BMW X6 ActiveHybrid & BMW 7 Series ActiveHybrid at Frankfurt

Production versions of the BMW 7 Series & X6 ActiveHybrid will show at Frankfurt The Concepts for the ActiveHybrids were originally shown in 2008, and the production models are expected to be pretty much the same. They are in effect ‘Mild’ Hybrids, using a 20hp electric motor – with an additional 155lb/ft of torque – to add efficiency to the 4.4 litre twin-turbo V8. The electric motor will be fitted in the transmission housing and replaces stuff like the alternator and starter.

Rockar Hyundai: Hyundai’s new digital sales channel

Rockar Hyundai will have a ‘Car Shop’ in Bluewater The death of the car showroom has long been predicted, and there’s no doubt that the car sales model we’re used to – visit showroom, see salesman, get upsold, leave with something you didn’t want – is going to die a death as the world and his dog get used to living, and buying, online. Now, Hyundai has decided there’s sufficient appetite for buying online to create a new digital platform for Hyundai buyers that removes the salesman from the equation and lets car purchases – and service followup – go properly digital. Enter Rockar Hyundai.

Chrysler's new 300C John Varvatos Edition ad

Anybody remember Polocore? That weird little moment in the mid-'90s when a sect of hardcore kids were all decked out in Ralph Lauren finery? What seemed incongruous in '95 was simple, unvarnished fact a dozen years later, when it was announced that former Ralph Lauren designer John Varvatos would open a flagship boutique in the space formerly occupied by CBGB's.