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BMW Taking Green Leap With New Models

 
1,839 views Mar 17, 2011
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Even though the doors just closed on the spectacular Geneva Auto Show a few days ago, it's never too early to look ahead. Let's take a peek at some interesting BMWs, one of which will debut at the Shanghai Auto Show very soon. It's another chance for the auto giant and others to show off their creative and futuristic sides. Coincidentally, that's exactly what we're interested in here at FCR.com.

Personally, there are two ways that I believe the auto industry should improve: Stop allowing new cars to continually grow larger and heavier, and be creative and brave with new efficient technologies.

And since yesterday I bashed on BMW a bit for their beefier 6-Series, I thought that today it would be nice to highlight some of the strides ze Germans are taking to introduce innovative new cars to the market.

 First up is a bittersweet model in the BMW 5-Series hybrid that will bow in Shanghai in a few weeks, which CEO Norbert Reithofer confirmed just yesterday. The long-wheelbase "New Energy Vehicle" could get the 6-cylinder gas engine and electric component it showed in 2010, but however it's fitted, the car is a big step in the right direction for a normally inefficient vehicle.

The news is bittersweet because the car will be available exclusively in China, leaving movie execs in tears throughout Hollywood. Hopefully, BMW will use the launch of the car to continue development on the hybrid powertrain and eventually deem it fit for the entire lineup, on a more international scale.

The other exciting news out of Munich is the teaser video of BMW's upcoming i3 city car - essentially a beefed up Mini with rear-wheel drive that runs solely on electricity. Now tell me: who wouldn't spring for this over the Chevy Volt? Check out the video below for footage of testers using it to carve up donuts in the ice. Frozen drool.

You know, it's obvious that neither of these cars is going to revolutionize the way we as a public think about our driving emissions. Maybe for some people, they will. But for the most part, buyers will think "Oh, that's nice" and return to looking at the sticker price on the hyped-up crossover of the moment.

But that's ok, because it's an important milestone that these cars are even headed for production in the first place. No one is going to buy hybrids and electric cars if they aren't being made, and so now is the time for automakers to take a leap of faith and put the products out there. Even if they aren't perfect, or world-saving. Like the hybrid 5-Series, or Porsche with the Panamera Hybrid, you can release the vehicle in its current form and use that as a jump-off point for future development, and eventually larger scale release. You don't have to build Rome today, but you had sure as hell better start making the blueprints or you're going to get left behind (*cough* CHRYSLER! *cough*).









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