Warren Brown and Lou Ann Hammond chat on www.washingtonpost.com, January 27, 2012

2012 BMW 3 SERIES
I can hardly believe the statistics I’m reading about the forthcoming four-cylinder turbo BMW 328. Are they for real? 0-60 in 5.7 seconds, and STILL gets 36 mph on the highway? Why will anyone buy BMW’s 6 cylinder 3-series that accelerates only .3 seconds faster, gets worse mileage, and costs @ $8,000 more? And why can’t Audi, Mercedes, etc. get acceleration figures under 6 seconds (or 7 seconds, for that matter) and comparable mileage from their 4 cylinders? (C250 7.1 seconds/31 mpg highway; A4 7.2 (multitronic); 30 mpg highway (multitronic). What has BMW figured out that the rest of the automotive world hasn’t?

LOU ANN HAMMOND :
Exactly the reason BMW bested Mercedes and Lexus as the luxury car of the year. And Mercedes was none too happy about either.

I’ll be driving their new 3-series next week and will have a review up for you.

Part of the reason is carbon fiber. BMW went into a joint venture with a carbon fiber group and that makes a car lighter, more agile, just as strong etc.

Click on Warrens picture to go to the washingtonpost.com chat:

About the Author: Lou Ann Hammond

Lou Ann Hammond is the CEO of Carlist and Driving the Nation. She is the co-host of Real Wheels Washington Post carchat every Friday morning and is the Automotive, energy correspondent for The John Batchelor Show and a Contributor to Automotive Electronics magazine headquartered in Korea. Hammond is a member of the North American Car and Truck of the Year (NACTOY), Women's World Car of the Year (WWCOTY), and the Concept Car of the Year.