2003 Bmw X5 4dr Awd 4.4i Suv~54046 Original Miles~2nd Owner on 2040-cars

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BMW puts a sheep in wolf's clothing with 2 Series Active Tourer M Sport

BMW is charting new territory with the 2 Series. No, not the two-door model - that's just the kind of rear-drive coupe for which the brand is known. But the Active Tourer (which only shares its series designation with the coupe) is a front-drive tall hatchback/MPV category buster, and that's not exactly what comes to mind when you think of Bimmers. As such, the 2 Series Active Tourer is bound to turn off some of the brand's faithful, but this latest M Sport kit could at least ease the pain somewhat.
The sport package for the Active Tourer packs all the usual suspects: a more aggressive aero kit, retuned suspension, blacked-out grille, 17- or 18-inch alloys and an interior with sports seats trimmed in blue-stitched Alcantara. Top all that off with an Estoril Blue paint job and you've got a compact family hauler that might look the part, and maybe handle a bit tighter, yet it naturally stops short of the full M treatment (or even an M Performance spec like you'd find in the M235i coupe). All of which is probably just as well, because that might be the only thing BMW purists would object to more than the existence of a front-drive BMW MPV in the first place.

Alex Zanardi talks new challenge at 24 Hours of Spa with BMW

"I have overcome greater things in my life than driving at night." When considering Alex Zanardi's tumultuous life and racing career, the notion that he might be worried about racing for the first time at night seems patently absurd the moment I pose the question. But as I've discovered previously, ask Zanardi a question and his reply - even a brief one - will offer analysis. "I'm really looking forward to it," he says, before adding: "Also, it will be much cooler." Zanardi is talking about the latest installment in his racing career - the 24 Hours of Spa - where he will race a BMW Z4 GT3 alongside fellow ex-Formula 1 driver Timo Glock and DTM driver Bruno Spengler. For the second year, Zanardi is running with ROAL Motorsport, and the team has the full weight of BMW behind it as it prepares to go up against 57 other cars on the historic Belgian circuit this weekend. I first met Zanardi last year at Brands Hatch on a hot May afternoon after his one-hour Blancpain Sprint Series race. He was exhausted and downing can after can of cola but still happy to chat to fans as he cooled off. I ask why, if that was such a tough experience, he is prepared to do it for 24 hours. "It's a good question, why would I?" he ponders aloud before quickly adding: "I am confident I am as well-equipped as I can be to face such an enormous commitment." That confidence comes from three developments that have allowed him to be the first disabled driver to race the Spa 24H. Firstly, his athleticism; since Zanardi lost both his legs in the horrific CART accident at the Lausitzring in 2001, he has drawn admiration for his subsequent achievements as a racing driver and paracyclist; the Italian won two golds and a silver at the 2012 London Paralympics in handcycling. The man is seriously fit. The next major change is inside the Z4 cockpit, where he has worked with BMW engineers to adapt the braking system without hindering his able-bodied teammates; having two others sharing the car with him is a new challenge for both Zanardi and BMW. New controls, particularly the brake pedal, were designed with impressive results. "[The engineers] made my life easier quite dramatically via ergonomics, pushing the brake pedal and the footrest where I put my prosthetic feet to the side of the space that was available. "This makes everything better for me. The ratio of the brake pedal is changed.

Mystery shoppers love Infiniti, hate Tesla

Infiniti, followed by Lexus tied with Mercedes-Benz took the top two spots for best sales experience according to mystery shoppers from the latest Pied Piper Prospect Satisfaction Index, while EV manufacturer Tesla recorded the lowest overall score. Not surprisingly, premium brands dominated the top ranks. Including the three already mentioned, luxury brands occupied seven of the top ten spots and included Audi, BMW, Porsche, and the only American brand to crack the upper echelon, Cadillac. Toyota, Volkswagen, and Nissan rounded out the first ten positions. The news for domestic automakers isn't good. Aside from Caddy, the only other star-spangled automaker to score above the industry average is Chrysler. The rest of FCA, most of GM, and all of Ford fell below the line. But Pied Piper's mystery shoppers handed Tesla the biggest walloping – the company is ten full points below the next lowest brand, Volvo, and its score of 86 is 17 below the average of 103. It's baffling, considering the company's touted direct-sales model. "Tesla leaves me scratching my head," Fred O'Hagan, Pied Piper's president and CEO, told Wards Auto. "They own all of their stores, so you would think each one would be doing the same thing. But they're not. Tesla is consistent in its inconsistencies." O'Hagan added that there's a "huge variation" in Tesla's store-to-store effectiveness, and that in some cases, shoppers found showroom workers that acted more like "museum curators," Wards Auto reports. It might be popular to call Tesla the Apple of the car world, but based on Pied Piper's work, the brand has a long way to go to emulate the uniform shopping experience of an Apple Store. The news might be bad for Tesla, but even for the brands that scored below average, there's cause for celebration. Only Tesla and Mini lost points in this year's rankings, and only Mercedes and Lincoln held steady. Every other brand, including Infiniti, which topped the index for the first time, gained at least one point. The biggest improvements belong to Porsche, Land Rover, and Mitsubishi, which all jumped five points. Pied Piper's annual Prospect Satisfaction Index uses mystery shoppers – over 6,100 this year – from across the country to assess dealers and generate rankings from over 50 individual factors. News Source: Pied Piper via WardsAuto Green Audi BMW Cadillac Chrysler Infiniti Lexus Mercedes-Benz Nissan Tesla Toyota Car Buying Car Dealers study