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BMW 3-series (2008) facelift first photos

By Tim Pollard First Official Pictures 11 July 2008 14:20 BMW has just lifted the embargo on photos of the new 3-series, after an American website published photos early. So here they are: a pair of photographs revealing the look of the – very lightly revised – 'new' 3-series. It's a compact exec with a few surprises up its sleeve, including the ability to travel 60 miles on a single gallon of fuel...

BMW Vision ConnectedDrive (2011) first pictures

This gorgeous two-seat roadster is the BMW Vision ConnectedDrive, set to be unveiled at the 2011 Geneva motor show. Unlike some of BMW’s other Vision-tagged concept cars, this unfortunately isn’t a thinly disguised production car, but a study designed to highlight the company’s driver assistance systems.  However, although BMW has released no details on the engine or layout under the sexy skin, thankfully the Vision ConnectedDrive’s stunning styling (including the shark nose, wrap-around rear lights and layered body) will find its way onto future production BMWs.  For a start sensors in the headlamps and rear lights monitor the traffic situation and the environment around the car, while instead of wing mirrors there are antennas that receive navigation data and transmit other information. Inside the driver has a 3D head-up display, and the system can project information about the chosen sat-nav route so it appears at the exact point of a possible turn-off. The 3D system also displays information in the foreground or background of the display depending on its relevance.

Bonneville broadcast will add pepper to the salt

If you've ever been to Bonneville during Speed Week, you know what a thrilling corner of the motorsports world the place occupies: standing out on the endless, blazing-white expanse of salt, hearing the cars before you see them, seeing first the roostertail of salt rocketed into the air, then the tallest part of the rear fin, then the car itself, blasting over the curvature of the Earth, followed by engine cutoff, popping chutes, deceleration and the giddy celebration of driver and crew as yet another record falls. But most people -- those with jobs, kids, responsibilities (where are your priorities, people???) -- will never get a chance to go. So this year, the Southern California Timing Association has made a deal to broadcast audio of the entire Speed Week live, as it happens, direct from the salt, on the fabulous internet.