50 Years of the BMW 'Neue Klasse'

In a year that sees the celebration of the ever-seductive Jaguar E-Type and the characterful Renault 4, it would be easy to overlook other cars also reaching their half-century, especially a mundane three-box saloon. However, the BMW 1500 isn't any less significant. When launched at the 1961 Frankfurt International Motor Show, intrigued and inquisitive visitors were forced to wait 30 minutes just to catch a glimpse of the car.

Beijing Auto Show 2014 – Trends and Overview

With the New York auto show just one week earlier, many carmakers took the decision to use the Beijing show as their preferred choice of launch event. While the NYC expo holds decent sway on the US East coast, it could never hope to compete with the lure of the world's biggest – and fastest expanding – car market. With over 1,300 cars on display from scores of brands – both domestic and foreign – it's a fascinating bazaar of automotive hardware across the entire bandwidth of the industry.

BMW experiments with laser headlamps

Headlamp technology is rapidly advancing, and as LED lights become commonplace, many wonder what's next. BMW suggests lasers, which could offer new safety and function. Compared with today's LED headlamps, BMW's laser-cut lights have intensity a thousand times greater than that of LEDs while consuming about half the energy.