Car Throttle

It's not long to go until Christmas is finally here! If you haven't done your Christmas shopping yet then why not have a look at the Christmas presents that the car fans in your life will love or hate you for. I'll let you into a secret, I've been given a couple of the presents featured in the past (it's easy buying me petrol-head related pressies). BMW M-Sport Coffee Table To start things off imagine one of your friends or someone in your family recently settled into a new home. Picture the scene. They need somewhere to put the TV guide, random bits of paperwork and their drink and you notice that they once gave you a lift in a M-Powered BMW. Well I've found the perfect

There's a bit of a dispute going on between BMW and it's performance subsidiary. The performance arm are eager to build their own bespoke car, just like AMG did not so long ago with the SLS. Annoyingly, BMW say that the idea may not make the firm that much money. M are convinced they have what it takes to take on the SLS. BMW's head of product development, Albert Biermann told Inside Line, "From an engineering perspective, we have the skills and we'd love to do it. We've discussed it several times but we've never been able to make the business case. Everything we do has to make money." I would love to see a bespoke M car as well. Imagine, a supercar with a M

Rumors and speculation have been circulating about the new M5 for quite a while now, and BMW just dumped pictures and all the juicy details on their latest super sedan for all the world to see.  Considering how much we knew about the car before it even became public, none of it's particularly surprising, but we do have all the nitty gritty on Bavarian Motor Work's latest bad-ass autobahn bruiser for you. As we've been hearing forever, the high-revving, torque-light 5.0L V10 in the previous (E60) M5 has been given the heave-ho, replaced by the M-spec 4.4L twin-turbocharged V8 currently used by the X5M and X6M.  This compact V8 has reverse-flow manifolds (intake on the outside of the banks, exhaust on the inside) driving double twin-scroll

We've been waiting, twiddling our thumbs and tapping our toes. A new 5-series BMW came out recently (the F10 chassis, which replaces the E60) and everyone familiar with BMW knew the new M5 would follow shortly thereafter.  As is the tradition with M cars, the upcoming M5 is being displayed as a "concept" at the Shanghai Auto Show, a few months before a car looking suspiciously/exactly like the "concept" will roll into dealerships.  Here's what we know. Like previous M5's, the styling is not what you'd call over-the-top.  Unlike some of it's M siblings (most notably the 1M Coupe and the X6M), the M5 has some aggression mixed in with it's classiness, rather than the other way around.  The front fascia isn't quite as gaping

The North American International Auto Show is in full swing, and BMW is debuting the new 1-Series M Coupe and new 650i convertible at the show for the first time. While the Detroit show is the first actual appearance for the two cars in the metal, images and details on the two cars have dropped a while ago. BMW gave full details on the 1-Series M a month ago, and has been teasing it for months prior. One thing that hasn't been known though is pricing information. There has been a lot of speculation as to where BMW would price the 1-Series M. That ends today though, as the 1-Series M has gotten an official price tag of $47,010 in all of it's six-cylinder performance

Cadillac and Infiniti have been increasingly aiming for their German competition as of late. The CTS and M, as mid-size models, are both crucial to each of their respective manufacturers in achieving that goal. Safety is a highly important aspect for customers when purchasing a new vehicle, and all luxury manufacturers aim to score well (and usually do). The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has announced that the Cadillac CTS and Infiniti M are Top Picks for 2010. This in particular is a pretty impressive new entry for Infiniti, showing the brand has really advanced in the area of safety. The CTS has been picked for this award before, showing continued excellence. The Top Pick status comes after passing new, more stringent roof testing standards. The CTS

It seems like it was only yesterday we were talking about Infiniti's unique introduction of the new M at Pebble Beach Concours d' Elegance. But, it wasn't, and the 2010 show is coming up fast. It looks like Infiniti is planning to make significant introductions at the show yet again. The show normally isn't used for introductions from major manufacturers. It really does makes sense though, given the clientele and amount of media coverage. Smart thinking, Infiniti. Inside Line has recently reported on the possibility of a M-Coupe from Infiniti. The brand is increasingly ambitious and has high hopes for the new M lineup. Especially with the lack of a flagship vehicle, a range-topping luxury coupe could be an important image builder for the brand. Following that, Autoblog's

The Infiniti Q45 luxury sedan had a long run, from 1990 to 2006, but it hasn't really been missed since it left the market. It never was a particularly successful product for Infiniti. We think the reasons are because the rest of the Infiniti lineup wasn't really up to par. Now, things have changed - drastically. The G reinvigorated Infiniti and it has been on the ascendancy ever since. When importation of the Q was stopped in 2006, Infiniti said a new model was coming. Now they seem to be changing their tune. Infiniti's VP of global business Toru Saito said in an interview with Automotive News that the 2011 M sedan will “play a flagship role” for the brand for the forseeable future. This comes in part from the

It's been a big news week for BMW. Initial details of the not-quite-an-M3 335is model broke late last week, official images of the "what is that?" Mini Countryman escaped ahead of the embargo, and details and pictures of the M-Sport package 3-series coupe have all surfaced on the web within the past few days.  BMW likes to keep the press rolling; most journos have hardly stopped drooling over the new 5-series at this point, and already there's a handful of new models to cover! The entire 3-series lineup is getting a minor facelift for 2011, and there will be some new derivatives of interest joining the lineup.  Exterior changes aren't massive - there are new (and rather prominent) headlights at the front as well as new bumpers

Back in November, news came out about BMW planning other M variants. Kay Segler, head of BMW's M division, said that the priority at the company was on new models to slot below the M3. That leaves the 1-Series. However, the plan then seemingly was to produce the 1-Series M in the car's next generation - as in, don't expect it anytime soon. That could be changing, with the new 1-Series M coming as soon as 2011. Notice we're calling it the 1-Series M, not M1. BMW supposedly is considering what to name it, and I wouldn't bet on M1. Says a BMW insider to Leftlanenews: “The M1 name to us is a sacred thing for a car that marked an important turning point. It won’t be called