BMW Motorrad is launching a new electric motorbike called CE 02, which is designed for running around town while looking far less dorky than a mobility scooter.The electric motor makes up to 15 horsepower, and there are two 1.96-kWh batteries on board. BMW Motorrad says that’s enough for about 56 miles of driving range.A set of smartglasses is also being introduced. Wearing them, riders get vital information such as speed and turn-by-turn navigation right in their line of sight.Electric powertrains are creating a lot of buzz in the car world. That same eco-friendly approach is trickling down to motorcycles, so BMW Motorrad is adding a second electric model to its lineup of two-wheelers. The CE 02 is a smaller and more affordable follow-up to the CE 04 that hit the market for the 2022 model year.BMW MotorradWhile BMW insists this new product is neither an e-motorbike nor an e-scooter, we can’t quite get on board with the company’s marketing materials, which refer to the CE 02 as an “e-parkourer.” We can see where they’re going with it, though, as the bike has a street-smart appearance that’ll look right at home in urban settings. More Electric Motorcycles to Add a Jolt to your CommuteTwo different versions will be offered in global markets, including one with a 5-hp electric motor and a single 1.96-kWh battery. But American buyers will have just one choice: the more powerful 15-hp version, which doubles up the batteries for a total of 3.92 kWh and a claimed range of about 56 miles per charge. Top speed is estimated to be 59 mph.BMW MotorradA 0.9-kW home charging adapter is standard, but frequent riders may find it more convenient to upgrade to the optional 1.5-kW charger, as it cuts down on charging time. The higher-powered charger is part of the optional Highline package, which also adds Bluetooth phone connectivity, a smartphone holder, heated hand grips, and an upgraded seat. The CE 02 has a standard 3.5-inch display between the handlebars that shows speed and remaining range, among other things. There’s also a USB-C port to charge a smartphone as well as an app to keep track of the bike’s charging status. Heads Up!To tie the whole connected package together, BMW Motorrad is launching smartglasses that integrate with the bike’s telemetry to display speed, charge, and turn-by-turn directions on the right lens. The glasses will pair with other BMW Motorrad products, so you aren’t locked into the CE 02 if you want to give them a try.BMW MotorradBMW MotorradWe got a chance to try the glasses at a recent BMW event and we can report that they serve as a sort of head-up display, providing enough adjustment capability that most users will have a crystal-clear view of both the road ahead and the information displayed. They aren’t the most fashionable pair of shades, but the functionality seems worth it for frequent riders. The price, which comes in at around $750 at today’s exchange rate, is what may give buyers pause.BMW MotorradThe CE 02 seems to be a great option for getting around town and avoiding traffic, but it too carries a high starting price of about $8200. BMW Motorrad hasn’t announced pricing for options yet, but we think with the Highline package it’s possible the CE 02 will push close to the $10,000 mark. We expect the CE 02 to arrive at BMW Motorrad dealers in the U.S. in early 2024.Managing Editor, Buyer’s GuideDrew Dorian is a lifelong car enthusiast who has also held a wide variety of consumer-focused positions throughout his career, ranging from financial counselor to auto salesperson. He has dreamed of becoming a Car and Driver editor since he was 11 years old—a dream that was realized when he joined the staff in April 2016. He’s a born-and-raised Michigander and learned to drive on a 1988 Pontiac Grand Am. His automotive interests run the gamut from convertibles and camper vans to sports cars and luxury SUVs.       More

UPDATE 2/22/22: General Motors will discontinue the Marketplace app starting next month. While the ordering-on-the-go app has been available in millions of Buicks, Cadillacs, Chevrolets, and GMCs since 2017, usage rates didn’t match expectations, with only “thousands” of drivers utilizing the app, according to a GM spokesperson quoted by CNBC. For some commuters who make stopping for a cup of coffee part of their daily routine, the morning drive to work may never be the same. In the wee hours of the morning, General Motors enabled a new feature, called Marketplace, in about two million vehicles, with the ultimate aim of enabling twice that many. It lets car owners order things like coffee and fast food using the touchscreens in their dashboards and pay for items in advance. No more waiting for an order to be assembled at the local fry shack. It should be ready and waiting when commuters arrive.Many retailers, including Starbucks, already allow mobile ordering via smartphone apps. But with cars morphing into what industry insiders call “the third screen,” auto executives foresee some portion of commerce shifting to in-vehicle purchases, with the result of entirely new revenue streams as they snag a percentage of those transactions.Using the 4G LTE connection in millions of GM vehicles produced for the 2017 and 2018 model years, the automaker is linking customers with restaurants, gas stations, coffee shops, and hotels.“Whether customers prefer to stick with the app-enabled purchases on their phones or shift their business to thein-vehicle screens remains a central competitive question.”GM’s initial partners include retailers such as Dunkin’ Donuts, TGI Fridays, Shell, ExxonMobil, and Priceline.com. Starbucks has signed on, too, and will enable the service in GM cars early in 2018. Other participants include Parkopedia, a service that allows drivers to find, reserve, and pay for parking, and the restaurant chains Applebee’s and IHOP. A spokesperson said more retailers will be added quickly, adding that the company is having conversations with national pizza-delivery outfits that have shown early interest in the platform.Competitors will be watching the way motorists treat this ability to order from their infotainment screens. In some cases, such as ordering from Starbucks, GM will need to offer a superior experience to lure drivers away from their smartphones. In other cases, such as a motorist searching for a roadside hotel along an unknown route, the immediate benefit seems more evident.The arrival of GM’s Marketplace through an over-the-air software update in the middle of the night marks a separate milestone. To date, Tesla Motors had been the undisputed leader in the remote addition of new features. Most other automakers have either not attempted remote updates at all or used them only to patch back-end bugs that most motorists didn’t notice. With Tuesday morning’s update, GM has joined an exclusive club. And it says Marketplace is only the “first of a suite of new personalization features” the company will roll out in the coming 12 to 18 months.Customers who received the update should be notified via email this morning. Some customers who don’t get notifications may be eligible to enable Marketplace but will need to download it via GM’s app store.

General Motors

This in-vehicle shop is designed to for motorists to use while they’re driving. That may be a concern considering that fatal crashes involving distracted driving accounted for 3450 deaths last year, according to the latest federal figures. But, like features that project phones onto infotainment screens such as Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, Marketplace was designed to meet federal standards set to minimize the time drivers look away from the road, according to GM.On average, a driver spends 46 minutes per day in his or her vehicle, according to AAA research. Marketers have long wanted to reach consumers during that time, but aside from roadside signage, that has been a vexing problem. Some car owners may not welcome the new intrusions, but others might find Marketplace an incentive-laden gateway to purchases they already intended to make.In part, the system is the outgrowth of the company’s partnership with IBM, announced in 2016, which intertwines IBM’s artificial-intelligence platform, Watson, with the vehicle’s infotainment underpinnings. If drivers buy a tall cappuccino each day from a certain Starbucks, for example, Watson will learn those preferences and subsequently make it easier for motorists to make their usual selections.Initially, the Marketplace platform does not pair with voice-recognition systems in the cars, although GM says it eventually intends to let customers place orders via voice commands rather than swipes on the touchscreen.Whether customers prefer the app-enabled purchases on their phones or will shift their business to the screens in their vehicles remains a central competitive question. Whatever the outcome, GM seems poised to be the first automaker ready to learn the answer.This story was originally published December 5, 2017.

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Porsche is adding a new appearance package to the 718 Boxster and Cayman called the Style Edition.It adds color-coordinated exterior elements and a few interior extras.We don’t have a final cost for the package, but it will be available to U.S. customers starting in 2023.CLARIFICATION 11/2/22: Porsche confirmed that the 718 Boxster and Cayman Style Editions will be coming to the U.S. for the 2024 model year.Porsche’s long list of individual options offers all sorts of ways to customize the look of your car, but certain styling packages like the new Style Edition versions of the 2024 718 Boxster and Cayman are like a shortcut. With a specially selected set of visual upgrades, these packages tie things together nicely, especially when combined with an eye-catching new exterior color like the Ruby Star Neo paint seen here on the Boxster.PorscheThe standard version of the Style Edition features black 20-inch wheels from the Boxster Spyder with colored center crests and black sport tailpipes. Inside, it adds a heated leather-wrapped steering wheel, floor mats with Chalk stitching, Porsche crests embossed on the headrests, and illuminated side sills. If you pay a bit more, you can also add black or white hood stripes and side graphics that match with either black or white wheels.More on the 718sPorsche has yet to reveal U.S. pricing for these packages, but we reckon they will cost a few thousand dollars extra on top of base prices of $64,850 for the Cayman and $66,950 for the Boxster. They will be available for the base Boxster and Cayman, which come with a turbocharged 2.0-liter flat-four with 300 horsepower and either a six-speed manual or a seven-speed PDK dual-clutch automatic transmission. They’ll be available to order sometime in early 2023 and arrive at U.S. dealerships later in the year.PorschePorscheThis content is imported from OpenWeb. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. More

After over a decade of racing, Gymkhana videos, and one-off drift builds, Ken Block’s partnership with Ford is coming to an end. More

Illustration by Jeff XuCar and Driver Genesis CEO William Lee confirms that the Hyundai luxury brand has a “study” for a shooting brake version of the G70. The wagon-style G70 would be based on the upcoming G70 that comes out in 2021. No evidence whatsoever that this will come to the U.S., but in Europe […] More