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BMW CS reinterpretation proves retro can be sexy [w/video]

Designer David Obendorfer doesn't work for BMW, but perhaps the German automaker should give him a call. His CS Vintage Concept shows a singular ability to understand the brand's classic style and reinterpret it for today. He isn't some amateur, either. Obendorfer has an industrial design degree and has been penning the interiors and exteriors of yachts from the Officina Italiana Design for five years, which counts luxury shipbuilders like Riva and Sanlorenzo among its clients. His website shows a real passion and knack for modernizing '60s and '70s European cars, too.
Obendorfer prefers to reimagine classic automotive styles. "Retro cars are not copies of their predecessors or renovated specimens, rather they are carefully studied reconsiderations, strongly rooted in contemporary style," he tells Autoblog. For the CS Vintage Concept, he worked to update the looks of the seminal BMW 2000CS and its E9 chassis while placing them on a modern platform. Obendorfer's inspiration comes from his belief that the later CS models' design is partially responsible for defining BMW styling, with its shark-nose front and four round headlights.
The CS Vintage Concept's shape starts with a jutting hood and a quartet of LED headlights, but the whole design really comes together in profile. The Hofmeister Kink at the rear pillar with the BMW Roundel is a nice nod to the originals, yet the proportions still find the perfect fusion of classic and modern. The interior is minimalist, with a vast expanse of wood for the dashboard at first glance, but the latter opens to expose the car's infotainment system.

Toyota, Mercedes, BMW top automakers included in List of Best Global Brands

Interbrand, a consultancy firm, has published its 13th annual list of the best global brands. Besides seeing some shakeups at the top - Apple and Google unseated Coca-Cola (a company that has dominated the survey since its birth), the 100-item list features 14 automakers, most of which enjoyed double-digit gains in brand value.
Toyota managed to retain its spot as the study's top automaker. It finished the survey in 10th position overall (the same as last year), despite a 17-percent improvement in its brand value, from $29.33 billion to $35.34 billion. Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Honda all made the top 20, at 11th, 12th and 20th place, respectively. Hopping a ways down the list, we come across Volkswagen in 34th place, up from 39th in last year's study, with a brand value of $11.12 billion, a 20-percent improvement over 2012. Ford and Hyundai round out the automakers in the top 50, at 42 and 43.
Porsche made the largest year-over-year gain of any automaker, with its brand value increasing 26 percent to $6.47 billion. Chevrolet meanwhile, cracks the list for the very first time at 89th place. As Interbrand notes, Chevy's inclusion is notable because of the sheer number of vehicles it moves for General Motors and its recent push in developing markets. The final interesting note on this survey is the position of an automaker that takes its name and logo more seriously than perhaps any other - Ferrari. The Italian exotic manufacturer finished 98th out of 100, with just $4.01 billion in brand value, a six-percent improvement over 2012.

BMW i3 with range extender won't get all the EV tax benefits in NJ

Everyone loves that new-car smell, but not everyone loves that new-car tax. And whoever in New Jersey thought the extended-range version of the BMW i3 plug-in would be exempt from said tax was sorely mistaken, Green Car Reports says. To paraphrase the Garden State's favorite son, Bruce Springsteen, the first kick those drivers will take is when they hit the ground. BMW said last year that the BMW REx would qualify for new-car tax exemptions in New Jersey and in Washington State. The car's all-electric range was recently estimated at 72 miles and it has another 87 miles of gas-powered range-extended capability. Unfortunately, the range extender not only tacks on $3,850 to the car's sticker price but adds on almost that much again because New Jersey's seven-percent sales tax applies to all cars with any sort of gas-powered engine. BMW didn't respond to a request for comment about the New Jersey situation from AutoblogGreen. In other New Jersey electric vehicle news, the Consumer Affairs Committee of the New Jersey State Assembly will discuss the legality of Tesla selling directly to consumbers tomorrow. The extended-range i3 is involved in a different issue on the other side of the country. BMW said earlier this year that the REx would qualify for California's white zero-emission vehicle stickers that allow for solo access to high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes. These unlimited white stickers can go on any EV, but the REx version only qualifies for the green stickers, which are designated for plug-in hybrids and extended-range plug-ins and the state has run out of those.