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For years BMW has teased salivating car enthusiasts over here in the States about shipping over the BMW 1-Series, an inexpensive (for a BMW) compact, 5-door. (Hatchback for those non-Politically Correct fans.)
Well, there’s still no official news but BMW has announced it will unveil a refreshed 1-Series at the Geneva Motor Show in March. Because it was introduced in 2004, there have only been minor changes to the chassis. But other changes are more marked. Reflecting consumer tastes for higher fuel efficiency, the 1-Series will be displayed with such powertrain technologies as auto engine shutdown and regenerative braking, features normally attributed to hybrid vehicles. Mileage is stated to increase by as much as a quarter. Our take? Again, there’s no official news. Rumor mill has it, though, that BMW, if it does give the 1-Series the green light, will export it to the U.S. by 2008 at the earliest. We’ll be watching the Geneva show closely since it would be an excellent place for BMW to make such an announcement.
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