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BMW 1 Series sedan interior revealed

The next BMW 1 Series Sedan has made another appearance following our last peek at it in September, and this time, the gallery of images even reveals part of the new car's interior.
Of course, if these images prove anything, it's that manufacturers take camouflage of the interior just as seriously as they do the exterior. We can see in these images a fairly simple cabin, with what looks like a fixed central display. It's quite small, although the housing itself is rather large, so we could be looking at a more basic form of iDrive rather than the full-featured set. Overall, though, this cabin more or less confirms that the 1 Series Sedan will fit in with the rest of the BMW family quite nicely.
Outside of the interior images, though, there isn't a lot of new stuff revealed by these images. As for when we'll see both the interior and exterior fully undisguised, our spies continue pointing to a 2016 debut with a 2017 on-sale date.

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.

Foreign automakers pay from $38 to $65 per hour to non-union workers

As leaders for the United Auto Workers gather in Detroit for their Special Convention on Collective Bargaining to work out the negotiating stance for this year's new labor agreements with the Detroit 3 automakers, what they most want to do is figure out how to eliminate the two-tier wage scale. However, the lower Tier 2 wage has allowed the domestic automakers to reduce their labor costs, hire more workers, and compete better with their import competition. As it stands, per-hour labor rates including benefits are $58 at General Motors, $57 at Ford, and $48 at Fiat-Chrysler – a reflection of FCA's much greater number of Tier 2 workers. The Center for Automotive Research released a study of labor rates (including benefits) that put numbers to what the imports pay: Mercedes-Benz pays the most, at an average of $65 per hour, Volkswagen pays the least, at $38 per hour, and BMW is just a hair above that at $39 per hour. Among the Detroit competitors, Honda workers earn an average of $49 per hour, at Toyota it's $48 per hour, Nissan is $42 per hour, and Hyundai-Kia pays $41 per hour. The lower import wages are aided by their greater use of temporary workers compared to the domestics. Automotive News says the ten-dollar gap between those foreign camakers and the domestics turns out to about an extra $250 per car in labor, which adds up quickly when you're pumping out many millions of cars. That $250-per-car number is one that, come negotiating time, the Detroit 3 will want to reduce, as the UAW is trying to raise both Tier 1 and Tier 2 wages. Another wrinkle is that the domestic carmakers are considering the wide adoption of a third wage level lower than Tier 2. Some workers who do minor tasks like assembling parts trays kits and battery packs already make less than Tier 2, but the UAW will be quite wary about cementing yet another wage scale at the bottom of the system while it's trying to fight a bigger battle at the top. News Source: Automotive News - sub. req., BloombergImage Credit: AP Photo/Erik Schelzig Earnings/Financials UAW/Unions BMW Chevrolet Fiat Ford GM Honda Hyundai Kia Mercedes-Benz Nissan Toyota Volkswagen labor wages collective bargaining labor costs