Things Russia has that we don’t; oligarchy, grinding poverty, face control and the 2013 Mitsubishi Outlander. Wait, never mind. We have all of those!

Mitsubishi will launch their 2013 Outlander in Russia this summer, followed by a world-wide launch later this year. The diesel version gets a start-stop feature, while we’ll likely get a 2.0L gasoline 4-cylinder. Adaptive Cruise Control, a lane departure system and a collision avoidance system are also featured – other than that, no details will be announced until the Geneva Auto Show. Oh yeah, three rows of seats.

Doing things The Honda Way involves as much blind faith in one’s methods as it does a quantifiable formula for success. While the company has had many successes (the 1973 Civic right up until the most recent Civic), there have been mis-steps, like the first-generation Odyssey and the lack of a V6 in the 1994-1997 Accords. The one common denominator is that no matter what, Honda remains convinced that their way is the best and only way of doing things, and they’re not interested in hearing any other opinions.

As much as the 2012 Civic takes its lumps in the public arena, the first-generation RDX is a great example of “The Honda Way” gone awry. The 2.3L turbocharged engine was hailed by Autoblog in today’s editorial as “Honda’s Best Performance Engine”, but they apparently forgot about the K20, F22C and the B-Series and H-Series VTEC motors of a previous era. The K23A1 was laggy, erratic in its power delivery and mated to an uninspiring 5-speed automatic transmission for most of its life. The 6-speed transmission was improved, but not enough that most consumers would know or care or even use the paddle shifters. A dismal 17/22 mpg rating was the official number, anything that slightly deviated from a perfect EPA test cycle (i.e. sudden lane changes and merging situations, uphill driving, cold climates, snow tires) saw a noticeable drop in fuel economy and a thirst for premium gasoline didn’t help. The RDX later offered front-drive to go along with its SH-AWD system, a lovely feature that was ultimately wasted on the small crossover clientele, and the bespoke platform Acura engineered to accommodate the RDX.

The new RDX has been criticized by the B&B as being little more than a re-badged CR-V with a V6 engine. I haven’t heard confirmation of that, but it wouldn’t be so bad. The new CR-V won’t cause tachycardiya, but it’s a fine car to drive and full of practical features that will make people’s lives easier, like a low load floor and one-touch folding rear seats – the kinds of things that matter in the crossover segment rather than lateral g numbers and 0-60 times. Power is up to 273 horsepower and 20/28 mpg (city/highway) for front-drive models and 19/27. The SH-AWD will be missed by few, and the K23A1 even fewer.

Fans of the station wagon rejoice – Chevrolet has a new product for those of you seeking an alternative to the Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen, in the form of the Chevrolet Cruze station wagon.

While Europe and Australia will get this vehicle, Americans will be shut out, as Chevrolet has officially denied that we’ll get the Cruze station wagon. The same 1.4 turbo, 1.6 and 1.8L gasoline engines and 1.7 and 2.0L diesel engines will carry over from the sedan and hatchback, as well as Chevrolet’s MyLink infotainment system. At 184 inches long, the Cruze wagon is about three inches longer than the sedan (and 7 inches longer than the hatchback that we also don’t get) while offering 17.6 cubic feet of cargo room with the seats up and 52 with the seats down. Look for the official real at the Geneva Auto Show in early March.

Subtract two doors and a back seat from the Kia Soul and add a 250 horsepower and all-wheel drive and you have the Kia Track’ster concept. The initial sketches of the Track’ster were pretty underwhelming, but this car looks much better in photographs. A one inch longer wheelbase and a Brembo brake system with 14 inch rotors up front, 13.6 inches in the back and a combination of 6 and 4 piston brake calipers (front and rear) add to the Track’ster’s spec sheet. Instead of the rear seats, there’s a compartment for spare tires and safety gear like helmets.

Hang on to your hairplugs. The 2013 Ford Shelby GT500 has the same 650 horsepower supercharged 5.8L V8 making 600 lb-ft of torque. But unlike the 200 mph coupe, the ‘vert will only top out at 155 mph. The vert does get 6-piston Brembo brakes, a carbon fiber driveshaft, an upgraded clutch, electronically adjustable Bilstein shocks and a Motley Crue Greatest Hits CD in the Shaker audio system.

The 2013 GMC Acadia gets a pretty mild update, with cosmetic changes playing the biggest role here. A new “center airbag”, which inflates via the right side of the driver’s seat (to protect passengers from an opposite-side impact) is also featured. The two changes are not quite the major redesign that was expected. We’ll have live shots later in the day.

With 39 mpg highway and 33 mpg combined, the 2013 Hyundai Elantra coupe may not get the same gas mileage as its sedan brother, but it injects a new entrant into a very slim field of compact, affordable two-door cars.

Classified as a mid-size car (as opposed to the compact Honda Civic and Kia Forte two-doors), the familiar 148 horsepower 4-cylinder engine and 6-speed transmissions are available, along with Bluetooth and an iPod dock. Two trim levels, the GS and SE are available, but only leather and 17 inch wheels can be had on the SE. A technology package adds a 7 inch screen, a back-up camera, push-to-start and a better stereo. The SE also gets an upgraded suspension which should hopefully liven up the Elantra’s mundane driving dynamics.

In a forthcoming review of Steve Lynch’s book “Arrogance and Accords“, you’ll see that Acura was doomed from the start by inept management and internal politics that relegated the worst of American Honda’s corrupt to a division that needed its best players. On the other hand, they had the Integra, a wildly popular sedan that sold well – at the expensive of its prestige and Acura’s brand equity. Hoping to re-capture some of that magic is the ILX.

You already know that the ILX, like the Integra, uses a Civic platform, with the 2.4L 200-horsepower Civic Si motor and a 6-speed gearbox, a 150 horsepower 2.0L 4-cylinder with a 5-speed automatic and the Civic Hybrid’s 1.5L IMA powertrain. The hybrid will return 35/38 mpg, the 2.0L will get 24/32 mpg and the 2.4L will get 20/29 mpg. The ILX’s press photos don’t show the most dramatic angle – the extremely truncated rear deck that looks a bit like the Chevy Sonic sedan. It is, dare we say, ZDX-like when viewed from the side, although the C-Pillar is not as steeply angled. The new NSX cannot come soon enough.

Acura showed off their 2013 RDX, featuring a 3.5L V6 with 33 more horsepower than the outgoing model and substantially improved fuel economy.

At 273 horsepower and MPG ratings of 20/28 mpg for the front-driver and 19/27 mpg AWD version, quantitative performance is up for Acura’s small crossover. Pandora Radio, an ELS sound system, a power liftgate and a longer wheelbase/wider track are the big news for 2013. We’ll have more information tomorrow when our team starts live coverage of the Chicago Auto Show.

Fisker Automotive has laid off a total of 66 people, including 20 at a former GM plant in Delaware, and another 40 contractors in California. The layoffs come as Fisker attempts to re-negotiate loans from the Department of Energy that were contingent on Fisker meeting sales targets for its Karma sedan, which Fisker failed to do.

While the DOE loaned Fisker $509 million, Fisker has only $193 million so far. The money was earmarked to help engineer a new vehicle, dubbed the Nina. Fisker had hoped to employ 2,000 people at the Delaware plant. The Karma has been hampered by a series of delays and false starts, leading to speculation that the project was little more than vaporware. Fisker is also pursuing private equity financing in lieu of government loans.

Just like the Lacrosse, the Buick Regal will no longer be available with a base 2.4L 4-cylinder engine. Instead, the same 2.4L with Buick’s eAssist mild hybrid will become the standard powerplant.

The Regal eAssist will get as much as 36 highway MPG, though pricing and city fuel economy wasn’t announced. The base 2.0L turbocharged engine will still be around, as well as the Regal GS, which gets an automatic gearbox option for 2013. Some outlets have suggested that the turbocharged engine may be offered as a no-cost option, similar to how the Lacrosse offers a V6 as a no-cost alternative to the eAssist. Current pricing shows a nearly $3,000 gap between a base 2.4L and a base model turbo, so that idea seems like a flight of fancy, unless the lineup is re-arranged.

The small crossover segment is heating up, with the Honda CR-V, Ford Escape and Mazda CX-5 squaring off as this year’s new entrants in an already crowded field. Starting at $20,695, the CX-5 will get class leading fuel economy numbers of 26/35 mpg thanks to the SKYACTIV 2.0L 4-cylinder engine – and a 6-speed manual gearbox.

A 6-speed automatic and AWD will set you back another $1,400 and $1,250 respectively. The Touring model costs  $23,895 and $25,145 for FWD and AWD respectively while the Grand Touring runs $27,045 and $28,295 for the GT AWD. A Technology package, featuring items like in-dash TomTom navigation, pivoting HID headlights and rain-sensing wipers adds another $1,185 ($1,325 for the GT model, which also adds keyless entry) while a Bose stereo/moonroof package is $1,130. A destination charge of $795 is not included in the price.

Our coverage of the 2012 Chicago Auto Show will kick off Wednesday, but preparations begin tomorrow, as our team, headed up by hizzoner Jack Baruth, makes its way to the Windy City. We’ve got a brief rundown of what you can expect to see from the TTAC team of writers and photographers on site at McCormick Place.

Acura: With Acura having debuted “concepts” (read: barely disguised versions of the production car) of the RDX crossover and ILX sedan at Detroit, the two cars will bow officially at Chicago. The RDX gets a V6 to replace the thirsty but punchy turbocharged 4-cylinder engine, which should deliver more power and much better fuel economy. The ILX (which may be re-named the IL, following Acura naming conventions) will also get its debut, and will be crucial to Acura’s plans for picking itself up off the floor and getting the attention of new customers.

Chrysler/Dodge/Ram/Fiat: The Marchionne-ruled conglomerate will show off a few products with minor revisions. Mopar versions of the Jeep Compass, Dodge Dart and Fiat 500 will debut alongside a Ram Laramie Limited Edition pickup. Chrysler will also introduce the Mopar ’12 300, a tuned 300S with some cosmetic changes and slightly quicker acceleration times.

Ford: The droptop version of the 2013 Ford Shelby GT500 will debut. No word on whether this car will get the coupe version’s insane 200 MPH top speed rating. The 650 horsepower should be enough to blow the hair transplant right out of most owner’s scalps.

GMC: The 2013 GMC Acadia will show off its all-new design, as the first of GM’s Lambda crossovers to get any changes since their 2006 debut. New sheetmetal, powertrains and interior changes are expected. The Chevrolet Traverse and Buick Enclave will follow later this year.

Hyundai: The Korean automaker continues its imperial deathmarch towards industry dominance with the debut of two variants of the Elantra. A two-door coupe, looking very similar to the sedan, will debut, as well as a 5-door hatchback based on the European i30. This is the car featured in the infamous video featuring VW boss Martin Winterkorn freaking out over the vehicle’s build quality – it’s promising, to say the least.

Kia: Kia will show off the Trackstar concept, supposedly a performance oriented version of the Soul. Early sketches look goofy.

Nissan: A refreshed 2013 model 370Z will bow alongside the NV200 passenger van. Unlike the commercial versions of the NV already on sale, the NV200 will be the next New York City taxi, and can seat up to 12 passengers.

Toyota: Because civillians, as well as UN peacekeepers and medicins sans frontiers workers buy the Land Cruiser, Toyota will show off the refreshed 2013 version in Chicago, with sales starting immediately.

Volkswagen: A TDI powered 2013 Beetle will debut, featuring the familiar 2.0L TDI engine making 140 horsepower, with a choice of 6-speed manual or DSG transmissions.

Fiat will delay the launch of a B-segment Jeep, designed to slot below the Compass and Patriot. Instead, the Fiat version of the car will take precedence and launch in 2013.

The rest of the world will have to wait until Q2 of 2014 for the new baby Jeep. The new Fiat will replace the Sedici, derived from the Suzuki SX4, which sold only 14,800 units in 2011. The baby Jeep will apparently be “Trail Rated” despite its effete underpinnings, and will share its platform with the Fiat 500L as well as the new Sedici replacement. Fiat is re-tooling their Mirafiori plant to build the vehicles, as the Sedici is currently built in Suzuki’s Hungarian factory.

Foreign OEMs put on a dog and pony show at the Washington D.C. auto show in anticipation of President Obama’s visit, but were ultimately snubbed when the President decided to check out some American iron instead.

Bloomberg reports that Honda, Toyota and other foreign car makers flew in executives from across the country and brought in their most fuel-efficient cars at the request of the White House. While Obama checked out a display of American cars, including a Dodge Dart, a Ford Mustang Shelby GT500, a Chevrolet Silverado, a Jeep Grand Cherokee, a Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1, a Ford C-Max Energi and a Chevrolet Malibu, execs from the foreign OEMs waited in a “bullpen” for a chance to talk to Obama, and answer his questions about their products.

But they never got face time with the Commander-In-Chief. While a Honda FCX and a Kia Optima Hybrid were on hand (brought in specially for the visit), Obama only paid attention to the American brands – and some of their less-than-efficient products. While Obama was ostensibly checking out the newest wares of the automakers that got bailout money, many of the foreign OEMs have invested a lot of money in American manufacturing (as much as $43 billion, according to a trade group known as The Association of Global Automakers) – an economic sector in dire need of rejuvenation, and one that surely adds more value than a Facebook IPO.

Volkswagen unveiled their most important new platform, dubbed MQB (a German acronym for “Modular Transverse Matrix”). The MQB will underpin everything from the Up! to the next (European) Passat, and all points in between.

While the wheelbase can be adjusted to fit different sized vehicles, all motors, whether gas, diesel or hybrid, will use the same mounting points and transmissions. Photos appear to show a raised rear bench seat for better leg room, and stronger steel and more aluminum chassis components will help vehicles like the next Golf shed lots of weight.

The first MQB car will be the new Audi A3, which will debut this summer and be sold only as a sedan in the United States. The new MK7 Golf should follow after that, getting a reveal at September’s Paris Auto Show.

Now, this isn’t something I picked out of my nose. This is Suzuki’s new A-segment concept, a car that weighs a mere 1600 lbs.

Already unveiled as the Suzuki Regina at the 2011 Tokyo Auto Show, the car will now be dubbed the G70 when it gets its second showing at Geneva. The G70 is about the size of a Fiat 500 and uses an 800cc gasoline engine, a CVT gearbox, regenerative braking and a start-stop feature to achieve 75 mpg. You’ve got to hand it to Suzuki…it’s certainly different.

Even though it’s been revived more times than Pete Doherty, the Volkswagen Bluesport roadster is apparently back on track at the insistence of Uli Hackenberg, VW’s chief engineer.

Hackenberg feels that the upcoming Toyobaru twins and the Mazda MX-5 will fuel demand for more sports cars on the lower end of the market. While dealers felt that the market was too small to justify the Bluesport, Hackenberg feels that the demand has been artifically supressed due to a lack of options.

If Volkswagen does go ahead with the project, expect Audi or another subsidiary (SEAT? Skoda?) to market their own sports car using the platform. The big question is whether Porsche will go back on its word and create its own version, or cede the lower tier to its downmarket cousins.

“With a languid stroke, her lascivious fingers caressed the seat. Out of nowhere, Chopin’s Nocturnes engulfed Rudolfo’s vintage Testatrossa in a sea of glissandi. Soon, Rudolfo’s  testosterone was on full volume. He opened the first button of her blouse, there was a pop, then – silence.”

If Maksim Skorobogatiy of the Polytechnic School in Montreal, Canada, gets his way, then this is how future novels will be written. Or car catalogs. Skorobogatiy suggests:

“In essence we are trying to reproduce the smartphone experience in textile form. We are looking for applications where we can weave in sleek, non-invasive control, avoiding blocks of push buttons.”

The Canadian researchers created a soft polymer-based fiber, or make that fibre, which has electrical properties that change depending on where it is touched. The fiber can be woven into any fabric. That way, it can turn a car seat, or the lady’s blouse (“it`s getting hot, mind if I turn this down a bit … there you go”) into a touch screen.  There already may be a customer.

“Touch-sensitive surfaces are a very interesting technology for controlling operations in a car.”

So said BMW spokeswoman Melina Aulinger to the New Scientist, which opines that “it might not be long before something similar is seen in our cars.”

Totally overlooked, a recent BMW concept car that appeared in March at the Geneva Motor Show, was operated via a touch-sensitive surface, heating and music were controlled by the driver’s gestures, Aulinger told the New Scientist.

It’s probably all a conspiracy to wean us away from leather and make us buy chintzy fabric seats that interface with our iPod.

With Audi offering an A4L in China, BMW naturally has to get in on the act. Now that a new, locally made 3-Series is debuting, BMW will offer a 335Li for customers who want to be driven, rather than drive the…erm…Ultimate Driving Machine.

The car will be made in collaboration with local joint venture partner Brilliance. The 335i was apparently an import in previous generation, but the 335i will be made locally. While the A4L starts at RMB272,800 (about $43,000 USD), pricing for an E90 3-Series (not the F30 pictured above) starts at RMB299,800 ($47,000 USD) all the way up to RMB626,200 ($99,000) for an imported 335i. Expect the new F30 cars to start below RMB300,000.

Regulators are hoping to offer additional incentives and credits to spur sales of the vehicles. Hydrogen re-fueling infrastructure will also be supported, though details of how this would be approached were scant. The new rules would also favor vehicles such as the Chevrolet Volt, as CARB feels that it is closer to an electric vehicle than a conventional plug-in hybrid. The Volt has been dubbed a ”transitional zero-emission vehicle”.

Organizations such as the California New Car Dealers Association say that demand for these types of vehicles has been overestimated, but CARB chair Mary Nichols told a conference call that car manufacturers were in favor of the new rulings. “Probably the most heartening aspect of this whole rulemaking was the level of cooperation that we received from the industry. Overall, the degree of support for the package was just extraordinary.”

Ditching the codename of “Ellezero” Fiat has given their new crossover the anti-climactic “500L” nameplate. And while Europe will get a three-row version with 7 seats, Americans will get the five seater only.

Fiat thinks that North Americans won’t buy a 7-seater as small as the 500L – and they’re probably right. At a 23 inches longer, the 500L is about the size of a Mini Countryman. Power will likely come from the 1.4l MultiAir engine in North America, with Europe getting a TwinAir variant as well as a diesel. Based on the size of this car, the third row will be great for buckling your child’s stuffed animals in – humans need not apply.

BMW is said to be planning a new minivan-esque competitor to the Toyota Prius V, dubbed the i5. We like the name given to it in the original Autobild story; Neuer Elektro-Van.

Given the gap between the diminutive i3 city car and the i8 sports car, the i5 seems like a logical bride between the two. Autobild’s rendering suggests that it won’t be a stodgy, van like vehicle, but a slightly enlarged 1-Series hatchback as far as looks go. The i5 should seat 5, and offer a 170 horsepower electric drivetrain. A 3-cylinder gasoline range extender is also said to be in the works.

The Chevrolet Cruze hatchback that’s sold in virtually every market except the United States still won’t be coming to America – but we may have the chance to get a Cruze wagon, if Automotive News has their story straight.

GM is apparently working on a Cruze wagon, essentially a stretched version of the already attractive Cruze hatch. Yes, general wisdom says that Americans don’t buy hatches. But the Ford Focus, Hyundai Elantra Touring (which debuts next month), Volkswagen Golf, Kia Forte5, Toyota Matrix and Mazda3 all exist – why not something from the bowtie brand? As AN notes, the Cruze did very well in 2011′s sales charts and all of the volume was composed of 4-door sedans. Surely a Cruze 5-door would add something to the mix? Canada, a strong market for the Cruze, and hatches in general, would gobble this thing up. A Cruze Eco hatch with a 6-speed stick would be a fantastic way to get around in my books. Or what about the prospect of a wagon version of the Cruze diesel? Let’s not get too ahead of ourselves here…

Before we go any further in depth into the BMW M550d, X5 M50d or X6 M50d, just know that all three models will not be coming to North America.

Rumors of a tri-turbo diesel I6 from BMW sounded like a fanboy’s wet dream being propagated as truth, but apparently it’s real. The new 3.0L mill makes 376 horsepower at 4,000 rpm and 545 lb-ft of torque from 2,000 to 3,000 rpm. An 8-speed automatic and xDrive AWD put the power down, and the 550d can hit 60 mph in 4.6 seconds. A wagon version of the M550d will be available alongside the X5 and X6 variants. BMW quotes fuel economy figures as high as 36.7 MPG (in US gallons) but didn’t specify if it was city, highway or combined consumption. Check out the press release below for more information.

The BMW M Performance Automobiles.

The BMW M Performance vehicles described in the attached press release are not planned for the US market. The press release is posted for informational purposes only.

New BMW M GmbH product range based on current BMW models; BMW M Performance Automobiles complement the model family with their clear focus on sports performance combined with unrestricted everyday usability and outstanding efficiency; new product category launches with four models: BMW M550d xDrive Sedan, BMW M550d xDrive Touring, BMW X5 M50d and BMW X6 M50d.

Rigorous use of BMW M GmbH development expertise in the optimisation of agility, precision and emotion; BMW M Performance Automobiles with harmonious interplay of powertrain, chassis technology and design features typical of M models; exclusive, extremely powerful engine; detailed modifications to chassis technology and power transfer; aerodynamically optimised body.

World premiere for a new six-cylinder in-line diesel engine developed exclusively for the BMW M Performance Automobiles; new, globally unique M Performance TwinPower Turbo technology: three turbochargers, common-rail direct injection with piezo injectors and maximum injection pressure of 2,200 bar; 3.0-litre displacement, 280 kW/381 hp, maximum torque: 740 Newton metres (546 lb-ft); instantaneous responses and outstandingly dynamic power delivery into the upper reaches of the rev range; maximum revs: 5,400 rpm; impressively economical thanks to optimised efficiency and extensive BMW EfficientDynamics technology, including Auto Start-Stop function and ECO PRO mode.

Eight-speed Sports automatic transmission with enhanced gearshift dynamics fitted as standard on all BMW M Performance Automobiles; BMW xDrive intelligent all-wheel drive with bespoke set-up optimised to enhance dynamics; BMW M550d xDrive and BMW X5 M50d with Performance Control, BMW X6 M50d with Dynamic Performance Control.

M-specific tuning of suspension, bodyshell mounting, engine and transmission mounting, springs and dampers, all standard and optional chassis control systems, and the Servotronic mapping for the hydraulic steering; result is significantly enhanced agility and precision in dynamic driving situations, with the linear build-up of lateral forces familiar from M cars.
BMW M550d xDrive comes as standard with the Driving Experience Control switch, including ECO PRO mode; BMW M550d xDrive Touring also features air suspension on the rear axle and automatic self-levelling; both models available as an option with Dynamic Damper Control and Adaptive Drive including anti-roll control.

BMW X5 M50d and BMW X6 M50d fitted as standard with air suspension on the rear axle and self-levelling, Adaptive Drive standard on the BMW X6 M50d and available as an option for the
BMW X5 M50d.

Purposeful design modifications in familiar M style set individual models apart and provide aerodynamic optimisation; exterior mirrors and air intake bars with striking Ferric Grey metallic paintwork; trapezoidal exhaust tailpipes; BMW Individual High-gloss Shadow Line; 19-inch M light-alloy wheels in double-spoke design standard on the BMW M550d xDrive and BMW M550d xDrive Touring; 19-inch M light-alloy wheels in V-spoke design standard on the
BMW X5 M50d; 20-inch M light-alloy wheels in double-spoke design standard on the BMW X6 M50d; exclusive 20-inch M light-alloy wheels in Ferric Grey available as an option for all models; model lettering on the door sills, boot lid and, in the case of the
BMW X5 M50d and BMW X6 M50d, also in the instrument cluster; engine cover with “M Performance” badge.

Bespoke interior design shows clear emphasis on the cars’ sporting character; gearshift lever with M logo; exclusive Alcantara/Nappa leather M sports seats in Black (BMW X5 M50d, BMW X6 M50d) or Alcantara/Cloth in Grey Shadow (BMW M550d xDrive) with contrast stitching and embossed M logo; M leather steering wheel with gearshift paddles; BMW Individual roof liner in Anthracite; interior trim strips in Brushed Aluminium Shadow (BMW X5 M50d,
BMW X6 M50d) or Aluminium Hexagon (BMW M550d xDrive); interior sound design adds further emphasis to the characteristic six-cylinder soundtrack.

All BMW M Performance Automobiles contain a wide range of comfort-enhancing equipment as standard; extensive individualisation possible thanks to virtually full availability of BMW 5 Series, BMW X5 and BMW X6 options; includes Comfort Access, automatic tailgate operation (standard in Germany on the BMW X6 M50d and BMW M550d xDrive Touring), hands-free tailgate opening (BMW M550d xDrive, BMW M550d xDrive Touring), electrically operated glass/panoramic sunroof, doors with Soft Close Automatic function, trailer coupling, heated steering wheel, active seats, Adaptive LED Headlights (BMW X6 M50d), navigation systems with hard disk storage, high-quality audio and rear-seat entertainment systems.
Wide range of driver assistance systems and mobility services from BMW ConnectedDrive unmatched by any rival: Head-Up Display, Adaptive Headlights, High-Beam Assistant, BMW Night Vision with pedestrian recognition (BMW M550d xDrive), Active Cruise Control with Stop & Go function, Lane Change Warning System
(BMW M550d xDrive), Lane Departure Warning System
(BMW M550d xDrive), rear-view camera with Top View
(BMW X5 M50d, BMW X6 M50d), Surround View (BMW 550d xDrive),
Speed Limit Info, internet access, extended integration of smartphones and music players, Real-Time Traffic Information and apps for receiving web radio and using Facebook and Twitter.

Engine:
Six-cylinder in-line diesel engine with
M Performance TwinPower Turbo technology, aluminium crankcase, three turbochargers (high-pressure, with variable turbine geometry), common-rail direct injection with piezo injectors, maximum injection pressure: 2,200 bar.
Displacement: 2,993 cc,
output: 280 kW/381 hp at 4,000 – 4,400 rpm,
max. torque: 740 Nm (546 lb-ft) at 2,000 – 3 000 rpm,
specific output: 93.6 kW/127.3 hp per litre of displacement.
BMW M Performance models: performance figures, fuel consumption, CO2 emissions:
BMW M550d xDrive Sedan:
Acceleration [0 – 100 km/h (62 mph)]: 4.7 seconds,
top speed: 250 km/h (155 mph),
average fuel consumption: 6.3 litres/100 kilometres (44.8 mpg imp),
CO2 emissions: 165 g/km, exhaust standard: EU6.
BMW M550d xDrive Touring:
Acceleration [0 – 100 km/h (62 mph)]: 4.9 seconds,
top speed: 250 km/h (155 mph),
average fuel consumption: 6.4 litres/100 kilometres (44.1 mpg imp),
CO2 emissions: 169 g/km, exhaust standard: EU6.
BMW X5 M50d:
Acceleration [0 – 100 km/h (62 mph)]: 5.4 seconds,
top speed: 250 km/h (155 mph),
average fuel consumption: 7.5 litres/100 kilometres (37.7 mpg imp),
CO2 emissions: 199 g/km, exhaust standard: EU5.
BMW X6 M50d:
Acceleration [0 – 100 km/h (62 mph)]: 5.3 seconds,
top speed: 250 km/h (155 mph),
average fuel consumption: 7.7 litres/100 kilometres (36.7 mpg imp),
CO2 emissions: 204 g/km, exhaust standard: EU5.