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BMW is exploring ways to make its future electric M cars provide more driver feedback, according to the Australian website WhichCar.com.In an interview with the website, BMW M CEO Frank van Meel said he likes features such as the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N’s simulated gearchanges.For its first full-blown M-badged EV, BMW is also said to be considering other sensory stimuli such as using sounds or vibrations for feedback.BMW wants its future M-badged electric vehicles to feel more like their internal-combustion counterparts. That’s because it believes driving EVs on a racetrack requires more sensory feedback than most electric cars currently offer, specifically performance-focused models.The exception is the recently revealed 641-hp Hyundai Ioniq 5 N, which can simulate gearchanges and mimic the sound of a turbocharged four-cylinder. While some people might think such features are gimmicks, BMW M CEO Frank van Meel likes the way Hyundai thinks. He also told WhichCar.com—an Australian automotive website—that BMW is exploring similar ideas to make its first full-blown electric M car deliver more driver feedback. While we’re still awaiting word on what exactly that future M-badged EV will be, BMW has already revealed that it’s testing a quad-motor prototype using a widebody i4 (pictured above) as the test mule. With a motor at each wheel, the German automaker has said it can more precisely control power delivery and instantly send torque to individual wheels. BMWThat’s not something any gas-powered vehicle can do, but those electric motors also can’t convey the same sense of speed that ICE performance cars can either, and van Meel believes that feedback is critical on a racetrack. He told WhichCar.com, “… if you’re driving in an electric car with just one gear, making some kind of sound over seven octaves, you don’t know if you’re in the middle [of the revs] and if that’s the equal to 145km/h or wherever you are. So that actually will not work. And we need a solution for that.”Along with possibly simulating gearchanges like with Hyundai’s N e-shift, the solutions that BMW is said to be considering deal with using acoustic cues or vibrations to provide driver feedback. How those vibrations will be created and whether those sounds will replicate an E90 M3’s high-revving V-8 or one of the brand’s great straight-sixes remains to be seen. For now, all we know is that BMW doesn’t appear to be satisfied with the current state of EV performance cars, and we’re eager to see how they will address it down the road.BMW M EV Performance CarsThis content is imported from poll. 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.Senior EditorEric Stafford’s automobile addiction began before he could walk, and it has fueled his passion to write news, reviews, and more for Car and Driver since 2016. His aspiration growing up was to become a millionaire with a Jay Leno–like car collection. Apparently, getting rich is harder than social-media influencers make it seem, so he avoided financial success entirely to become an automotive journalist and drive new cars for a living. After earning a journalism degree at Central Michigan University and working at a daily newspaper, the years of basically burning money on failed project cars and lemon-flavored jalopies finally paid off when Car and Driver hired him. His garage currently includes a 2010 Acura RDX, a manual ’97 Chevy Camaro Z/28, and a ’90 Honda CRX Si. More

This content is imported from youTube. 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.Sometimes it’s tough to tell if, as journalists, we have our collective finger on the pulse of automotive enthusiasm or if, as employees of Car and Driver and Road & Track, we’re just hearing our own heartbeats. On this episode of Window Shop with Car and Driver, it’s both.Bring a Trailer (BaT), which is part of the Hearst Autos family, is the foremost online auction site for people who love interesting and unique cars and have the wherewithal to outbid strangers on the internet. Battle it out over a perfect 1996 Ford Contour or a 2005 Acura NSX; the site has it all. In this episode of Window Shopping, we’re challenged to find our favorite cars recently sold on BaT for less than $50,000. We were supposed to consider future value, condition, if the car was a good buy, and, of course, fun. Not all of us read the brief. All participants contributed to the proceedings with choices that perfectly align with their character, or lack of. So one of them chose an Opel, another took an Alfa, a BMW was also tapped, and then there was a Ford. There was a fifth one too, but don’t sweat that. It didn’t win. Join Commissar-in-Chief Tony Quiroga, Power-behind-the-Throne K.C. Colwell, Aspirational-Bringer-of-Light Elana Scherr, Beloved-Icon-Who-May-Be-CIA Jonathon Ramsey, and Some Guy recording from his son’s bedroom, as they fuss and fight on a Zoom call. There will be another episode after this one. Probably in the future. Feel free to go to the Bring a Trailer website and search through the completed listings; post in the comments below if you find something better. Post on YouTube too, because the algorithm likes it when you do. Much More Window ShoppingSenior EditorJohn Pearley Huffman has been writing about cars since 1990 and is getting okay at it. Besides Car and Driver, his work has appeared in the New York Times and more than 100 automotive publications and websites. A graduate of UC Santa Barbara, he still lives near that campus with his wife and two children. He owns a pair of Toyota Tundras and two Siberian huskies. He used to have a Nova and a Camaro. More

Kia has released a 30th Anniversary version of the Sportage for Korea.It has special wheels, green quilted leather upholstery, and 30th Anniversary badging.We don’t have U.S.-specific info on this model year, but we think it will come to our shores.The Sportage SUV wasn’t the first Kia model sold in the U.S.—that would be the long-forgotten Sephia sedan—but it is the Korean brand’s longest-running nameplate. Kia is now celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Sportage with a special-edition model for the Korean market. The package includes unique badging, interior trim, and a few other exterior tweaks, and we think it will eventually make its way to the U.S. market, possibly for the 2024 Sportage.KiaOur favorite addition is the green quilted leather upholstery found inside, which looks great contrasted with black suede trim. The headrests also have embroidered “30 Sportage” logos. On the outside, the main changes are different 19-inch wheels and extra black trim for the front fascia. The pictured model is finished in matte-gray paint that looks similar to the Shadow Matte Gray currently available on the 2023 Sportage Hybrid for $595 extra.KiaKia has also placed a pristine-looking example of the original first-generation Sportage in the lobby of its Kia 360 showroom in Korea to commemorate the occasion. This generation was sold in the U.S. starting for the 1995 model year, and we compared it against several other small SUVs in a 1998 comparison test.KiaKiaWe haven’t yet received confirmation whether or not the Sportage 30th Anniversary Edition model will come to the U.S. market, but we expect a similar package to be available here eventually. Stay tuned for more details to come on the 2024 Sportage.Sportage Then and NowSenior EditorDespite being raised on a steady diet of base-model Hondas and Toyotas—or perhaps because of it—Joey Capparella nonetheless cultivated an obsession for the automotive industry throughout his childhood in Nashville, Tennessee. He found a way to write about cars for the school newspaper during his college years at Rice University, which eventually led him to move to Ann Arbor, Michigan, for his first professional auto-writing gig at Automobile Magazine. He has been part of the Car and Driver team since 2016 and now lives in New York City.   More

Toyota has filed trademarks with the European Intellectual Property Office (EIPO) for variations of the “TZ” name, as reported by InsideEVs.The trademarks include Lexus TZ450e and Lexus TZ550e, which we think are likely names for a fully electric alternative to the new three-row Lexus TX.The Lexus TZ will probably share a platform with Toyota’s upcoming three-row EV that’s expected to be called bZ5X and begin being built sometime in 2025.It’s all but confirmed that Lexus has a three-row electric SUV in the works. What it will be called is still up in the air, however, it looks likely that such a model will wear the “TZ” badge. That speculation is based on trademark applications that Toyota recently filed with the European Intellectual Property Office (EIPO), which was reported by InsideEVs.Among the applications that were filed earlier this week, Toyota applied for trademarks to “Lexus TZ450e” and “Lexus TZ550e.” The “T” in those names suggest it could be similar in size to the recently revealed Lexus TX, which features three rows of seats and three powertrains, including two hybrid setups. The “Z” is what Lexus uses to identify its fully electric models, such as the compact RZ SUV.toyotaPerhaps more telling than either of those extrapolations regarding the potential body type and powertrain the Lexus TZ will have is the fact that Toyota has already announced plans to build a three-row electric SUV starting sometime in 2025. Based on the Toyota bZ5X concept, we expect the production model to share that name and its platform with an inevitable Lexus-branded version. Judging by today’s news, the latter will use the “TZ” prefix.Latest Lexus SUVsThis content is imported from poll. 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.Senior EditorEric Stafford’s automobile addiction began before he could walk, and it has fueled his passion to write news, reviews, and more for Car and Driver since 2016. His aspiration growing up was to become a millionaire with a Jay Leno–like car collection. Apparently, getting rich is harder than social-media influencers make it seem, so he avoided financial success entirely to become an automotive journalist and drive new cars for a living. After earning a journalism degree at Central Michigan University and working at a daily newspaper, the years of basically burning money on failed project cars and lemon-flavored jalopies finally paid off when Car and Driver hired him. His garage currently includes a 2010 Acura RDX, a manual ’97 Chevy Camaro Z/28, and a ’90 Honda CRX Si. More