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Friday, January 31, 2014

First 2015 BMW 4-series Gran Coupe Photos: It Looks Exactly How You Imagine It Would

2015 BMW 4-series Gran Coupe

After recently forcing all of its models into a rigid even-number-equals-coupe, odd-number-means-sedan naming scheme—a process that saw the 3-series coupe morph into the 4-series—BMW also layered on a sub-nomenclature for its "four-door coupes," the Gran Coupe moniker. Now, the first photos of the second BMW Gran Coupe model, based on the 4-series, have hit the website autofilou.at (and posted to Jalopnik) ahead of an anticipated debut sometime soon.

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Assuming these photos are real, not much about the 4-series Gran Coupe is a surprise. It pretty much looks like the sedan on which it's based, albeit with a faster roofline and the front- and rear-end styling of the 4-series (which is slightly different from that of the sedan).

2015 BMW 4-series Gran Coupe

We expect the 4er GC to inherit the same turbocharged inline-four and inline-six engines that power the 3-series sedan and wagon (and 4-series coupe and convertible), although don't bet on a diesel being made available here. Model names like 428i and 435i are expected, and BMW's xDrive all-wheel drive should also be part of the 4-series Gran Coupe mix. Now that you've seen the 4-series Gran Coupe, full information likely isn't far behind. Check back soon for all the details.

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Survey Shows Which Cars Drive Men, Women Wild

CarCrushes

Here's the long and short of it: When it comes to vehicles driven by potential suitors, ladies are most attracted to the rugged masculinity of a man in a big black pickup truck, while gentlemen prefer BMWs where their romantic prospects are concerned. Hey, don't blame us for perpetuating gender-based stereotypes — there's statistical science behind these generalizations. A survey by Insurance.com polled 2,000 men and women age 18 or older on the type, brand and color of their crushes' cars.

Survey: Journey's 'Don't Stop Believin' ' Is Best Song for Driving

The top vehicles women like their men to drive, followed by the percentage saying so, are:

1. Pickup trucks, 32 percent
2. Sports cars, 27 percent
3. SUVs, 16 percent
4. Sedans, 11 percent
5. Hybrid or electric, 9 percent
6. UPS truck, 4 percent
7. Minivans, 2 percent
8. Mail truck, 1 percent

Men, on the other hand, are sweet on gals behind the wheel of a:

1. Sports car, 39 percent
2. Sedan, 22 percent
3. SUV, 20 percent
4. Pickup truck, 10 percent
5. Hybrid or electric, 6 percent
6. Minivan, 4 percent

You can draw your own conclusions about why UPS trucks and minivans made women's and men's respective lists. We ain't touchin' it. But in other desirable vehicle traits, women reported tending toward men in Fords (16 percent), Chevrolets (13 percent) and Porsches (11 percent), while the fellas like ladies in luxury brands including BMW (16 percent), Mercedes-Benz (14 percent) and Porsche (10 percent). Both sexes unsurprisingly prefer paramours' rides in three of the continent's most popular car colors — black, red and silver — but women's top choice is black (53 percent) while men's is red (40 percent).

Other car-related turn-ons demand that a love interest's car is:

1. Clean (women, 45 percent; men, 43 percent)
2. Reliable (women, 37 percent; men, 29 percent)
3. Interesting (women, 7 percent; men, 12 percent)
4. New or newish (women, 6 percent; men, 9 percent)
5. Expensive (women, 4 percent; men, 6 percent)

Likewise, turnoffs include:

1. Cigarette butts in the ashtray (women, 23 percent; men, 23 percent)
2. Trash on the seats (women, 22 percent; men, 23 percent)
3. Playing bad loud music (women, 21 percent; men, 16 percent)
4. Bumper stickers for political candidates (women, 9 percent; men, 13 percent)
5. Body dents (women, 6 percent; men, 11 percent)
6. Loud exhaust (women, 14 percent; men, 9 percent)
7. Pine-tree air freshener (women, 5 percent; men, 5 percent)

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Paging Doctor Sound: Harman Introducing Signal Doctor to Improve Audio Quality in the Car

Compressed audio files are the written word's equivalent of CliffsNotes. Sure, you understand the artist's thesis, but all the fine details are lost alongside the missing information. Audiophiles know this. For most, us included, the lost information goes unnoticed when an audio compressor cuts all audio frequencies above a certain point (that's called a brickwall filter in the biz), rounds off sharp spikes in amplitude, or converts true two-channel stereo sound to data-shrinking mono audio where possible. To put it in perspective, a 128-kbps audio file, standard iTunes stuff, contains ten times less information than a CD.

With today's cloud-storage, take-it-anywhere, satellite-radio digital age, most of the acoustic entertainment we listen to is some kind of compressed audio. To improve the general user experience, Harman created Signal Doctor. By analyzing audio files in real time, Signal Doctor returns some of the lost amplitude and adds some of what the brickwall filter lopped off, or at least what it thinks was lopped off.

Signal Doctor can't recreate what was lost. But it does, as we learned at Harman's office in Farmington Hills, Michigan, richen the sound of compressed audio. Tire, engine, and road noise has the potential to render the enhancements moot in no-frills transportation. Those lucky enough to travel in sound-proof luxury vessels will surely notice a difference.

Harman is currently working with OEMs to integrate Signal Doctor with the head units of new cars. Expect to see a little Dolby NR–like Signal Doctor symbol in new cars within the next year. If you can't wait, JBL, a Harman brand, has Signal Doctor in its line of Authentics Bluetooth speakers for the home.

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Backfires Brief No. 6 Winner: marrp Takes Home Victory, Plus a New V1 Radar Detector

Backfires Brief No. 6 Winner

Backfires Brief No. 6 was a fun one: We asked our qualified Backfires members to share their best or worst traffic-violation experiences, and they did not disappoint. All of the submissions were entertaining, and some were even worthy of a hearty "LOL," but the one that took the cake—and all the votes—was Backfires member maarp's hilarious submission, A Labour of Love. maarp′s account of his high-speed drive to the hospital for the impending birth of his second child earned him a sweet trophy: a V1 radar detector courtesy of Valentine One.

maarp′s winning post was followed by MichaelJames_NY's second-place 1 For The Money, 2 For the Show, 3 Tickets, and a two-way tie for third place between Pat Daly's humorous You can't make this stuff up… and James_Lee's unbelievable 55 in a 55.

As always, we appreciated all of your submissions and hope every Backfires member participates in the next Brief—whether you're a Level 4 (and above) member submitting an entry or any Backfires member punching a vote.


Winner: A Labour of Love maarp 14 Votes

Second: 1 For the Money, 2 For The Show, 3 Tickets MichaelJames_NY 8 Votes

Third: You can't make this stuff up… Pat Daly 6 Votes

Third: 55 in a 55 James_Lee 6 Votes

You must be a level-four Backfires member (as denoted by the lightning bolts associated with your username) to submit entries for Backfires Briefs, so make sure you're posting and otherwise busying yourself to gain points. Any Backfires user can vote for their favorite Backfires Briefs. And if you're not a Backfires member yet, sign up here.

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BMW’s Game Changer – A Vehicle That Is Redundant Before It’s Even On Sale

BMW's new nomenclature dictates that coupes have an even numbered naming convention, while sedans get an odd numbered digit. But with the BMW 4-Series Gran Coupe, BMW has managed to disrupt the integrity of it right off the bat.

The Gran Coupe, said to be the black car in the center of the photographs, is just a 4-door 4-Series with a sloping roof. But a 4-door 4-series is, of course, a 3-Series. Aside from the sloping roof and the presumably missing center seat in the back, how is this at all different from a 3-Series? What's the selling proposition? At least the 6-Series GC has a competitive set in the Audi A7 and Mercedes CLS, while offering a distinctive package versus the 5-Series. This really doesn't look that different at all. Then again, luxury niche customers have always been ignored by the Germans…

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2014 Chicago Auto Show: What to Expect

ChicagoAutoShow

Whether the "Windy City" moniker comes from the bluster of our 19th century windbag politicians or that of our frequently frigid lakeshore breezes, here in Cars.com's home city of Chicago we're known for being boastful about everything from our big buildings to our big pizza. As such, we won't hesitate to brag about having the biggest auto show in the nation, too. How big is it? If "Austin Powers" antagonist Dr. Evil were announcing the expansive exhibit, he would put his pinky to his lips and say it covered "one millllion square feet" of event-floor space.

More 2014 Chicago Auto Show Coverage

The 2014 Chicago Auto Show opens to the public on Feb. 8 and runs through Feb. 17, with media and charity preview events Feb. 6 and Feb. 7 at McCormick Place, 2301 S. Lake Shore Drive. Hours are 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Feb. 8-16 and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Feb. 17. Regular admission is $12 for adults, and $6 for senior citizens age 62 or older and children age 7 to 12; children age 6 or younger are free and must be accompanied by a paying adult family member.

Exhibitions include multiple world and North American debuts, a complete range of domestic and imported passenger cars, trucks and SUVs, and numerous concept cars. Debuts we're looking forward to include the 2015 Subaru Legacy sedan, the 2015 BMW 740Ld xDrive luxury sedan and the 2015 Lincoln Navigator luxury SUV. That's in addition to a host of new models that bowed in Detroit earlier this month.

"In total, nearly 1,000 different vehicles will be on display," organizers said in a statement. "Additionally, attendees will also have the opportunity to see numerous accessories and auto-related exhibits, competition vehicles and project, antique and collector cars."

A perennial favorite feature of the Chicago show — making the most of the abundant space — is the opportunity to get behind the wheel on three indoor test tracks, as well as six outdoor test drives. Indoor tracks include Chrysler's multibrand test track and its Jeep off-road course, along with Toyota's, which this year will feature trucks within a proving ground complete with a seesaw, water crossing and 15-foot hill climb.

Here's what we're expecting to see in Chicago, including both debuts and Detroit encores. We'll update the list as we learn more:

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Why the Next Tiguan Is Hugely Important for VW’s Goals of World Domination

Volkswagen's Tiguan was in trouble from the very beginning. After VW unveiled the Concept A crossover, it was widely understood that this presaged a "Golf SUV" that would be known as "Marrakesh." Political figures and leaders in the automotive industry alike used the name. Volkswagen's media and marketing departments had their hands full informing the industry that its upcoming crossover would not be called Marrakesh and that it would not be based on the Golf. Perhaps in an effort to ensure that the Marrakesh name was dead and buried, Volkswagen enlisted the readers of German publication Auto Bild to name its new crossover. After 350,000 German enthusiasts cast their votes, the Tiguan was born.

The German automaker had high hopes for the Tiguan from the outset. A fresh entrant in an ever-growing segment, the Tiguan should've served as a cornerstone in Volkswagen's ambitious goal to sell 800,000 vehicles annually in the U.S. Despite fondness afforded the vehicle by ourselves and our colleagues, the small crossover has performed woefully in American sales. Just 30,000 units were sold last year. Meanwhile, Nissan moved 162,000 Rogues, 218,000 Toyota RAV4s found new homes, and Honda sold 304,000 CR-Vs. Even the Acura RDX outsold the little VeeDub. The sheer volume of the segment makes it one VW can't afford to get wrong, so it's no surprise that there are ongoing discussions in Wolfsburg on how to proceed.

The brand's highest hopes rest on a larger SUV, which has been previewed by the CrossBlue concept and confirmed by CEO Martin Winterkorn for a 2016 market introduction. But a new Tiguan, which is about two years away, has an important role to play as well, and there are two schools of thought at Volkswagen as to what that role will be. The first thought is to keep the Tiguan as it is, emphasizing its pedigree as a sporty, European, truly small crossover. The other idea would see the Tiguan grow to better accommodate export markets: more rear-passenger space for Chinese-market vehicles and more trunk space, and possibly three-row seating, for Americans. There's also discussion about a sportier version with a lower roofline, a sort of Tiguan coupe modeled after the brand's Cross Coupé concept.

Sources tell us that the Tiguan is likely to grow ever so slightly, but a seven-seater version probably won't happen. Such a model would step on the toes of the upcoming U.S.-built production-spec CrossBlue. A low-slung coupe is possible, but we wouldn't hold our breath; the niche between the Tiguan and the Audi Q3 likely would be too small to fill.

Whether it comes with five seats or seven, the next Tiguan must meet a few requirements if it's to make an impact here: it must offer more room, it must become more efficient, and it must get cheaper. If Volkswagen can't meet those criteria, it will continue to lose out in the U.S. and to the competition in what's become an extraordinarily important segment globally.

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Friday, January 31, 2014

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