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Meet the inventor of the BMW 3 Series wagon

It's hard to imagine, but once upon a time, there were only two BMW 3 Series variants: the coupe and sedan. Back before gran coupes, convertibles and yes, even touring models were available, buyers could only get their 3 Series fix if it came with two or four doors and a fixed roof. Back in the mid '80s, BMW engineer Max Reisbock was having some trouble fitting his whole family into his four door. Rather than suck it up and buy a van, he picked up a wrecked 3 Series and got to cutting in a buddy's garage. Months later, he had the very first 3 Series Touring ever built.
At first, he kept the the car to himself, using it to haul friends and family around, but he eventually showed it off to his friends at work. When the BMW executives found out about his project, they called him up to take a closer look. After putting an eyeball on the car, they took it, copied his design, made a few tweaks and quickly rolled out the first production 3 Series Touring. How's that for validation? Check out the video below for Reisbock's story.

Toyota launches BMW-powered Verso in Europe

BMW makes some sweet-revving engines, but its own vehicles aren't the only ones running BMW engines. So do the latest from Rolls-Royce and Mini, of course, as well as a handful of Peugeots and Citroëns thanks to its joint engine program with PSA. Wiesmann uses BMW engines, as did the famous McLaren F1. And now we can add one more to the list.
That would be the Toyota Verso, a Corolla-based minivan which Toyota builds in Turkey and sells in Europe and a few other markets overseas. The Verso is also now officially the first beneficiary of the partnership between Toyota and BMW as the Japanese automaker has released the MPV with BMW's 1.6-liter turbodiesel four.
The 111-horsepower engine is coupled to a Toyota transmission and joins the Verso range as the fourth (and least powerful) engine in the lineup, alongside the 122hp 2.0 diesel and the gasoline options with 1.6 liters and 160 hp and 1.8 for 180. Future collaborations between the two automakers will include fuel-cell development, a new joint sportscar platform, lightweight bodywork research and a new generation of lithium-air batteries. See the press release below for further details.

BMW planning to stretch i3 into i5 family hauler?

If you're sweet on the new BMW i3 but wish it had more space to carry people and stuff, we've got good news for you. According to Autocar, BMW is planning on stretching the platform that underpins the i3 to create a new model, expected to be called i5.
The stretch job would add an extra four inches of legroom in the back and another six inches of rear overhang to the benefit of cargo space. The result would create a vehicle longer than the current Mini Countryman - although the next Countryman is likely to be even larger. As Autocar points out, the process of extending the i3's composte passenger cell likely wouldn't be as difficult or cost-intensive as lengthening a conventional metal chassis, although the rear doors would need to be re-engineered.
Whether the resulting vehicle would more closely resemble a hatchback, wagon, minivan or something in between remains to be seen, however BMW is said to have already registered the nameplates i1 through i8, signalling that the possibility is at least there to add more members to its new EV family.