2014 BMW 4-series convertible coming next year

The 2014 BMW 4-series convertible will feature a three-piece hard top, both four- and six-cylinder engines and an eight-speed automatic transmission when it arrives in dealerships in the first quarter of next year. The BMW 428i Convertible will cost $49,675 including destination while the 435i Convertible will start at $55,825. The new 4-series, which replaces the 3-series coupe and convertible but not the sedan, is larger in width and wheelbase than its predecessor.

New car sales in Cuba soured by 400-percent markups

While most analysts expected Cuba's lift of a decades-long ban on the sale of new cars to come with an asterisk or five, few could have predicted that the internationally hailed move would immediately turn out to be a mirage. Private car sales in Cuba have been heavily regulated by the government since 1959, and imports had been banned almost entirely. On Jan.

Toyota and Mercedes-Benz are top global car brands

Toyota & Mercedes-Benz are the Top Global Automotive Brands 2011 Interbrand, a branding consultancy, delivers a report on the world’s brands every year, and in 2011, despite recall woes and the devastation of the Japanese Tsunami, Toyota leads the automotive brands, with luxury car maker Mercedes-Benz just behind. Interbrand uses three measures to gauge how effective a brand is – performance of branded product, the brands ability to secure earnings and the role of the brand in purchasing decisions – to come up with a chart of the top 100 world brands. At the top of the tree are companies like Coca Cola, IBM, Microsoft and Google, but car brands do well with Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Honda, VW, and Ford all making it in to the top 50.