Drive away a benchmark of European performance. The 3-series is a masterfully executed performance luxury sedan, capable of providing you extreme versatility and an exhilarating drive. Here’s what US News had to say about it:

“If you are looking for an entry-level luxury sedan that can serve as a family hauler and emphasizes performance, the 2011 BMW 3-Series is a great car.”

It is the best selling car in its class, and a fantastic consideration for any performance-minded sedan shopper. Get yours today for only $298 per month as a lease from Vista BMW (for qualifying buyers with approved credit). So stop in today!

Ready to paint the town green? Saturday, March 12 is the continuation of a great Ft. Lauderdale tradition – The St. Patrick’s Day Parade and Festival! Join the city for a day of pageantry and excitement that begins with a traditional Irish blessing at 11:30AM at Huizenga Plaza (on the corner of Las Olas and Andrews) followed promptly by a team of para-commandos parachuting into the park to kick off the festivities. We’re not sure how paratroopers fit into the Irish theme, but it still should be a spectacle. The following free parade, which starts marching at noon, will feature floats, live music and entertainment.

The park will also be “all ages”, with a kids zone, exhibitors, games and contests, plus a full complement of Irish food and beverages. What else will be competing for your delight and attention? Pipe and drum bands, classic automobiles, bagpipers, stilt walkers, marching bands, scouts, street performers, Irish dancers, the Miami Dolphins, the Ft. Lauderdale Strikers, veteran groups and elected officials will all be making an appearance in the parade or at the park.

It all should be a hoot, so we’ll look forward to seeing you there!

More info on BMW’s N20 4-cylinder engine surfaced recently, including a neat little animation of the actual engine working. It is sure to appeal to the inner mechanic in you. The N20 will be making its first appearance in the European version of the X1 . Whether we’ll have a chance to see a 4-cylinder X1 in the states is still a topic up for debate, but BMW has made mention we’ll at least be seeing a 1-Series and 3-Series powered by this engine in the next couple of years.

The N20 can put out 245 HP and 258 lb-ft of torque in the X1, while achieving a remarkable 35.7 mpg and significantly lowering emissions. It also weighs less than a comparable 6-inline, and, according to US Magazine, lives up to the high-performance standards of the BMW namesake. There was a lot of skepticism about the engine’s performance, and even about BMW again dipping into the world of 4-cylinder vehicles, but first impressions have silenced the naysayers. It is noticeably more responsive than the standard inline-6, and outputs more than 10HP in comparison. It is smooth, free revving and performs well enough to live up to the BMW standard.

US Magazine says, “it is please to drive and highly pleasant, and doesn’t have to work hard to deliver its best”. The glowing review goes on to say everything but the sound is an improvement from the inline-6, and even that will be addressed as BMW plans to add a future “sound enhancer” to vehicles fitted with this engine.

BMW showcased their new concept “Vision ConnectedDrive” at Geneva last week. The two-seater concept, rich in futuristic design lines and expressive curves, features a long hood, long wheelbase and an overall rakish design. It has the sense of motion even when parked.

As impressive as it looks on the outside, the real show is on the inside, and the technology laden throughout the design. The Vision ConnectedDrive is meant as a platform for an array of mobile technology that may make it into future BMW vehicles. It is designed to serve as a integral part of a networked world. A Heads-Up Display projects essential information in a 3D format. The ConnectedDrive Infotainment System is locally-based, meaning you will get information real-time based on where the vehicle currently is. Updates to the vehicle’s systems can be made in the car, or wirelessly from your home. With this, you will have information available to create a digital tour of the city you are in, book tickets to events or even add entries to a digital calendar.

The implications are exciting, and keeping steady with the world’s rapidly growing “always online, always networked” philosophy. It will be exhilarating to see these technologies applied to mass produced transportation in the near future.

BMW had a host of vehicles making their debut at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show last week, but one of the most interesting was the 2012 BMW ActiveE. This electric car is what is known as a “conversion”, which means it is an unmodified body of a known model fully converted to electric. In this case, the ActiveE almost identically resembles a regular gas-powered 1 Series Coupe.

BMW has integrated all electric drive components, including an energy storage unit, electric motor and power electronics, into the shell of a 1 Series Coupe without compromising the space, comfort or style of the original design. The electric drivetrain produces enough power and torque to allow the ActiveE to accelerate from 0 to 62 MPH in a swift 9 seconds. With seating for four, it is able to travel a full 100 miles on a single charge.

The BMW ActiveE is considered a testing platform for the 2013 BMW Megacity vehicle, which was recently renamed the “i3″. The i3 will be released in 2013 as the flagship vehicle for BMW’s sustainable-fuel sub-brand “i”. The two vehicles won’t look identical, but do share a variety of components including the drive train and energy storage. The ActiveE is kind of a test pilot for BMW’s foray into electric vehicles, and will contribute to the technological advances BMW is achieving with the MINI E Field Trial.

You have to love Top Gear’s Jeremy Clarkson, who summed up the performance wars between Audi and BMW by saying, “If you want to buy a small, fast coupe, you have to buy a BMW M3. Sure, you could buy a fast Mercedes or a fast Audi, but that’s like buying a war game that isn’t Call of Duty. The M3 is the best, and that’s the end of it.”

The heathens at BBC had the actual Top Gear segments we were going to show you removed from YouTube (I wager someone with sour grapes at Audi snitched them out), so you’ll have to take our word for it, or at least watch it on your highly impractical regular television. Don’t let the commercials frustrate you, record the show and watch it later. You can fast forward through all the marketing that way. You’re just going to have to take our word for it, until you can see it with your own eyes, but the BMW M3 trounced the Audi with a full half second of lap time, taking the same opportunity to humiliate a Lotus Evora, as well. The longer track in Spain made the outcome even worse for the Audi, with the M3 handily defeating the competition with a full 5 seconds to spare.
BMW showed them who is king, and who will remain king.

There’s a lot to like about the 2011 BMW M3, especially its duality. It will behave well as you drive around town, enveloping you in a cocoon of luxury and performance. Take that same car to the track, and you are still a heavy hitter. It is truly one of the most awesome cars you can drive, merging comfort and practicality with the most exhilarating and competitive capabilities available.

BMW recently announced a new “sub brand”. Simply called “i”, this new sub brand will be the banner for BMW’s upcoming slew of electric vehicles as well as a full range of mobility services. The brand plans to deliver visionary cars and services and a totally new concept of “premium mobility” to the world, and do this with a focus on sustainability.

Stemming from BMW’s think tank “project i”, this sub brand explores sustainable mobility solutions and their customers’ changing needs. Electric drive systems and hybrids all fall under i’s jurisdiction, as well as solutions for megacities (cities with 50 million or more residents) that combine the need for mobility concepts as one complete package.

“Mobility requirements are changing in rapidly expanding megacities” say Ian Robertson, member of BMW board. “Our commitment to car-enabled mobility services, like BMW ConnectedDrive, will be significantly expanded under BMW i. We’ll also grow our car-related premium mobility services. What’s truly groundbreaking is that we’ll begin offering car-independent premium mobility services. BMW i aims to provide customized mobility solutions across a seamless network of premium products and premium services.”

The present focus is on delivering solutions to improve the usage of existing parking spaces as well as intelligent navigation systems with local information, intermodal route planning and car-sharing. All tall orders when you realize they are concepts in direct contrast to the special territorial relationships we have with our cars, but if any company can do it, it is BMW that will succeed. The first step for i was to invest in My City Way, a smart phone app that provides users information on public transportation times and availability, parking availability and local entertainment in 40 US cities. You can check out the app here: http://www.mycityway.com/

Activate the future is a documentary series from BMW philosophizing on the future of city living and automobiles. They round up a variety of scientists, engineers, pioneers and entrepreneurs to foretell what we can expect in the nearing decades. It’s interesting stuff. The first of four parts, entitled “The New City”, explores the possibilities in designing tomorrow’s cities. As people migrate to cities, many of them grow into “super cities” boasting more than 50 million residents. Every year, more people move out of “the country” and into urban areas with a more centralized design.

In the last hundred years, more and more people have moved to cities. In 1900, city populations represented only 14% of the total population. Now, it is 50%, and the next two decades will see that number climb to 60%, if current trends continue. Interestingly enough, they predict mass transit will dominate our commutes out of sheer necessity, and our vehicles will be regulated to doing what they do best – entertain us. After all, no one likes sitting in commuter traffic for two hours, but we all fancy a thrilling drive now and again.

We haven’t made it through every one of the four episodes, but I admit we are hooked. BMW didn’t regulate this series to an amateur attempt and grainy YouTube film, it is well-thought, slick, colorful, high budget production worthy of at least a little bit of your time. There’s no embed code to host it here, so just visit http://www.bmwactivatethefuture.com/index.php and we’ll trust you to come right back here and enjoy the rest of our content once you are done.

The Miami International Film Festival is here! Enjoy the latest in international film during the first two weeks of March, as the world-class Miami platform for film and filmmaker promotion shows off the best emerging and established cinema the world has to offer.

The MIFF is considered one of the best ibero-centric festivals in the world, serving as a stage for South America’s finest film and filmmakers. Enjoy film screenings, gala premieres, REEL seminars and bump elbows with Miami Film Society members throughout the two-week run.

This year, catch the Oscar-winning Danish film “In A Better World”, a movie that seems like a coming-of-age tale on the surface but offers so much more underneath. Or enjoy the much-talked “Incendies”, a tale of sisters journeying to the Middle East to unite with a brother and father they did not know were alive.

You can purchase tickets for any film directly on http://www.miamifilmfestival.com/default.aspx.

The leader in midsize luxury sports sedans is none other than the BMW 5-Series sedan. It is an enviable collaboration between performance, comfort and technology, boasting strong turbocharged engine options, impeccably clean interior design with high quality materials.

For a few days, Vista BMW offers you the opportunity to enjoy everything the 2011 BMW 535i has to offer for the competitive price of $489 dollars lease per month to qualified buyer with approved credit. Get the car Popular Mechanics says “is a great car with a performance that will dazzle you” today, for a price you won’t believe. It’s the all-new 2011 BMW 535i, and it is available now at Vista BMW.