Rumble Concepts Integrated Taillights Rc38924 on 2040-parts.com

GM's green future: EVs, plug-in hybrids

General Motors' future green-car efforts will focus on plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles rather than conventional hybrid powertrains, product chief Mary Barra said Wednesday. Barra said GM has narrowed its future development emphasis in an effort to defend its leadership position attained with the Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid. GM will unveil an electric Spark minicar in late November at the Los Angeles auto show.

BMW i8 production car revealed – costs £99,845: Frankfurt 2013

The new BMW i8 Hybrid (pictured) will cost £100k in the UK The BMW i8 jas finally arrived in production guise at the Frankfurt Motor show, neatly creating the top end of BMW’s new i-brand range after the BMW i3 underlined the starting point. Looking really quite appealing, the i8 uses the same carbon fibre reinforced plastic bodyshell and aluminium chassis construction as the i3, but whereas the i3 is built to be a city car, the i8 is the closest we’re likely to get to a 21st century version of the BMW M1. Similar in size to the Audi R8, the BMW i8 is a 2+2 with a 3-cylinder 1.5 litre engine and generator sitting at the back and driving the rear wheels and an electric motor at the front driving the front wheels, with a petrol tank at the back and the batteries for the electric motor stored in the centre tunnel.

New engines for BMW 3-Series, 4-Series and X5

The BMW 3-Series, 4-Series (pictured) and X5 ar getting new engine options. With a new BMW X5 recently debuting, together with the new 4-Series and recently updated 3-Series, there are already a number of variants on offer, but this autumn there are more to come. The BMW 4-Series range (the replacement for the old 3-Series Coupe) will see the arrival of a new entry-level model - BMW 420i Coupe – with a 184hp four cylinder petrol engine with a 6-speed manual as standard or the eight-speed auto as an option.