It's hard to believe just by looking at well-preserved examples, but next year, the BMW 8-Series coupe will be a quarter of a century old as it debuted at the Frankfurt Motor Show (IAA) in September of 1989, remaining in production for a decade.

It's also hard to believe that someone would spend time, effort and money to transform a 1993 850i into an odd-looking caricature (and that's a huge understatement) like the one pictured here.

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No one likes to see their car clamped down, regardless if they deserve it or not, but once it happens, the only other thing you can really do besides paying the ticket is to complain about it.

Well, at least these are the options for someone rational, because you could always defy logic and attempt something stupid like drive away with one of your wheels locked in the clamp, which is precisely what an elderly man from Dublin, Ireland, tried to do in a BMW 5-Series Touring (E39).

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Just because carmakers don't publicize specifications of future models, doesn't mean that they're not obliged by law to register prototype vehicles created for development purposes if they intend to use them on public roads.

In some cases, depending on the country and local rules, they have to provide specific details. If we are to believe a report from the BMW loving crew over at the F30Posts, one of their members discovered a registration document for an M4 Coupe test car through a VIN check (there no mention on how and where).

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O segmento de Sedãs de Luxo TOP recebeu mais um integrante em 2012! Trata-se do Lexus LS460 que chegou no primeiro semestre com a missão de fazer frente aos alemães, mas precisa provar à que veio, até porque o modelo vendeu apenas 2 unidades desde o seu lançamento em Julho! Porém por outro lado, o líder do segmento dobrou as suas vendas em relação à 2011, com belo aumento de 82%! Por falar em crescimento o BMW Série 6 de 234% e a única queda do segmento, o Audi A8 com queda de 50%!

Touring variants (BMW talk for station wagons) of the M5 have been an on-off affair for the Bavarian carmaker, which to date, has only presented two such models in the vehicle's 28 year-long history.

The first M5 Touring came with the second-generation model (E34) in 1992 and the last, with the fourth generation E60 in 2007. BMW had also created a prototype for the third gen M5 (E39), which it kept a well-guarded secret until it finally showed the car to the public in 2009.

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O segmento de Sedãs Grandes de Luxo cresceu em relação à 2011, principalmente ao número de modelos! Só em 2012 nada mais nada menos que 4 modelos chegaram neste segmento, que possui preços de R$150.000 à R$250.000! Entre as 4 novidades, temos: Hyundai Genesis, Volkswagen CC, e os Lexus IS300 e ES350! Entre os modelos que mais cresceram foram apenas o Chrysler 300C com incrível crescimento de 3.837,5% e o Audi A5 com 18%! Os modelos que mais caíram foram: BMW Série 5 com 65%, seguido do Chevrolet Omega com 45%, Jaguar XF com 44% e do Mercedes-Benz Classe E com 43%!

Estreante, essa categoria fica acima dos Sedãs Grandes como Ford Fusion e Hyundai Sonata, modelos com preços acima da casa dos R$115.000 e que chegam até os R$150.000! Além disso, esse segmento caiu muito em relação à 2011, com queda generalizada! Porém tivemos um novo líder, o Mercedes-Benz tomando o lugar do Hyundai Azera por menos de 470 unidades, graças ao bom rendimento do Classe C nos últimos meses do ano de 2012! Sem nenhuma novidade em 2012, só nos resta saber quais os modelos que mais caírem em relação à 2011! Foram eles: Hyundai Azera com 50%, Kia Cadenza com 39%, Mercedes-Benz Classe C com 32%, Audi A4 com 26%, Toyota Camry com 19% e o BMW Série 3 com 7%!

Do you own a BMW 6-Series Gran Coupe equipped with the Bavarian firm's optional M Sport aerodynamic package and still want to personalize your car's looks with an aftermarket kit?

No problem, says Hamann, which has developed exclusive parts for M-trimmed versions of BMW's so-called "four-door coupe".

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The BMW Group increased the number of models, is equipped with all-wheel drive, up to 68 dynamic redistribution of tractive effort to optimize the quality of the surface traction, directional stability and agility in all conditions - BMW and MINI demonstrate extensive experience in the creation of all-wheel drive systems in the event Winter Drive Event in Austria Kühtai.
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The word on the street is that BMW is making plans to unwrap a thinly disguised concept version of the M3 sedan at the Frankfurt motor show in September, with the final production model to appear in dealerships around the world in 2014.

Like many other publications, Britain's Car Magazine has come up with an illustration to give us an idea of what to expect about the M3 sedan's looks in its latest issue.

And it's not alone, as the creative minds over at Bimmerpost used their Photoshop skills to turn the BMW 4-Series Coupe Concept from the Detroit Motor Show into an impressive M4 Coupe study.

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Safety is something not to be taken lightly as far as cars are concerned. Euro NCAP, the independent organization that was established by seven European governments and has been conducting crash-tests since 1997, has been a key player in improving the level of passive and active safety offered by today’s new cars.

In 2012, it tested 36 new vehicles that became available in European markets. Most of them performed well enough to earn a five-star rating, though some did better than others in the four individual categories, namely adult occupant protection, child occupant protection, pedestrian protection and safety assist systems, and earned the “Best in Class” title for their respective segments (two of them tied in the Mini MPV class).

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O segmento de Hatch's TOP receberam duas novidades no ano de 2012! A primeira foi a Morris Garages que lançou o MG6, e antes mesmo de ser lançado oficialmente o Toyota Prius já tinha vendido 25 unidades nos últimos meses de 2012! Ano passado também foi lançado a nova geração do Série 1, que já se prepara para uma legítima "guerra" que acontecerá em 2013, com cerca de 4 modelos inéditos e as novas gerações de Audi A3 e Subaru Impreza! O único modelo a ficar no verde foi o BMW Série 1 que aumentou 19% em relação à 2011! Entre as maiores quedas estão à do Impreza com uma incrível queda de 69% e do A3 com 42%!

After last June’s MoU (Memorandum of Understanding), the Toyota Motor Corporation and the BMW Group announced today the signing of binding agreements for the joint development of new technologies and a new sports car.

BMW Chairman Norbert Reithofer and Toyota President Akio Toyoda both expressed their satisfaction in signing the binding agreements and their shared belief that this partnership will be beneficial for their groups and help them to produce better vehicles.

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As BMW begins to circulate craftily camouflaged prototypes of its second generation 1-Series Coupe and Convertible models, which will form the new 2-Series range, out in the open, the question arises if the Bavarian carmaker has plans for an M2 high-performance version.

From what we have heard, BMW M seems open to creating an M2 model, possibly powered by a four-cylinder turbocharged engine instead of the M135i hatchback's 3.0-liter force-fed straight-six, which would mark a first for the brand since the demise of the original M3 E30 back in the early 1990s.

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If you need your regular BMW 1-Series to stand out from the crowd, German aftermarket specialist Prior-Design has cooked up a new dish for the non-M models of the compact coupe as well as its convertible variants.

The new widebody styling kit apes the looks of the 1-Series M Coupe with bloated front and wheel arches, combined with matching M-style front and rear bumpers, a vented hood, and side skirts at a price of €2,999 (about US$4,000 at today's exchange rates), not including fitting.

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A new generation of "charged" sedan BMW M3 should debut very soon - pre-production prototype of a powerful chetyrehdverki show in March of this year at the motor show in Geneva. However, the official data, as well as new items to pictures are still there. But in the network recently got the scan covers not yet
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Herbert Diss, Board Member BMW, responsible for the development, confirmed that the company is preparing to release a modified electric i3-board engine-generator, Range extender (REx). Earlier, a car shpionery caught in testing, now states: serial hybrid to be. At the same time, Diss confirmed insider
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A BMW official has confirmed that the range-extender engine to be offered as an option on the battery-powered i3 supermini will be a two-cylinder gasoline unit sourced from the brand's motorcycle division and not the upcoming, larger displacement 1.5-liter three-cylinder petrol engine developed for the Bavarian group's automobiles.

Speaking to Autonews during last week's Detroit Motor Show, Herbert Diess, BMW's head of Research and Development, said that the range-extender engine option will be offered when the new i3 goes on sale in the fourth quarter of 2013, but he avoided to say how much it will cost.

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There are 75 million 30- to 40-year old consumers in the U.S. right now and, according to Mercedes-Benz USA head of marketing Bernie Glaser, “they have big expectations for products and brands”.

The problem for automakers like Mercedes, Audi and BMW is that these buyers are not able and/or willing to pay the US$40,000 sticker price attached to premium vehicles. Yet they want to have their cake and eat it, too – or, as Glaser puts it, demand “attractive styled cars and the right technology”.

One way to attract those buyers is to lower the entry price: only last week, BMW announced that, starting this spring, it will offer a 320i sedan priced at US$33,445 (including destination) – that’s US$4,300 cheaper than today’s entry-level 328i.

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Depois de muito tempo temos um empate novamente! Classe A e Giulietta empataram com 40% cada! O Classe A chega aqui ainda no segundo semestre e o Alfa Romeo chega antes, no primeiro semestre! Ambos são os preferidos da nova safra de Hatch's TOP, que ainda tinha o Volvo V40 e Citroën DS4, além das novas gerações de Subaru Impreza, Audi A3 e do Série 1 já a venda no mercado desde 2012! Ambos querem uma larga fatia desse segmento, que vem ganhando bastante modelos interessantes, como os dois modelos que se sairão preferidos entre os internautas! Não deixe de votar na próxima enquete, já no ar!