All 2011 and 2012 BMW models will be able to stream Pandora Internet radio through the car’s controls, which is good news for potential owners with an iPhone and the app itself.

The BMW Apps option will allow owners to pick their own Pandora stations, create new ones, skip songs and like others, all through BMW’s iDrive interface. The iPhones plug into a USB port or through a unique adapter in a BMW’s center console, which allows the iDrive center controller and steering wheel buttons to control music functions.

“We’re excited that BMW is making Pandora available to customers across its full range of vehicles and that drivers will be able to tune into their personalized radio stations from the road,” said Jessica Steel, a vice president for Pandora.

With current BMWs featuring AM/FM radio, CD changers, XM satellite radio, iPod integration, Bluetooth, USB support, and the soothing voice of mademoiselle Satellite Navigation, it’s refreshing to see BMW give its owners some long-needed variety. The BMW Apps option is $250 on all new models, and its hands-free integration capabilities will allow BMW owners no excuses for being unable to grasp the finer points of turn signal operations.

Rapper Birdman (Bryan Williams), also co-founder of Cash Money Records, has apparently spent $8,000,000 on the 700-hp Maybach Exelero. The above pic was taken and tweeted by Birdman on his Twitter account along with the $8 million claim a couple of weeks after he was quoted with saying “They got this new Maybach that I want that costs $8 million, I gotta have it.”

Birdman, while not as well-known in the public as Jay-Z, Diddy and Dr. Dre, has a net worth estimated to be $100 million, and owns several other expensive exotics such as Maybach’s Landaulet and Bugatti’s Veyron. Powered by a V12 biturbo powerplant, Maybach’s Exelero goes 0-60 in just 4.4 seconds and has a top speed of 218-mph. Rumor has it that he’ll be coating it in a lovely splash of red – we wonder if we’ll ever see it out in public ever again.

GALLERY: Maybach Exelero

Those who are scratching their heads on what a Kowalski Edition Dodge Challenger is were probably born way after 1971, or just never heard of the movie Vanishing Point. Released in 1971, the flick was all about Kowaski, a vehicle delivery driver, that had to go from Denver, Colorado to San Francisco, California in less than 15 hours. So with a bet on the line, Kowalski hops into a white 1970 Dodge Challenger and flies through the empty highways of the West Coast.

To pay homage to the great film, a dealership out in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania has created 10 Kowalski Edition Dodge Challengers. Starting with an Inaugural Edition SRT8 (in white of course), the dealership removes the stripe, adds some custom decals and 20-inch Alcoa SRT wheels. On the inside, the seats feature a dark shade and a wood grain Hurst pistol grip shifter, attempting to look as similar as possible to the movie’s 1970 version. And of course, a numbered plaque designates which Kowalski Edition Challenger it is.

No pricing was announced, but apparently all 10 vehicles are already spoken for.

GALLERY: Kowalski Edition Dodge Challenger

We actually think this app will do more harm than good, but hey, State Farm is an insurance company so they clearly took calculated risks prior to releasing this. Their Driver Feedback app utilizes the iPhone’s GPS and accelerometer to calculate your driving, from acceleration to braking to cornering. It then calculates your score based on your driving which you can then compare to other trips and share your scores with other drivers.

While most people will want to try to get a high score with this app, we’re pretty sure there will be a portion of people who might go do some hard driving to see just how awful they can score. But hey, if any of you are interested in knowing just how awesome (or how awful) your normal driving skills are…there’s an app for that.

Check out a video of the app after the break.

[Source: Cnet]

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K-PAX Racing is taking their knowledge and expertise gained from racing Volvos on the track to expand their business portfolio with K-PAX Performance Cars. After winning the Manufacturers’ and Drivers’ Championship in 2010, K-PAX Racing formed their sister company, K-PAX Performance Cars and have now debuted their first vehicle, the Volvo C30 GT.

The Volvo C30 GT is based on the C30 R-Design, but has been outfitted with a performance package developed by K-PAX Performance Cars to be distributed by Volvo retailers in North America. Much of what helped K-PAX Racing achieve their championship has been carried over to their street car. Upgraded suspension, brakes, exhaust and adjustable ECU software offers performance enhancements while new wheels and tires helps the Volvo C30 GT get a new grip with its 280-hp.

Only 500 C30 GTs will be available and each are numbered with a full 5 year/60,000 mile warranty. Pricing has yet to be released.

GALLERY: K-PAX Performance Cars Volvo C30 GT

After two recent unsuccessful attempts at marketing a convertible Cadillac to the general public, Cadillac will be making another attempt at a much lower price point. Instead of a folding-hardtop roadster that we saw with the XLR (above), we’ll be seeing a softtop convertible based on the Alpha platform and will find itself in between the ATS and CTS Cadillac models.

It’ll be interesting to see how successful or unsuccessful a softtop convertible will be for Cadillac. Their competitors are a blend of both, with Audi’s A5 and Mercedes’ E-Class sporting fabric roofs while Lexus and Infiniti have gone the hardtop option on their sporty convertibles.

No mention of what this convertible model may be powered by, but chances are we won’t see a production model until late 2013.

[Source: Car and Driver Blog]

This author has a confession to make. Out of all the testosterone-laden, Ad-riddled, motorized-wet-dream action of the Fast and Furious franchise, I’ve only seen the fourth one—and it’s rather beside the point to say that it wasn’t very good.

Not even the first movie of the franchise, which at this point has become basically an icon of the car enthusiast movement—the part of the group that thinks it’s cool to add wings to small Japanese hatchbacks and enough stickers to make the inventor of the Bedazzler feel underappreciated. Case in point: this fine selection of vehicles, fresh from the Universal Studios impound lot, that have recently surfaced on Autotrader. They represent the entire range of The Fast and the Furious franchise: The Fast and the Furious, 2Fast 2Furious, Tokyo Drift, Fast and Furious, and the upcoming Fast 5, which is just as fast but has toned down the furiousness. Still plenty of Vin Diesel, though.

The cars include an Acura Integra GS-R, a Nissan 240SX drift car, Tyrese’s Mitsubishi Eclipse from 2Fast 2Furious, the beat-up Monte Carlo from Tokyo Drift, and even a stunt replica of the F-Bomb Camaro from Fast and Furious, which Vin Diesel wheelies into a bad guy’s chest. If the rest of the series packs such hilariously over-the-top badguy-killing destruction involving Mr. Diesel, I may finally get around to checking out the earlier, awesome, meme-tastic films. Danger to the manifold!

GALLERY: Fast & Furious Movie Cars

[Source: Autotrader]

The Hennessey Venom GT is easily one of the craziest street-legal cars ever produced. It is based on the underpinnings of the lightweight Lotus Exige, but then beefed up in every conceivable way.

Instead of the Exige’s supercharged four-cylinder motor, the Venom GT has a twin-turbo charged LS9, displacing 6.2-liters and producing a barely believable 1200-hp and 1155 lb-ft of torque. All of that power is sent to the rear wheels through a Ricardo 6-speed gearbox.

Performance, as you’d imagine, is quite extraordinary. This 2,400 lb. machine can rocket from 0-60 mph in 2.5 seconds and onto a proposed top speed of 267 mph. More impressively, it can sprint from 0-200 mph 15.9 seconds (a Bugatti Veyron covers that sprint in 24.2 seconds).

The Venom GT is truly an astonishing performance car, and the very first one ever made can be yours. Hennessey Performance has put the car up for sale, and are asking $1.3-million for it. So if you have the means, and have a neighbor who always beats you at the traffic lights with his Veyron, then this is the car for you.

[Source: DuPont Registry]

Nothing thrills us more than a show-quality built car getting thoroughly abused on the track. And in true Vaughn Gittin Jr. form, his 1969 Ford RTR-X Mustang has finally gone sideways. Originally built as a SEMA project vehicle, Gittin Jr. promised many that he would take it out on the track proving that every bit of the car was as functional as it was show.

Unfortunately we didn’t get to witness it first hand, but the photos prove that Gittin had no reservations in whipping the RTR-X around Willow Springs Raceway. There’s no denying Gittin probably put the Boss 302 5.0L V8 through some work and clearly all the suspension tweaks that Gittin wanted done on the project paid off. We’re digging the color scheme of the car on the track and those Work Meister’s do a good job on some old school American muscle.

Hit the link below to see all the pics.

[Source: Autoblog]

When Peugeot first unveiled the EX1 to the world, we all knew it would be one awesome electric car. Its sleek and futuristic design clearly screams race-inspired and now Peugeot has put it on the track just to prove how awesome it is.

Living up to expectations the EX1 has set the record lap time for an electric car on the Nurburgring with a time of 9 minutes and 1.338 seconds. The vehicle averaged an impressive 85.9-mph on the 12 mile course.

To put it all into perspective, the EX1 shattered the former electric car record by over 50 seconds. Its time also puts it on par with a Chevrolet Cobalt SS Turbo and slightly quicker than a Ford Focus RS. There’s no doubting how rigorous of a test the Nurburgring is on a car and for Peugeot’s EX1 to turn in such an impressive time proves that future electric cars may not be as boring as we all think.

GALLERY: Peugeot EX1 Electric Car Concept

[Source: Worldcarfans]