVs are involved, it's always a touchy subject. The next phase will see "all of the lithium-ion batteries being repurposed for Battery Second Life research projects." So, what's the news? Well, the image you see above, which comes from the spotting of 16 smashed BMW ActiveE EVs on flatbed trailers on California Route 91 near Los Angeles, CA. EV advocate Chelsea Sexton told Green Car Reports, "It's all very deja vu, right down to [BMW's] DriveNow promotion as a don't-look-behind-the-curtain distraction – recall GM touting EV1s being donated to museums and universities? – and VINs spray painted on the sides, allowing former drivers to identify their own cars." BMW's take on this is that the ActiveEs were always meant to have a limited lifespan, and their time has come. As spokesman Dave Buchko tells AutoblogGreen, "The learning begun with the ActiveE will transition to the next phase with all of the lithium-ion batteries being repurposed for Battery Second Life research projects." (You can read his full statement below.) Originally, there were 700 ActiveEs leased to Electronauts (give or take). Yahoo! Autos points out that the ActiveEs were originally imported into the US as "pre-production" cars, which means they can't be sold, they can only be used for carsharing projects or re-leased. Eighty of those ActiveEs recently found a second life as vehicles in BMW's DriveNow carsharing fleet in San Francisco (bringing the total of ActiveEs in the program to 150) and "some have also been returned to Munich for additional research markets," Buchko said. The big picture here is that no one should be sad to see these cars go. Yes, they may have had some life left in them, but the rules say their time is done and everything is being done to crush responsibly in accordance with the law. Like Plug In Cars says, we're in a completely different era now than we were when GM crushed all those EV1s a decade ago. Instead of marking the end of a plug-in vehicle program, sending the ActiveEs away to be recycled is a symbol of the evolution and growth of BMW's i Project.

Bryant Gumbel and Katie Couric equate BMW i3 with the Internet

BMW fancies its new i3 electric car as something revolutionary – which, to be entirely honest, it is. But while we as automotive enthusiasts might know this, the general populous may not, which is why the German company is shelling out what is no doubt a substantial sum of money for a spot during this year's Super Bowl. Starring former Today Show hosts Katie Couric and Bryant Gumbel, the spot, called Newfangled Idea, focuses on another arguably misunderstood technology – the Internet. Starting with a now-humorous segment from 1994 that sees the pair discussing the then-new idea of the Internet – what does "@" mean? – Katie and Bryant then find themselves in an i3, asking very similar questions. Take a look at the video, up top, and then scroll below for the outtakes and a short behind-the-scenes segment from the clip. Related Video: