Video: BMW takes its autonomous 5 Series onto the autobahn

Filed under: Safety , Technology , BMW Last May we went for a high-speed run around Laguna Seca in BMW’s Track Trainer , a modified 3 Series that can click of two-minute laps without the driver touching the controls. Now, BMW has packed a 5 Series with the next iteration of the technology and taken it on to the open road. This latest ConnectedDrive experiment uses much of the same tech, but beyond the radar and camera systems on the 3er, it includes new ultrasonic scanners and lasers to re-read the road surface, lines and surrounding vehicles. We say “re-read” because like the system we sampled at Laguna, this version needs to have the road data downloaded into the car before it can drive sans human intervention

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Video: BMW takes its autonomous 5 Series onto the autobahn

Official: BMW updates 2013 X6, introduces M Performance Package

Filed under: Performance , Crossover , BMW , Luxury BMW , which still insists on using the term Sports Activity Coupe to describe its least practical ‘ute, has updated its X6 for the 2013 model year. And with good reason – BMW says it has sold over 20,000 X6 crossovers in the States since its launch three years ago and over 150,000 worldwide, making it an important model for the German automaker. First and foremost, the 2013 X6 offers available power from both the 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged inline six and 4.4-liter twin-turbo V8 through its M Performance Package (which is not the same thing as the X6M that carries on for 2013 with its 555-horsepower V8 and six-speed automatic transmission). By ticking he appropriate box on the order sheet, the X6 xDrive35i is blessed with 315 horsepower (a gain of 15 over stock) and 330 pound-feet of torque (a 30-lb-ft gain).

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Official: BMW updates 2013 X6, introduces M Performance Package

Official: BMW M goes diesel, introduces M550d, X5 M50d, X6 M50d

Filed under: Sedan , Performance , Wagon , Geneva Motor Show , Europe , Crossover , BMW , Diesel Rumors of BMW M launching a diesel model have been circulating for over a year, and confirmation has finally arrived in the form of not one, not two, but four M-fettled oil-burners, each sporting all-wheel drive and the oft-rumored tri-turbocharged 3.0-liter inline six. And before you get excited, none of them are slated for sale in the U.S. – this is a Euro-only affair. So with that unfortunate fact out of the way, let’s get to the details.

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Official: BMW M goes diesel, introduces M550d, X5 M50d, X6 M50d

Volvo shows off semi-autonomous road train tech [videos]

Volvo has announced they have successfully conducted a multi-vehicle test for the EU-funded SARTRE (Safe Road Trains for the Environment) project.

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Volvo shows off semi-autonomous road train tech [videos]

Rolls-Royce Ghost customization proves to be popular

The Rolls-Royce Ghost is a stunning sales success and the company has revealed that 56% of buyers choose to customize their vehicles in a bespoke fashion.

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Rolls-Royce Ghost customization proves to be popular

Video: Woman delivers own baby while husband drives, films

Filed under: Etc. , Videos The birth of a child is a beautiful thing. Well… let’s rephrase that.

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Video: Woman delivers own baby while husband drives, films