Category Car News

Back in February this year, Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Corporation (BAIC) acquired 25% equity ownership of Atieva – a lithium-ion battery manufacturer for electric cars based in Redwood City, California. BAIC currently is the largest shareholder of Atieva.

According to the agreement, Atieva will help BAIC to develop a mid-size electric luxury sedan comparable to the Audi A6L, within 3 years. If BAIC intends to enter the US market, clearly its main target will be the Tesla Model S.

Here it comes. Along with the Lexus NX debut, Lexus will also presenting a newly designed 2.0L turbo 4 cylinder engine. The NX will come with the 2.0T powerplant, and also a hybrid version.

The 2015 Toyota Camry will be revealed in the 2014 NY auto show. Here are changes we may see in the mid cycle updated 2015 Camry:

1. A CVT (continuous variable transmission) will be available in some non-hybrid models;

2. Valvematic (an upgrade to the current VVT-I technology) will be added to the 4 cylinder engine to improve the fuel efficiency, just like what the Corolla has right now;

3. A slight chance that a newly designed 2.0L turbo engine will replace the current tried-and-true V6 engine (and we are almost sure that this engine will appear in the upcoming Lexus NX CUV);

4...

The compact SUV market competition becomes more red hot recently. Latest news we have for the new X1:

– Diesel and gas engine available; from 3 cylinders to 4 cylinders. Most powerful option will be more than 300 horsepower;

– Aisin 8 speed transmission;

– FWD layout, US market AWD only;

– Made in Leipzig (Germany), Shenyang (China) and Brazil;

– Of course, a X1 long wheel base version for China;

– Revealed in 2015 and on sale 2016;

– Your guess is correct, the X2 will also come.

The 2015 BMW M4 convertible will be announced in the coming NY auto show 2 weeks later.

All specs should be very similar to the M4 coupe, except one: the curb weight of the M4 convertible will be at a hefty 4,055lb. This is not a lot of weight loss compared to its predecessor E93 M3 Conv. And also, the trunk will be larger. These are all major key points we know at this moment.

Here is the detailed specs for you to dig deeper:

We will provide you the pricing guide once it is available. Meanwhile for those who want to lease the latest M car, here are the rates for a 3-year contract (for M3 and M4, not including M4 Convertible):

15k miles/yr – 55% RV;
12k miles/yr – 57% R...