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BMW intros Concept M4 GTS ahead of Pebble Beach debut

Meet the BMW Concept M4 GTS. Coming to this weekend's Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, the new high-performance coupe gets both performance and aesthetic upgrades as it previews a higher-performance version of BMW's two-door darling. The headlining item is the new water-injection system. As previously reported, the setup draws from a 1.3-gallon water tank and was pioneered by the M4 Safety Car used in the MotoGP series. The new system injects water directly into the plenums of the intake manifold, where it is vaporized. The result is a lower compression temperature in the combustion chamber, which according to BMW means more horsepower and torque. You can get a broader explanation in the attached press release. Beyond the water-injection system, the M4 GTS will get OLED taillights. Their function sounds very German – "producing full-surface and homogenous illumination" – but we simply prefer the impact they've had on the look of the rear lights. It's markedly different than anything else in the BMW suite. There is a mix of aesthetic and performance upgrades to the normal M4 exterior, too. BMW has fitted manually adjustable aerodynamic aids, with a new chin splitter and a prominent rear spoiler. Both items are, unsurprisingly, made from exposed carbon fiber. BMW also turned to composites for the hood, opting for carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic. We're particularly fond of the M4 GTS' wheels. They're absolutely stunning staggered hoops, with 19-inchers in front and 20s in back. The 666M style, as BMW calls them, feature Acid Orange accents that really play well with the Frozen Dark Grey paint (although they clash quite badly with the yellow calipers on the carbon-ceramic brakes). Stay tuned for more on the new Concept M4 GTS, including live images from its debut in sunny California. Until then, scroll down for the official press release from BMW. Related Video: BMW Concept M4 GTS to be Premiered During Monterey Car Week. The First M3/ M4 Special Production Car to be Sold in the US. Woodcliff Lake, N.J. – EMBARGO: August 13, 2015 – 9:00pm EDT/6:00pm PDT...A year on from the launch of the BMW M4 Coupe, BMW M GmbH is presenting an initial preview of a high-performance model for use on the road and on the race track: the BMW Concept M4 GTS – the first M3/M4 special production vehicle to be sold in the US. The BMW M GmbH was founded in 1972 as BMW Motorsport GmbH and caused a sensation with its iconic BMW M1 racing car.

Zombie cars: Discontinued vehicles that aren't dead yet

Car models come and go, but as revealed by monthly sales data, once a car is discontinued, it doesn't just disappear instantly. And in the case of some models, vanishing into obscurity can be a slow, tedious process. That's the case with the 12 cars we have here. All of them have been discontinued, but car companies keep racking up "new" sales with them. There are actually more discontinued cars that are still registering new sales than what we decided to include here. We kept this list to the oldest or otherwise most interesting vehicles still being sold as new, including a supercar. We'll run the list in alphabetical order, starting with *drumroll* ... BMW 6 Series: 55 total sales BMW quietly removed the 6 Series from the U.S. market during the 2019 model year. It had been available in three configurations, a hardtop coupe, a convertible and a sleek four-door coupe-like shape.   BMW i8: 18 total sales We've always had a soft spot for the BMW i8, despite the fact that it never quite fit into a particular category. It was sporty, but nowhere near as fast as similarly-priced competitors. It looked very high-tech and boasted a unique carbon fiber chassis design and a plug-in hybrid powertrain, but wasn't really designed for maximum efficiency or maximum performance. Still, the in-betweener was very cool to look at and drive, and 18 buyers took one home over the course of 2021.   Chevy Impala: 750 total sales The Impala represented classic American tastes at a time when American tastes were shifting away from soft-riding sedans with big interior room and trunk space and into higher-riding crossovers. A total of 750 sales were inked last year.   Chrysler 200: 15 total sales The Chrysler 200 was actually a pretty nice sedan, with good looks and decent driving dynamics let down by a lack of roominess, particularly in the back seat. Of course, as we said regarding the Chevy Impala, the number of Americans in the market for sedans is rapidly winding down, and other automakers are following Chrysler's footsteps in canceling their slow-selling four-doors. Even if Chrysler never really found its footing in the ultra-competitive midsize sedan segment, apparently dealerships have a few leftover 2017 200s floating around. And for some reason, 15 buyers decided to sign the dotted line to take one of these aging sedans home last year.

China sticking to its guns on EVs for the future

Automakers are obviously free to develop whatever next-gen, zero-emissions tech that they want. However, if a company wants to get on the good side of the Chinese government, that strategy better include some plug-in vehicles. The authorities there are lending major support to plug-ins at the moment, and its forcing the auto industry to play along. According to Bloomberg, Toyota, Volkswagen, Hyundai, and BMW are all launching dedicated EV brands with their joint venture partners, and as many as 40 electric models could hit the Chinese market this year alone. However, analysts don't think the vehicles are going to sell well. Instead, the launches are essentially a way for companies to play nice with the government and help get the approval to build factories in the country. Take Toyota as an example. The company is pushing the future of hydrogen hard with promotional films for the Mirai and engineers talking down fast-charging EVs. Still, the Japanese automaker is getting ready to launch two EV brands in China with its joint venture partners, according to Bloomberg. China's push for alternative fuels has been happening for a while, but it really kicked into high gear last year. The government has set a goal to improve fleet-wide economy by 40 percent by the end of the decade in order to spend less importing oil and for the population's health. The plan has shown some success so far with hybrid and EV sales growing early in 2015. Related Video: News Source: BloombergImage Credit: Kin Cheung / AP Photo Government/Legal Green BMW Hyundai Toyota Volkswagen Green Culture Technology Electric tax incentives chinese government