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Daily Driver: 2015 BMW X6 M

Daily Driver videos are micro-reviews of vehicles in the Autoblog press fleet, featuring impressions from the staffers that drive them every day. Today's Daily Driver features the 2015 BMW X6 M, reviewed by Greg Migliore. You can watch the video above or read a transcript below. Watch more Autoblog videos at /videos. VIDEO TRANSCRIPT: [00:00:00] Hey, everybody. It's Greg Migliore, and today I am driving the 2015 BMW X6 M. This is the crossover coupe that is sort of a halo SUV for BMW. It's got its naysayers but I like it. I think it's a number of things enthusiasts like. It's fast, it's curvy, it looks good, it's fun to drive, and this one that I'm [00:00:30] testing out is absolutely loaded. It comes in at more than $115,000. Now that might seem like a lot for an X6, even in M trim, but you're getting a lot of stuff here. This has got a twin-turbo V8, pumps out 567 horsepower. It's mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission, which I think is a good one, and it runs with all-wheel drive. There's a number of M treatments like the wheels, some of the aerodynamic treatments up front. [00:01:00] It looks sporty and it also has a good tough crossover feel, but it still has almost a car feel as well because the X6 was designed to have a bit of a coupe dynamic. Now inside, is really a beautiful surroundings. We've got lots of trim. It looks like carbon fiber. We've got different color stitching. There's black trim, there's orange trim, there is some of the M colors of light blue and red trim on the steering wheel. It definitely looks like a [00:01:30] loaded BMW, but also an M BMW series. You lay on the throttle you can get away from stoplights quickly, no trouble. Sounds good. There's a nice exhaust note. It got moving. It's a quick car. It can get to 60 miles an hour in about four seconds, which when you consider this SUV is above 5,200 pounds, that's pretty quick. Some people question the point of an X6 in general, [00:02:00] and especially an X6 M. You're taking an SUV with less capability than an X5 and some other SUVs in this segment and then cutting it down and making a design statement. I say exactly. That's exactly what you're doing. I like a vehicle that looks like this that has those coupe-like stylings in the back. It's a little more of a cutting edge, curvy design. I think all of that's great. Then, if you're going to do different M versions of cars, why not do an X6 M?

BMW confirms M4 DTM for next season

Fans of BMW performance had two events to keep an eye on this weekend: the reveal of the M4 Concept at Pebble Beach, and the efforts of the Bavarian automaker's DTM teams at the Nurburgring. What ties them together, however, is what BMW has in store for next year.
The German carmaker has confirmed that it's already working on a new M4 DTM to campaign in the highly-competitive touring car series starting next season. It didn't reveal any details, but we can expect the M4 to make the same jump to competition spec as the M3 did before it. And with some success, we might add: successive versions of the M3 have won 48 DTM races over the years, starting with the checkered flag which Harald Grohs claimed at Hockenheim in 1987 through to the same race which Augusto Farfus won earlier this year. After taking home the title for BMW in its first year back in DTM last season, Bruno Spengler also won at the Red Bull Ring in Austria two months ago, but the Bimmer teams seem to be having a bit of trouble defending its title against fresh assaults from Audi and Mercedes.
BMW undoubtedly hopes the new M4 DTM will help it turn another new leaf, and we're looking forward to seeing how it all shapes up. Read more in the press release below.

Major Alexa deal will bring Amazon services into more cars

Amazon and its personal assistance service Alexa are partnering with HERE Technologies to create a new connected mobility service powerhouse. Alexa will integrate with HERE's navigation and location services to offer what the two companies are calling a "true voice-first-navigation experience." Alexa will come pre-integrated with HERE navigation on-demand, which the automakers can then enable, which should help cut down on development time. One of the biggest features from this partnership is how directions could be offered and delivered using HERE's Open Location Platform (OLP). Currently, the OLP uses data from several car manufacturers to provide insights into real-time location and traffic. But on Alexa, this could be used to provide directional context. For example, Alexa could say, "Turn right after [such-and-such a building]" rather than just, "Turn right." Amazon has been testing the automotive waters throughout the past decade. Its home-based Alexa-enabled devices are already offered with connections to several manufacturers. To various degrees of integration, it can already pair with Ford, Genesis, Toyota, Lexus, Hyundai and BMW vehicles. At the end of 2018, Amazon took things a step further when it introduced the Echo Auto, a Bluetooth-connected Alexa assistant device that can be physically kept in a car. Currently only available by invitation (its production and distribution have been delayed), the $25 device is essentially a voice service that works together with smartphones and connects to a car's speakers. Users can command it to do a variety of things, including playing music, setting navigation, opening the garage door, finding local stores, making calls, setting reminders, and thousands of other "skills." According to The Verge, nearly 1 million people have already ordered the device. Some (well, probably few) may know HERE Technologies from its maps on Windows Phones. We all know how that turned out, though. Today, HERE has expanded into a multi-function suite that is available in multiple mediums, including many automotive applications. HERE Automotive's connected vehicle services include real-time traffic, parking, weather, fuel prices, hazard warnings, traffic sign integration, and even EV charging stations. These all incorporate and extend the use of HERE's location and tracking programming. HERE is already partnered with BMW, Audi, Daimler, Intel, Mobileye, NVIDIA, and has investments from Bosch, Continental and Pioneer.