2011 BMW M3 Coupe Review

Performance technology makes the 2011 BMW M3 Coupe a thoroughbred performer, yet it can be optioned with plenty of cabin gadgets. Poor fuel economy limits its daily utility, but we still give the M3 an Editors' Choice Award.

As a maker of sport luxury vehicles, BMW is on the cutting edge of car electronics with navigation systems featuring high-resolution 3D maps, true high-fidelity audio systems, and new smartphone application integration. But the 2011 M3 Coupe tested by CNET emphasized another aspect of BMW's technology: performance gear.

Lacking much in the way of cabin electronics, this car was optioned for the track, with such features as Electronic Damper Control (EDC), a carbon fiber roof, and Double Clutch Transmission (DCT). And at the heart of it all is a 4-liter V-8 using BMW's innovative Double-VANOS engine control technology and direct injection.

The M3 can also be had in sedan and convertible forms, but the coupe is the perfect body style to showcase this performance technology. The lack of rear doors or a retractable roof reduces weight and allows for the carbon fiber roof option. Manually adjustable sport seats are lighter than power seats, although the car still comes with handy seatbelt butlers that automatically push the front seatbelts into arm's reach when you get in the car.

2011 BMW Z4 Review

2011 Z435i with premium sound, sport package upgrades and seven-speed automatic transmission. It really is the perfect balance of sport, eye-catching style and luxury on the road. The acceleration is very responsive and has a nice, throaty masculine sound. The handling around turns is very nice and tight. The zero-to-60 speeds are exhilarating.

“The Sport and Sport Plus transmission options and the steering-wheel paddles are a nice touch for the money to keep the car and the driving a bit more interesting, but it probably would be better used by someone who truly is a bit of race enthusiast.

“The car's style is a showstopper! It gets a lot of attention on the road. It has a great look from all angles and is noticed at a distance. The hardtop is very functional and when up, it gives the car a "non convertible" sports car look compared to other soft-top convertibles that look less attractive with the tops up and visible. Putting the top up or down is a showstopper as well in public, given the ‘transformer’ style of panels moving about. ... Very cool.

“The interior is typical BMW high-end style. Lots of cabin room for driver and passenger, lot of leg and arm room, very comfortable on long trips. Seats are very supportive. You don’t feel like your in a small two-seat convertible; you feel like you are in the cabin of a larger convertiable sedan.

BMW Alpina B7

2011 BMW Alpina B7 XDrive is the bad girl in BMW's family -- likely to show up at holiday dinners a little loud, a little drunk, brandishing a new tattoo and a boyfriend who just might steal the silverware.

She hasn't had a dull moment in her life, and you won't either as long as she's around.

The B7 is Alpina's response to the knucklehead who looks at BMW's powerful and pricey 7-series and asks, "Do you have anything that costs a little more and goes a little faster? Something that pins me to the back of my seat longer and harder when I floor it?"

From its deep-blue custom paint to a modified engine that produces more torque than some trailer-hauling medium-duty trucks, the B7 uses every trick at BMW and Alpina's command to overwhelm you with luxury and power.

Modified by Alpina, a band of former German typewriter makers who needed a new way to make a living when the word processor came along, the B7 combines brute force, advanced systems and an elegant interior.

Prices for the 2012 B7 start at $122,600 for a rear-drive, short-wheelbase model. All B7s come with a 500-horsepower twin-turbo 4.4-liter V8 that produces a chest-constricting 516 pound-feet of torque and a six-speed automatic transmission.

Adding all-wheel drive to the short-wheelbase model raises the base price to $125,600.

Long-wheelbase B7s go for $126,500 for rear-drive and $129,500 for the xDrive AWD model.

The B7 competes with super sedans like the Bentley Continental Flying Spur, Mercedes-Benz S 63 AMG and Porsche Panamera turbo.

Tom Cruise's New BMW Supercar

IMF agent Ethan Hunt gets along pretty well with his bare hands in the “Mission Impossible” movies, but the super spy played by Tom Cruise is getting a little help from some new wheels in the fourth film in the series.


In conjunction with the release of the first trailer for “Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol,” BMW has confirmed that its futuristic i8 plug-in hybrid supercar is one of the automaker's vehicles set to appear in the film. A clip from the trailer shows the car arriving at a ritzy hotel – possibly in Dubai where part of the movie is set – and Cruse’s co-star Paula Patton exiting its scissors-style passenger door.

The otherworldly two seat coupe is set to go on sale in 2013. Many details are still under wraps, but the i8 is expected to be constructed largely from lightweight carbon fiber, boast an all-electric range of 31 miles and deliver 62 mpg when operating in hybrid mode, thanks in part to its highly-efficient three-cylinder internal combustion engine.