There's a lot to see from many automakers at this year's Geneva Auto Show, including a raft of new models from the BMW brand, which will introduce the new 6-Series Grand Coupe, the facelifted X6 and X6M, the new M6 Coupe, X5 M50d, X6 M50d M550d xDrive sedan and Touring along with several new engines for the 1-Series, 3-Series and X3.

That's quite a handful but we're not done yet. The Bavarian firm will also showcase the latest 3-Series sedan, the i3 hatchback and i8 sports coupe concepts (all of which we've already seen before) and in a world premiere, the new BMW M Performance accessory program, which brings us to this post.

For the past 50 years, the BMW Group has been providing patrol cars to the German city of Munich and this tradition continues with a new contract that will see the automaker supplying several hundred vehicles a year to the Bavarian Police.

Under the new deal, BMW will produce specially modified versions of its new 2012 3-Series sedan and its upcoming Touring sibling, along with the 5-Series sedan and Touring models, and for the first time ever, the X3 crossover as well.

If you want a little more power (but slightly worse performance) and a little better fuel economy and don't mind paying US$9,345 over the price of a regular 535i, then you may want to take a look at BMW's new ActiveHybrid 5 sedan.

If you live in Europe or in any other region where BMW offers diesel variants of the 5-Series, then you're probably better off with one of those models – we'll explain why later on.

BMW today announced that the ActiveHybrid 5 will go on sale in the States in March with a base MSRP of $61,845 (€47,800), which includes an $895 destination and handling fee.

It seems that the BMW 5-Series [E39] sedan owner seen in this surveillance footage using what looks like an Opel Vectra as a launching ramp either failed to recall or was never told about the merits of defensive driving.

Guess he just had to learn his lesson the hard way… Fortunately, from what we can tell from the video that follows below, no one seems to have been seriously hurt.

Following on from yesterday's official presentation, BMW has published the first video on its M Performance range that launches in Europe with the M550d xDrive Sedan and Touring, X5 M50d and X6 M50d models, all powered by a new 381-horsepower, 3.0-liter tri-turbocharged straight-six diesel.

Prepared by the Bavarian firm's M division, the new M Performance models blend M Sport styling cues with M tuned engines and chassis components – and yes, we did notice that there are a lot of M's there. We'll just have to wait and see if those M's will actually make BMW buyers go mmmmm… Make the jump to view the short clip.

The first examples of BMW's newly launched M Performance Automobiles lineup were introduced today ahead of their world premiere at the Geneva International Motor Show in the second week of March.

The new models are the M550d xDrive sedan, M550d xDrive Touring, X5 M50d and X6 M50d, and as their names suggest, they're all powered by the same diesel engine and feature the Bavarian firm's xDrive all-wheel drive system.

And before you get your hopes high, we'd better tell you that none of them are planned for the US market.

BMW's M Performance Automobiles sub-brand was created to offer a diverse lineup of models with a wide choice of engines including diesels not only to compete with Audi's S range, but as we reckon, also to avoid further dilution of the M division.

While we have come to know Vorsteiner for its aero components, the company also specializes on alloy wheels, and today, it introduced a new pair of rims for the Ferrari 458 Italia and the latest generation of the BMW 5-Series sedan.

Both lightweight wheels have a five-spoke design with a concave profiling and come in a diameter of 21 inches. The Ferrari version is finished in black while the BMW rim has a gunmetal gray finish.

You can find more pictures of both models in the gallery after the break.

The maker of the so-called "Ultimate Driving Machine" is testing a new technology that allows the car to replace the driver under certain conditions such as highway driving or in traffic jams.

BMW first told us about its experimental Highly Automated Driving system last summer but now we have the opportunity to see it work in action through a video report released by the German automaker.

To most people, forgetting is a human weakness to be overcome, but it's one thing to not be able to remember where your car keys are and another to forget the gas pump connected to your vehicle as the consequences can be deadly.

In all fairness, we can't say for sure if the women driver of this BMW 5-Series saloon was responsible as the dashboard camera footage from a following vehicle shows a couple of gas station employees –perhaps one of them filled up the car and she went inside to pay.

In any case, she can consider herself lucky that the only damage was to her car and the gas pump. Video follows after the jump.

Vinyl wraps can be had in all sorts of colors and designs, but while the majority of drivers usually select normal colors in metallic or matte shades, some owners gravitate towards extreme solutions.

And what could be more extreme than a chrome green wrap around a 2012 BMW M5 5-Series F10 sports saloon?

The ActiveHybrid version of BMW’s X6 SUV may soon be discontinued from the U.S.market due to poor sales, but the Munich-based carmaker is certainly not giving up on hybrid technology.

In fact, it just unveiled a hybrid version of the latest 5-Series mid-size luxury sedan at the Tokyo Motor Show. Not that you’d notice by looking at it, since only the “ActiveHybrid 5” badges on the C-pillars, grille and inner door sills differentiate it visually from the non-hybrid version.

The latest additions to the BMW 5-Series sedan and Touring (station-wagon) were launched in Europe today following an announcement earlier this summer. The Bavarian firm's long-running executive model series gains three-new engines as well as some other updates throughout the range.

New for the 2012 model year is a pair of 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-four petrol engines delivering 184HP in the 520i and 245HP in the 528i, plus a four-cylinder diesel unit with the same displacement delivering 184HP on the 520d EfficientDynamics model.

Some 31 years after it officially opened shop in the British market, BMW UK Ltd has sold its two millionth vehicle, a 530d Gran Turismo. Coincidentally, the company's first car sold in the UK on January 1, 1980, was also a 5-Series, albeit an E12 M535i saloon. Read more »

For the most part, BMW has made some smart decisions over the years, but occasionally, even the all-knowing Bavarians make mistakes. The ActiveHybrid X6, which will reportedly soon be retired from BMW's American line-up due to poor sales, is one such example: a 480HP turbocharged V8 hybrid with mildly better fuel efficiency (19mpg highway) but with a similar price tag to the almighty X6 M.

Their counterparts at Audi seem to be doing a better job, as proved with the new A8 Hybrid that combines a 2.0-liter four-cylinder petrol with an electric motor for a fuel economy of 6.4 liters per 100 km (36.8mpg US).

This brings us to the new ActiveHybrid 5 sedan that was introduced today, ahead of its sales launch in March 2012.

BMW decided to base the first hybrid version of the latest 5-Series on the 535i – not the wisest choice if you're targeting fuel efficiency and low emissions.

In a few months' time, the BMW 5-Series will enjoy its 30th birthday but the Bavarian automaker has already begun churning out special edition models to mark the event, starting with the "528i 30th Anniversary Edition" that went on sale in Japan today.

Only 200 examples of the special edition 528i sedan, which is powered by BMW's 3.0-liter straight-six petrol, will be built for the local market.

Dr. Nico Kampchen is driving on the A9 motorway from Munich to Nuremberg, or rather, he is trying to since, as usual, there is a lot of traffic. However, unlike other drivers around him, he isn’t stressed one bit.

While it could be because he seated inside the soothing cabin of BMW’s new 5-Series, it’s not. Dr Kampchen is conspicuously calm because his car is actually driving itself, accelerating, braking and even overtaking while the driver simply monitors the situation.

Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann accepted a larger than life key to a new fleet of BMW 5-Series Touring police cruisers from the Head of BMW Group sales to public authorities, Alexander Thorwirth.

The ministry took in a total of nine specially modified examples of the latest 5-Series estate that will be used in Munich and other areas of the state.

As one of the more popular executive sedans in the market, the BMW 5 Series tends to get some unwanted attention, but what took place at Fleming Beach in Victoria, Canada, during the early hours of Thursday is baffling, to say the least.

Victoria police were called to the Fleming Beach boat launch at around 5 a.m. Thursday morning by local fisherman that discovered a late, grey-green colored BMW 5-Series sitting around 30 metres (close to 100 feet) from shore.