BMW North America has finally announced the pricing details for its 2013 Gran Coupe that will be making their way to dealerships staring this summer. The Gran Coupe will start at a whopping $76,895 which includes the destination charge.

The pricing for the Gran Coupe comes at a slight surprise to many, considering it’s almost $16,000 more than a base model Audi A7 and $4,500 more than a Mercedes-Benz CLS, which is its main competitor. The premium may be worth it to some though, to own the “Ultimate Driving Machine”.

The “base” 640i Gran Coupe gets a 3.0L twin-turbo, straight-six with 315-hp and 330 lb-ft of torque and BMW also plans to launch a 650i Gran Coupe and 650i Gran Coupe xDrive in the future. The 650is will feature a 4.4L twin-turbo V8 with 445-hp and 480 lb-ft of torque.

BMW is obviously hoping that the stylish look of the Gran Coupe will bring in buyers because the 535i, which has the same 3.0L twin-turbo engine found in the 640i, retails for almost $24,000 less.

GALLERY: BMW Gran Coupe

According to a statement by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), China’s monthly sales of passenger-vehicles suffered its steepest decline in more than seven years due to a Lunar New Year holiday season hiatus that deprived dealers of a week’s worth of sales. Figures indicated that sales fell to 1.16 million units in January, a 24 percent decrease from the year before. According to five analysts from Bloomberg News, sales were projected to drop 18 percent.

Great Wall Securities Co. analyst Ran Fei said, “Even though the actual holidays were five working days, some dealerships took the opportunity to close their stores for a longer time. The numbers are disappointing.” Compounding the auto sales slump in the Chinese market, the Chinese government also estimated that holiday sales at the nation’s main retailers and restaurants rose at their slowest pace since the 2009 financial crisis.

Are these signs an indication that the world’s largest and fastest growing automotive market is showing economic resistance? Despite these statistics, Ran Fei insists that “Car demand is stable. There’s no indication of any changes on that front.” China’s Passenger Car Association also believes that the Chinese economy is fundamentally sound and interprets the auto sales number as a mere holiday season distortion. The Passenger Car Association expects a 30 percent rise in sales for February.

Huatai Securities Co. analyst Chen Liang adds, “Demand is still there and consumers in the smaller, less developed cities will still have a growing need for cars. These numbers don’t change my outlook for the year.”

In January, GM reported an 8 percent decline in China sales, its first Chinese sales decline in six months. Chevrolet sales suffered a 20 percent hit to 54,399 units. According to Ford, its China sales fell a staggering 42 percent last month. Bucking the trend, Luxury German brands BMW and Audi both posted higher sales, enjoying a 30 percent and 23 percent gain respectively.

IHS Automotive Shanghai analyst Namrita Chow provided this explanation, “Prior to the Chinese New Year, Chinese consumers who are looking to enhance their prestige and status symbol have chosen high-end luxury brands.”

[Source: Bloomberg]

Pricing and equipment details for the 2013 X6 M50d from BMW that won’t be coming stateside are now available.

Don’t fret too much, though. Oil burners aren’t as popular here, at least not yet, and the X6 M which you can have is pretty much the blue print for the euro-only SAV.

The standard equipment list for the M-powered diesel includes 19-inch brakes up front and 18′s in the rear, the same as its gas-powered brother. The X6 will also have an M Servotronic system which will adjust steering sharpness, as well as the X6 M’s adjustable suspension.

The same 20-inch M wheels are also present, in their double spoke glory.

Beyond that, drivers may opt to pay a premium and have the speed limiter removed, allowing for a top speed of 171 mph, which is substantial in any car, let alone a diesel.

BMW individual leather is also an option, though we’re usually more focused on what’s under the hood when it comes to M cars from the world-class Bavarian Motor Works. Oh, and it costs €85,800, which is just over $113,000 U.S.

[Source: autoevolution]

There are smaller engines on the horizon for BMW‘s 3-Series cars, though a specific date isn’t set yet.

According to an article published by What Car?, BMW said it has exhausted engine technology within the currently offered sizes and that the future is to move towards smaller, more powerful technology.

BMW already stepped in this direction by returning the 2012 3-Series to a 2.0-liter turbocharged four, but this represents the most drastic step to date: a three-cylinder engine. While the powerplants motivating BMW cars are getting smaller, the turbocharging systems the company uses are getting larger — or at least more complex.

The company’s engineers are already planning to implement a tri-turbo system in their M cars by using a single, smaller unit that spools up on exhaust much faster to deliver power almost instantly. Then two larger units take hold and create the sort of forced induction necessary for big power from a small motor.

The three-cylinder engine that BMW is working on for the 3-Series use is still about a couple years off, according to the company and won’t be the same as the unit used in the upcoming i8 hybrid, which will be available in 2013.

Instead, the company is focusing on making an engine that will be able to power cars as large as the 3-Series without help from electric motors, which will remain mostly paired with the six-cylinder engines found in current Bimmer hybrids.

While unconfirmed by company executives, it’s believed that the next-generation MINI models will also make use of 3-cylinder powerplants.

[Source: What Car?]

Recently BMW revealed its new M Performance Diesel models, the M550d, X5 M50d, and X6 M50d, all of which are powered by the German automaker’s new 3.0L six-cylinder, tri-turbo diesel engine with 381-hp and 546 lb-ft of torque.

Unfortunately none of America will get to experience the new powerplant since BMW doesn’t find them fitting in the US market, but it appears as though AMG doesn’t find performance-minded diesel engines fitting in any market. The high-performance division for Mercedes-Benz vehicles, AMG head boss Ola Kallenius recently said that they have no plans to follow its German automaker rival in producing diesel engines, saying that it would introduce too many compromises to its performance-focused lineup.

“The technology of performance gasoline engines is converging with diesel tech. Direct injection, downsizing and turbocharging are all having an effect. We looked at diesel a few years back, but petrol engines have obvious benefits of sound, weight, agility and response,” Kallenius said.

We’re not ones to argue, considering AMG has a new 5.5L V8 Biturbo powerplant that puts out 544 to 571-hp with up to 664 lb-ft of torque. You could say some of us subscribe to the belief that if you’re looking for pure performance, fuel efficiency shouldn’t be of concern.

[Source: Autocar UK]

Classic BMW owners will now be able to get their hands on OE parts straight from the German automaker, thanks to a new website that recently went online.

The new online store is dedicated to classic models from 1960 to 1990 and covers both vehicles and motorcycles manufactured from Bavaria.

The site is currently available only to customers in Germany, but BMW is looking to expand the Classic Parts website’s services to other European markets in April. The store presently has over 35,000 products but BMW did mention that certain parts that are overweight, oversized, dangerous to ship, and electric components are not available.

You can check out the German parts store at www.bmw-classic.de.

GALLERY: Classic BMWs

BMW might be a little bit late to the whole “let’s release our Super Bowl ads before the Super Bowl” party, but they’re making up for it with quantity over quality.

Six short clips were released by BMW and only a pair of them will air during the big game on Sunday, but you’ll probably only see one of them on TV. What commercial you’ll see will be based on your region, with the New York Tri-State area getting an ad highlighting the 3-Series’ heated steering wheel, while the Southern California Los Angeles region will hear about BMW Connected Drive’s ability to read emails.

The additional four clips that BMW produced will be appearing online on streaming sites such as NBC.com, ABC.com and Hulu. All six clips were designed to be playful shorts to support the launch of the new BMW 3-Series Sedan.

“The BMW 3 Series is the global benchmark for a sports sedan,” said Dan Creed, Vice President of Marketing, BMW of North America. “With these shorts, we turn a spotlight on the innovations that make the 3 Series the standard to which others aspire.”

Check out all six digital clips after the break.

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BMW will be ridding its lineup of the 335d, a decision that is rational from a business point of view, but upsetting to anyone who has driven BMW’s diesel offerings.

According to reports, BMW will retire the diesel engine 3 Series in favor of its new fuel efficient line-up of gasoline engines as well as a hybrid system. The 335d is rated at 23/36 mpg city/highway which has been the most fuel efficient 3 series for some time now. For 2012, BMW has introduced the 328i with a four cylinder 2.0L turbocharged motor which garners a 23/34 mpg city/highway rating showing up the diesel engines ratings. While the gasoline engine does take a bit of hit in horsepower compared to the diesel, 25 hp to be exact, it seems that BMW believes that in today’s market no one would buy a diesel unless the fuel economy numbers are rated higher than a comparable gas engine.

Later this year BMW will release its ActiveHybrid 3, which is expected to have a combined fuel economy rating of 36 mpg and put out 335 hp. Once again beating out the diesel in both fuel consumption numbers and power it seems that BMW’s decision to rid the 3 series lineup of a diesel offering is a sensible one.

While it’s unfortunate that BMW will be getting of rid of the 335d, the company does offer other smaller diesel engines to its European market, which just might find their way into North America one day.

[Source: Auto123]

We’ve already seen that BMW has updated its X6 M for 2013, and we have good reason to believe that the German automaker will do the same to the X5 M, even though nothing has been formally announced. What has been announce, however, is pricing for both models with the X5 M starting at $88,850 and the X6 M starting at $91,900.

Both SUVs get a price increase of $1,600 compared to last year’s MSRP but they also receive some other changes besides what we’ve already noted on the X6 M and what we assume is coming on the X5 M. Both vehicles will now come with the same blue-painted M calipers that can be seen on the new M5 as well as standard M-multifunction seats.

For interior color choices, BMW has done away with the Mugello Red Full Merino Leather and has replaced it with Sakhir Orange Full Merino Leather. Both models now come with new, optional LED headlights.

BMW also announced pricing for the optional equipment on both models, with the Active Ventilated Seat Package costing $900; full LED headlights will run $1,900; and either M-style wheel can be ordered at no additional charge.

Look for the X6 M to bow at the New York Auto Show in April.

The BMW i3 concept has been around for some time, but now we can speculate that BMW must be close to having a production car on their hands.

These newest spy photos show the i3 playing around in some snow in the European north, and looking like it could be ready for the road fairly soon. The i3 will feature a carbon-fiber reinforced plastic chassis to make it incredibly light, and along with the BMW i8 will be the first high volume production car to utilize such technology.

The nose on the i3 actually looks like it has changed a little bit since we last saw it in our first batch of spy photos. Clearly BMW is hard at work on the i3.

The fully electric i3 makes roughly 170 hp and 184 lb-ft of torque and thanks to a weight of roughly 2,755 lbs is expected to accelerate to 60 mph in around 8 seconds.

At the unveiling of the concept version at the Frankfurt Motor Show last year, BMW announced the i3 would be in dealers by the end of 2013.

GALLERY: i3 Spy Photos

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) fuel estimates are out for BMW‘s new line of 3-Series cars and it looks like they’ve caught the competition with their pants down.

The 2012 328i scores an impressive 24 mpg city and 36 mpg highway, that’s a 28 percent improvement in fuel consumption over last year’s model. What’s even better is that the 328i actually gets more power than the model it replaced for a total of 240 horsepower compared to last year’s 230. The 300-horsepower 335i doesn’t get a boost in oomph but as you may expect, is less thirsty in 2012. In fact, the automatic-equipped version is downright efficient, bragging 23 mpg city and 33 highway.

Though it might seem like it, these jumps don’t happen overnight, or by some magic gasoline fairy waving a wand. BMW achieved such impressive improvements in the 328i through cleverly engineered turbocharging and by lobbing a whole liter off of last year’s engine. That’s right, there’s a 2.0-liter inline four where there used to be a 3.0-liter six cylinder.

So what of the competition? The Mercedes-Benz C 250 has 39 fewer ponies than the 328i and only gets 21 and 31 mpg in the city and highway despite having a 1.8-liter engine. Audi‘s A4 uses a 2.0-liter turbocharged powerplant and also only gets 22 mpg city and 30 on the highway when equipped with their gas-saving continuously variable transmission, not to mention falling 29 horsepower short.

The jig is up for this model year, but it should be interesting to watch Audi and Mercedes-Benz respond to their Bavarian neighbor’s conservative consumption. Perhaps this is why BMW remains the top dog in the bratwurst pile.

BMW is cashing in on the chauffeur craze in China by offering a stretched version of the 3-Series exclusively to Chinese customers.

The longer wheelbase sedan will be sold as a 335Li, and will offer more legroom to Chinese consumers who want to be driven around but can’t afford a legitimate chauffeur car like  Bentley or Rolls-Royce.

It might sound ridiculous that the mild-mannered 3-Series would merit a hired driver, but Audi has actually been advancing Chinese sales by offering the A6L and A4L sedans with “L” signifying the longer version.

The 335Li fits between the two Audi cars in terms of rear-seat legroom according to China Car Times. Chinese customers will be able to buy the car later this year, though it won’t be offered anywhere else in the world. That would have meant a lot of extra work on BMW’s part until recently. The German automaker will manufacture their Chinese 3-Series cars in partnership with Brilliance, a company they have worked with on several projects in the past.

[Source: China Car Times]