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BMW says SUVs killed the sports car market

In many ways, we're living in a golden age of automotive performance. After all, it's possible to show up at a Dodge dealer, hand over about $60,000 and storm away with a 707-horsepower Challenger Hellcat. Or for those who prefer a touch more luxury, the BMW M4, Mercedes-AMG C63 and latest Cadillac ATS-V offer between 425 and 503 horsepower, depending on your pick, with a bit more poshness. However, none of these powerful vehicles fit the classic definition of a two-place, droptop sports car, and according BMW head of sales Ian Robertson, that's because the segment is very much in the doldrums.
According to Robertson, two factors seriously wounded the classic sports car market. First, the global economic crisis of a few years ago put a serious hurt on sales, according to Bloomberg. Further worsening the situation, the boom in popularity of luxury SUVs and crossovers in the past few years hasn't allowed for much recovery. Even car-hungry China hasn't helped much because of the smog in many cities and preference among some of the very rich there to be chauffeured.
Combined, Audi TT, BMW Z4 and Mercedes-Benz SLK sales peaked around 114,000 units a year in 2007, but they are only expected to reach 72,000 annually by the end of the decade. Robertson is pretty pessimistic about the market's comeback too. "Post-2008, it just collapsed. I'm not so sure it'll ever fully recover," he said to Bloomberg.

Recharge Wrap-up: BMW i3 Super Bowl ad, Tesla updates backup camera

For the fourth year in a row, fuel economy is the biggest factor in buying a new vehicle. A new report from JD Power and Associates found that, despite cheaper gas, customers still sought out fuel-sipping cars. 14 percent of survey responders cited mileage as the biggest concern when shopping for a new car, and the second most important reason to reject a vehicle. The biggest deal-breaker, though, when it comes to buying a new car is much more superficial: 30 percent of shoppers cite appearance as the main reason to avoid buying a particular vehicle. Read more at Automotive News, or in the press release below. Tesla's 6.1 Firmware update for the Model S makes maneuvering the car in reverse a bit easier. The update includes reverse guiding lines for the rear-view camera when backing up. Combined with the parking sensors, the new lines in the display make it easier to place the car into parking spots by showing where the car will be positioned based on the angle of the steering wheel. Two white lines curve with the steering to show where the car is going. Check it out in the video below or read more at Teslarati. BMW will air a new ad for the i3 during Super Bowl XLIX. The 60-second commercial will play during the first quarter of the game on Sunday, February 1. BMW didn't give the whole idea behind the TV spot away, but did hint at the concept behind the ad. "Big ideas like the BMW i3 take a little getting used to, and the creative idea surrounding our spot will play on this analogy," says BMW's Trudy Hardy. Despite Cheap Gas, Fuel Efficiency Still a Primary Concern Exterior Look/Design Top Reason Buyers Don't Even Consider a Vehicle WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif.: 14 January 2015 - Despite gas prices falling to their lowest levels since 2010, fuel economy-for a fourth consecutive year-remains the most influential factor among the majority of new-vehicle buyers in determining which vehicle they select, according to the J.D. Power 2015 U.S. Avoider StudySM released today. The study, now in its 12th year, examines the reasons consumers purchase, reject or do not consider-or avoid-particular models when shopping for a new vehicle. According to the study, 14 percent of new-vehicle owners cite gas mileage as the most influential reason for selecting the vehicle they ultimately purchased. At the segment level, gas mileage is the primary purchase reason among buyers of compact, small and midsize cars and compact MPVs.

There's no substitution for BMW's E30 Mmmmm3

If you told someone that you had a friend with a four-cylinder BMW who "would let me wash the car," and in exchange for the privilege then let you drive that clean BMW once around the block, your first question would probably be "What kind of BMW is this?" There's a chance you wouldn't be surprised once you found out the coupe in question was the E30 M3, a car our own Zach Bowman dubbed the "Mmmmm3."
Petrolicious talks to Gabor Mester about the car he fell in love with, a black version of the original "Munich mauler" that was owned by the parents of a high-school friend - oh, and Mester was also in high school when this washing and driving took place. When the original owners were ready to sell, Mestor was ready to buy, and he hasn't had a single regret about it since.
You can enjoy his story in his words in the video below.