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BMW shuffles chairs in its design department

BMW Group has made some changes to its design team since August 1, and has shuffled top personnel to different positions at BMW Design, Mini Design and Rolls-Royce.
The BMW Design team led by Karim Habib (middle, right) gains a new head of Exterior Design in Domagoj Dukec (right), who has worked for the exterior design team since 2010 and shaped the Concept Active Tourer.
Oliver Heilmer (left), who has worked for BMW's interior design unit since 2000 and designed the 5 Series interior, replaces Marc Girard as head of Interior Design BMW Automobiles. Marc Girard goes to manage BMW's subsidiary design group, BMW DesignworksUSA.

Ward's Automotive Ten Best Engines of 2014 dominated by diesels, turbos

With the Car and Driver Ten Best decided, the North American Car and Truck of the Year finalists announced and Cadillac, Ram and Subaru chalking up wins with Motor Trend, it's fair to say that the automotive awards season is in full swing. The next set of trophies to be handed out will be from Ward's Automotive, which has announced the winners of its 2014 10 Best Engines.
The latest contest was marked by the widespread emergence of diesel power and the continued success of turbocharged engines. There was even an electric motor on this year's list. In fact, only three of the ten winners were naturally aspirated and only two winners returned from last year.
"We weren't looking to throw the bums out, as they might say about an election. We were just really impressed with the flood of new powertrains," said Ward's Automotive Editor-in-Chief Drew Winter. Those new powertrains include the 83-kilowatt electric motor from the Fiat 500e, the 1.0-liter, EcoBoost three-cylinder from the Ford Fiesta and the 2.0-liter turbodiesel from the Chevrolet Cruze.

BMW planning smaller Z2 roadster

It's been a few years since we heard about the BMW Z2, a compact, two-seat convertible that would slot in below the aging Z4 (shown above). Now, though, the crew at Car and Driver are back with details on the oft-rumored roadster.
The big shock for enthusiasts on this one is C/D's report that the Z2 will spin its front wheels, rather than its rears. A front-drive roadster is strange enough, but a front-drive BMW roadster? It's apparently true, though, as the new model would share its platform with the front-drive Mini and 2 Series Active Tourer rather than with the racier 228i or M235i coupes.
According to C/D, the rumored Z2 could be powered by a range of three- and four-cylinder, turbocharged engines, although it's more likely to be a four-only affair. Power should range from 160 to 230 ponies, while an M variant could arrive with 300 horsepower (that's a whole lot of power for front-wheel drive...).