1990 Bmw 325i E30 Convertible 53k Miles - Original Paint - New Top - Beautiful on 2040-cars

Auto blog

BMW 02 Series mini-documentary makes us fall in love all over again

BMW's current reputation of building Ultimate Driving Machines can be traced back through history all the way to 1966, when the German automaker introduced the world to its 1600-2 two-door at the Geneva Motor Show. The car's name was simplified in 1971 to BMW 1602, and it went on to spawn the 2002, one of the most famous BMW models of all time.
BMW looks back on its past successes in a video that you can see below. As the automaker itself says in the video description, "This series was extraordinarily successful in reinterpreting the concept of the sports saloon and played a major role in motor sport long after production had come to an end." The 2002 would be replaced in 1975 by another legendary model from BMW: the 3 Series.
We'd be lying if we said we didn't long for something along the lines of the classic 2002 from BMW today. Since that doesn't seem likely to happen anytime soon, join us in remembering the cars that helped make BMW a household name by scrolling down below.

BMW confirms new Mexican plant

After over a year of speculation, BMW is finally officially announcing that it's building a factory in Mexico. The new plant will cost the German automaker roughly $1 billion US and will have a capacity of about 150,000 vehicles a year when complete. However, production won't begin there until 2019.
The new factory is being built near the city of San Luis Potosí, Mexico, with plans to employ about 1,500 people. Unfortunately, BMW is still mum about which models it's producing south of the border. Earlier rumors indicated the possibility of the 3 Series, 1 Series and maybe even Mini models there.
BMW says Mexico's multiple free trade agreements are a major factor in the choice of location of the plant. They make it possible for the automaker to ship models more cheaply to North America, parts of South America and the European Union. "The Americas are among the most important growth markets for the BMW Group. We are continuing our strategy of 'production follows the market,'" said Harald Krueger, the board's head of production, in the company's official announcement.

BMW X4 reclaims dash of utility with Clemson student project [w/videos]

BMW seems willing to exploit every automotive niche it can find with creations like the four-door, 'crossover coupe' X4 and X6. Of course, these designs come with a compromise. That svelte fastback means that they just can't haul as much cargo as a more traditional, boxier hatchback. Fortunately, students at Clemson University's International Center for Automotive Research might have a novel solution: the engineering graduate program has turned the crossover into a unique pickup.
Dubbed Deep Orange 4 concept, this functional prototype has an enclosed cargo area with a sliding glass panel that opens up to expose a pickup bed if more room is needed. Think of it as the GMC Envoy XUV of German crossovers. This isn't just an X4 with its roof hacked off, though. The students actually started with an X3 and grafted on this top later in addition to the two barn doors for access to the bed.
To make this project even more impressive, this pickup-crossover could conceivably be produced. The graduate students conducted an in-plant analysis of BMW's manufacturing abilities and went back to the university to create a plan for a low-volume vehicle that could actually be built. "The students working on this phase of the project did an excellent job of keeping costs down while finding optimal integration opportunities," said Rich Morris, vice president of assembly at BMW Manufacturing, in the university's release.