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2014 BMW X5 doesn't upset the formula

BMW has unveiled the 2014 X5, and fans of the company's CUV will find plenty familiar in the machine. The biggest change to the recipe comes in the form of the X5 sDrive35i, which is the first rear-wheel drive version of the high-riding five-door to date. Buyers will, of course, continue to be able to opt for all-wheel drive, and both models will get their thrust from a 3.0-liter, turbocharged inline six-cylinder engine. That powerplant makes 300 horsepower and 300 pound-feet of torque and is mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission. BMW says the combination is good enough to get the SUV to 60 miles per hour in around 6.2 seconds.
Those who require more thrust can step up to the more potent X5 xDrive50i with its twin-turbo 4.4-liter V8 engine. Drivers get to enjoy an extra 45 hp over the previous model, with final output up to 445 hp and 480 lb-ft of torque. Paired with an eight-speed automatic of its own, the engine can hustle the big X5 to 60 mph in 4.9 seconds.
The 2014 BMW xDrive35d continues to offer diesel power, though output has dropped 10 horsepower to 255 hp and 413 lb-ft of torque. Even so, BMW says the X5 diesel will be just as quick or quicker than the 2013 model. You can check out the full press release below for more information.

BMW, Ferrari, VW cars use tungsten mined by terrorists

Bloomberg Markets is reporting that BMW, Volkswagen and Ferrari have been using tungsten ore sourced from Columbia's FARC rebel terrorists. The extensive story focuses on Columbia's illegal mining trade and calls into question the provenance of the rare ore that is used not only in crankshaft parts production, but is also found in the world's computing and telecommunications industry for use in screens.
The ore is mined by the FARC (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia, or Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia - People's Army), and exported to Pennsylvania, where it is refined. The refined ore is then sent over to Austria, where a company called Plansee turns it into a finished product. Now, it's important to note that we aren't talking about the world's supply of tungsten here. In 2012, Plansee's American refinery purchased 93.2 metric tons of tungsten, valued at $1.8 million. That's peanuts, with the entire Colombian tungsten mining industry producing just one percent of the world's supplies.
That doesn't make indirectly supporting FARC any more acceptable, though. BMW, VW and Ferrari are all committed to not accepting mineral supplies from the Democratic Republic of Congo, which is also in the grips of a guerrilla insurrection funded, in part, by illegal mining. The same commitment would figure to extend to Colombian mining, but as BMW points out, it's difficult for a multi-national manufacturer to know where every item in its supply chain comes from. A company spokesperson says as much, telling Bloomberg, "These few grams out of the billions of tons of raw materials passing through the BMW supply chain are of no practical relevance."

Looking back at 84 years of BMW roadsters

Today BMW is a top player in the luxury vehicle market, but it wasn't always so. With origins as an airplane engine builder early in the 20th Century, it broke into the automotive industry when it bought Automobilwerk Eisenach in 1928. That German manufacturer was licensed to build the Austin Seven under the name Dixi DA-1, which could be had in a roadster body style. In 1929, BMW dropped the Dixi name, and by 1936, it was building a car it designed in-house, the 326 sedan. That was followed by the company's first roadster of its own design, the swoopy two-door 327 of 1937.
XCAR picks up there, and gives a history of BMW's iconic roadsters starting with the 327, ending with today's Z4, and covering everything in between - including the beautiful post-war 507 of 1957 and the funky, plastic-bodied 1989 Z1.
The video, which we've included below, is a good history lesson and a great chance to see a bunch of classic BMWs, spanning 84 years, all driven back to back within the safe confines of a racetrack. When you have a spare 20 minutes, go ahead and take some time to watch it.