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BMW M550i review: Equal parts luxury and power
Cruising along on the autobahn at 220 kilometers per hour (136 miles per hour) is equal parts exciting and anxiety-inducing because my brain can't shake the feeling I'm still breaking the law. That concern didn't stop when I pulled over. I also experienced some apprehension about using BMW's Display Key to control the $73,900 BMW M550i sedan.
BMW kills the ‘hybrid tax’ with the 530e
The rule is that if you want the hybrid version of a car, you have to shell out more cash. Maybe tax credits would cover the difference, but usually not. Then, you have to figure out if the money you save on gas -- after a few years of diligent driving -- would bridge the gap. But, if you're in the market for a luxury sedan, BMW no longer asks you to make the decision based on your bank account.
BMW shows off what else you could be doing in a self-driving car
The world is overflowing with autonomous cars. That's great because the competition will ultimately benefit everyone. The typical self-driving demo (while generally impressive), usually requires reporters to sit in the passenger seat with a safety engineer behind the wheel. BMW, on the other hand, put me behind the wheel and let its prototype 5 Series tell me all about Las Vegas while barreling down the freeway.
BMW has a hydrogen-powered 5 Series
Battery-powered EVs are in the spotlight right now, but that doesn't mean car manufacturers aren't looking at alternative fuel sources. At its "Innovation Day" in France, BMW unveiled a prototype 5 Series GT that uses a hydrogen fuel cell to power its electric motor. We've seen the company experiment in this space before -- the Hydrogen 7 used the element to power a combustion engine -- but this is its first complete FCV package. Unlike the Hydrogen 7, which managed roughly 124 miles on hydrogen, the modified 5 Series can easily top 300. With 245 horsepower under the hood it's no slouch either, although we doubt it would keep pace with BMW's electric i8 in a drag race.
BMW promises 5 Series 'New Energy Vehicle' for China
There's an unfortunate lack of details on this one at the moment, but it looks like BMW has something a little special in store for China at the Shanghai Motor Show next month. It will be showing off its new 5 Series "New Energy Vehicle," a plug-in hybrid that, as previously suggested, will be exclusive to the Chinese market. That will presumably be somewhat similar to the company's ActiveHybrid 5 concept pictured above, which it first showed off last year but still hasn't put into production. As Motor Authority notes, however, the New York Auto Show actually coincides with the Shanghai show, so there's a chance that BMW could be set to provide an update on the ActiveHybrid 5, or possibly introduce a North American counterpart to the New Energy Vehicle.
Intel said to slip Core i5 platform to September, competition needed
Want a good example of why Intel -- or we, the consumer -- needs a strong competitor? DigiTimes' has it from sources at motherboard makers that Intel will delay its mainstream desktop Core i5 platform (including Lynnfield procs and 5-series chipsets) from July to early September. A rumor with merit given DigiTimes' proven sources within motherboard makers like ASUS, Gigabyte, and MSI. The reason for the delay is to allow vendors to deplete 4-series inventories that have piled-up during the economic slow-down. Of course, if AMD or... well, AMD could muster the silicon to compete with Intel at the same price point then such a delay would not be possible. How much you say? DigiTimes has the Core i5 processors priced at 2.93GHz ($562), 2.8GHz ($284) and 2.66GHz ($196) when purchased in bulk. [Via PC Perspective]
