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Rinspeed previews Budii concept ahead of Geneva show

Every year Frank Rinderknecht and his team at Rinspeed come to the Geneva Motor Show with another fantastical concept car, and next year's will be no exception. Though the show may still be several months away, the Swiss outfit is already giving us a glimpse of what to expect. Rinspeed's latest project is called the Budii, and it aims to "redefine the relationship between man and machine." As you might have guessed, that means driverless technology. Specific details at this point are limited, but the design calls for an electric vehicle with an adaptable cabin featuring drive-by-wire steering wheel. That wheel can swing out of the way to the center of the dashboard or to either side, should driver or passenger (as blurred as those rigid concepts become in this case) wish to take control. Beyond that we don't know much at this point, but the image above seems to indicate it'll be based on the BMW i3. Meanwhile the long list of partners and suppliers suggest it'll feature a design by Mansory, a Harman infotainment system and a Carl F. Bucherer analog clock embedded in the dynamic dashboard. 2015 Geneva Motor Show Rinspeed exhibits "Budii" at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show: "We need to redefine the relationship between man and machine" As far as Swiss automotive visionary Frank M. Rinderknecht is concerned, the breakneck speed of technical developments forces us to redefine our relationship with the automobile. The farsighted Swiss says: "Until now, what we have primarily associated with auto mobility was freedom and individuality. And - consciously or unconsciously - we are prepared to pay a high price in many regards for these privileges. We need only look at the accident statistics." Autonomous driving undoubtedly offers the opportunity to drastically diminish some of the drawbacks of private transport. For example, the number of traffic accidents could drop worldwide. But although it will be less prone to err than humans, even the best technology will not be perfect. "That is something we will have to accept," believes the boss of Rinspeed, the Swiss automotive powerhouse of ideas.

Translogic 182: CXC Motion Pro II Racing Simulator

Translogic gets some seat time in the CXC Motion Pro II to test if the high fidelity racing simulator can impact our host's real-life track times. Host Jonathon Buckley hits the track at Auto Club Speedway of California in a 2015 BMW M4 to put down a baseline lap time before his virtual training session in the Motion Pro II. After learning the lines of the track in a simulated setting, Jonathon returns to the track to put his skills to the test. "We designed it, originally, as a professional training tool for race car drivers," says CXC Simulation's founder and president Chris Considine. "Make it authentic. Make it real." The Motion Pro II boasts "thousands of cars and track models," ranging from street cars, to rally and off-road vehicles. Will this hyper realistic racing simulator help Jonathon improve his lap time? Have an RSS feed? Click here to add Translogic. Follow Translogic on Twitter and Facebook. Click here to learn more about our host, Jonathon Buckley. BMW Mazda Technology Coupe Racing Vehicles Translogic Videos Original Video

Did BMW really win the luxury car sales race?

As anyone who follows our monthly By The Numbers series already knows, the luxury car sales race in the United States was close all of last year as BMW, Lexus and Mercedes-Benz seesawed up and down for sales supremacy. At the end of the year, it was BMW on top of the standings with 346,023 total sales. Or was it? According to data released by Polk, comparing the actual number of vehicles registered between the three top luxury players in the US paints a slightly different picture. Polk's data suggests that only 335,259 BMWs were registered in 2015, compared to 340,392 Lexus models. Why the disparity? It's all a matter of timing. Actual end consumers buy new cars, in almost all cases, from a franchised dealer. BMW delivered 346,023 vehicles in 2015, but only 335,259 of them were registered by their new owners. Presumably, those 11,000 BMWs did (or will) end up registered in the driveways of consumers, but they hadn't before January 1, 2016. Lexus General Manager Jeff Bracken wrote in an email to Automotive News, "Luxury sales leadership as measured by vehicle registrations is important to Lexus as it represents actual consumers engaging directly with our dealers." Of course, it goes without saying that we'll be paying keen attention to the 2016 luxury car sales race as it unfolds. If it's anything like it was in 2015, it'll come down to the wire, and even then may not be entirely clear. Related Video: News Source: Automotive News - sub. req.Image Credit: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty BMW Lexus Mercedes-Benz Car Buying Car Dealers Luxury luxury cars