The back wheels have an hydraulic system that makes the car/bike/mobilethingie carve the road as if you were surfing or snowboarding down a slope. According to BMW, the driving experience is quite unique and exhilarating. The BMW Simple weighs about 990 pounds, does 118 miles per gallon, going up to 62mph in under 10 seconds, and reaching a top speed of 124mph.

Sadly, don't expect to see this vehicle yet. BMW says they have no plans to start manufacturing it yet. Too bad. [Autoblog]

Look beyond the cheesiness of the music, smug actor and his Oakley Thumps for a moment and actually examine the incredible practicality at work—highlighting/identifying parts of an engine and offering step by step instructions for completing complicated procedures. Give me a world UI like this, and I won't just change my own air filter. I'll be able to remove my own appendix.

Oh, and my brain will never memorize how to do anything ever again, but let's forget that part... [BMW via MediaIte via Jalopnik]

The video above is the official promo for the concept vehicle, which will, sadly, never see a showroom. For more, see Jalopnik, which has up a gallery and oodles of facts and figures. [Jalopnik]

Actually, it's the multifunctional hall of the BMW Welt energy-efficient factory, designed as "a solar-heated, naturally ventilated sub-climatic area." The air flow is generated by thermal currents and turbulences that start on the building's façade and roof, which are guided by strategically placed vents across the structure.

Yes, it's cool and and it looks awesome too. [Inhabitat]

BMW has teamed up with Technical University of Munich in creating these smart car doors, which have produced positive results so far. They expect these doors to be available on the market within the next 12 months, although the doors might be licensed to other manufacturers instead of BMW's own cars.

I can see this type of technology being useful when I have to park along extremely busy street in San Francisco. But then again, I can also see this being a safety hazard: For instance, being taken hostage in your own car and needing to jump out at a stoplight as a biker approaches your door from behind. Or being John McClane, having to jump out of the vehicle as your car goes flying at helicopters in the sky. Yipee-kay-ay mother serious-relationship-haver! [CraveUK via CNet]

I know that robotized assembly lines are nothing new, but I thought there were more people around. You know, drinking beer and sausages and sauerkraut while languidly pushing a single red button or something. [DRB]

Apparently it's aimed at gamers, with some of the components—like the drive units—mounted out of the actual case. [Carscoop via Luxury Launches]

After the incident, he went out with some friends, where they came up with an idea to get his stuff back. The kind of guys who jack cars probably like drugs and women. And statistically speaking, 51 percent of thieves are dumb. So Heuss sent a text to his stolen phone, acting like one of his friends: "I've got a bunch of hot chicks...we've got some drugs, too."

The thieves, easily duped by the promise of girls and drugs, sent over their address. But instead of hot girls with drugs, they got a visit from the Columbus police officers—not the sexy kind that take off their clothes—and were caught red-handed with the stolen car. All in all, a serendipitous experience: What would've happened if the carjackers were in fact gay straight edgers? Hmm. [WBNS via Joel]

As you can see in the video, there's nothing ground-breaking here, save for some fancy cars and interactive swatches for interior and exterior colors (the software was developed by Vectorform for BMW, btw). If you're up for a stiff German guy reading off a cue card, though, then by all means clicky clicky. [BMW Blog, Thanks Haratiu!]

• The iDrive knob is surrounded by seven buttons to give quick access to: CD, main menu, phone, radio, navigation, options screen, and "go back".
• 8.8-inch widescreen display. It's not a touchscreen because BMW thinks it's more comfortable and safe to use the knob (I completely agree with them).
• Voice recognition system is now better thanks to a new faster processor.
• There's a central area in the interface that shows the selected function with an easy to identify icon.
• If you connect it to the iPod, you will get a similar navigation by track, album, and artist.
• Rips CDs or copy music files through USB.
• GPS function allows for two views (like a general flat map and a closer 3D view).
• New alphanumeric keyboard in a circle, which is faster and easier to control with the iDrive knob.
• Users can "hack" their iDrive with custom programs that previously only dealers could change.

If you are planning to get a BMW, you will find the iDrive 4.0 in the 2009 3 Series and 1 Series as a $2,000 option, or standard in the 7 Series next spring. [NYT]

The limited number means that you probably won't be getting one (though if you do, please call us). Still, keep on the lookout: The vehicles will be adorned with that yellow logo cleverly intended to look like both an "e" and a power plug.

BMW says it isn't releasing this as a production vehicle, so much as it is using the program to learn about how fully electric vehicles perform in real-world traffic—Jersey Turnpike, hello? The company says that in the "medium term" it plans to introduce real "series production" of electric cars. If you want to know more about the automotive attributes of the Mini E, have a look at BMW's extremely detailed press release. [BMW]

Bonus points to the commenter who names the location of our included map along with the search subject. [BMW Blog]

Part of the gaff was, of course, due to that fact that there are just 60 hydrogen stations in the U.S., and only two of those are open to the public "without prior arrangement," says Reuters. Nevertheless, event promoter Catherine Dunwoody, executive director of the California Fuel Cell Partnership (a major tour supporter), was optimistic about hydrogen's chances.

"There's a hunger out there for clean, safe vehicles," Brubaker said. "The common refrain everywhere we went was 'Where do we get these cars?'" As a personal aside, I, too, would be interested in such a venture, especially if it meant large swaths of my morning commute involved hopping on the back of a truck, and having someone else do the driving for me.

More seriously, hydrogen as a major fuel source is pretty much nowhere near becoming mainstream. As the article notes, bigwig auto makers like Honda and General Motors only have plans to test a handful of hydrogen vehicles this year and next in select markets.

A best-case scenario out of the car industry has only 2 million hydrogen-powered electric vehicles on the roads by 2020.

At least there was some diversity on this cross-country trip: Cars were provided by Honda, GM, Toyota Motor Corp, Ford Motor Co, BMW AG, Daimler AG, Hyundai Motor Co, Nissan Motor Co, and Volkswagen AG. No word on those flatbeds. [Reuters]

[Cool Hunter]

The car is based off a 4.4-liter Z8 with a six-speed automatic transmission. The body is composed of just four panels—hood, sides and rear—and the material is water resistant. As far as shape-shifting goes, the car can alter things like adding or removing a spoiler, or widening fenders. I'm not sure about you, but my mind=blown. [Wired and Jalopnik]