2010 Bmw Certified Pre-owned 5 Series 4dr Sdn 535i Rwd on 2040-cars

Auto blog

M-fographic breaks down the history of BMW performance machinery

Few characters carry the kind of clout among performance enthusiasts as the letter M. For 35 years now, that one letter has adorned over 300,000 BMWs, each tuned to deliver a higher degree of performance than the stock models on which they're based.
The M division has worked up nearly 100 different models over the past third of a century, which can leave even the most expert among Bimmer fanatics bewildered. Fortunately British auto loan service Carfinance247 has commissioned this handy infographic to make sense of it all, and you can check it out below to see what the letter M really stands for.

BMW considering North American engine plant?

BMW may be set to expand its US operations with a new engine plant, Bloomberg reports. The Bavarian automaker already has its Spartanburg, SC factory which builds the company's X3, X5 and X6 crossovers. According to the story, Mexico is also under consideration for the BMW engine factory, with the report claiming a final decision will be made in 2014.
"Establishing local motor manufacturing abroad is more complex than assembling cars, but it's a logical step for them to eventually start making engines in markets where they're expanding vehicle production," Juergen Pieper, an analyst for Bankhaus Metzler tells Bloomberg. Building engines in the US or Mexico would save BMW from having to ship engines for some of its most popular models across the Atlantic.
BMW, for its part, hasn't said anything concrete. Spokesman Mathias Schmidt is quoted in the story saying, "As part of our long-term growth strategy, we're frequently looking at different countries for possible locations of future production facilities. No decisions have been made yet, though, for an additional plant."

BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe caught without cladding

Like it or not, the majority of BMW 3 Series variants are on their way out, and the 4 Series models are hotly embroiled in the testing needed to replace them. We've now driven the basic 4 Series, seen spy photographs of the 4 Series Convertible and both versions of the M4 and today we get a better-than-ever look at the 4 Series Gran Coupe.
And, mostly dependent on your personal disposition towards four-dour coupes, that look should be a pleasant thing. The long, swooping Gran Coupe may be roughly similar in size to the related 3 Series GT, but it has been sculpted with beauty in mind rather than crossover function. We expect that those details still hidden by the body cladding here, mostly front and rear, can be filled in by simply remembering what the standard 4 Series looks like and squinting your eyes a bit. Subtlety is thy name, BMW variants.
As for the mechanicals, well, we expect to have the very same greasy bits under the hood and beneath the car that are found in the 4 Series lineup, too.