The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has just introduced an additional test, a frontal crash that simulates just a small overlap between the front of a car and an object or vehicle it hits.

BMW's 6 Series has always been a large, high-end coupe with grand touring sensibilities. The current 6 line now consists of a traditional coupe, convertibles, and now a four-door version. Prices start at $76,000 and climb rapidly from there.

When you spend nearly $100,000 on a luxury sedan, you expect perfection. And this mammoth BMW 750Li, well, isn't perfect.

While the name remains the same, our most recent BMW X3 xDrive28i sports a more fuel efficient, turbocharged four-cylinder engine in place of the previous six-cylinder. Both versions performed well in our tests, earning identical scores.

In the past, four-cylinder engines have been mostly reserved for basic economy cars and lower-cost family sedans. More upscale, higher-priced vehicles usually came with a larger six-cylinder engine that wasn't as fuel efficient but delivered more power and refinement. But that's changing, as experienced in our latest compact SUV road tests.

Expectations play a big role in the minds of luxury car buyers. That means a turbocharged four-cylinder might take some explaining in a $57,275 BMW 528i.

A few days after we bought our 2012 BMW Z4 for testing, we noticed—thanks to the car's tire-pressure monitoring system—that the left rear tire was losing air. The tire would start the day at its recommended 44 psi, but by the next morning it was down to about 34 psi. Somehow, 10 pounds of air a day was going missing for no obvious reason.

The group of sporty German roadsters we're testing has proven to be rather tricky to buy, but our recent BMW Z4 purchase ended with good savings and a road trip.

BMW has a reputation for offering dynamic handling, great engines, nice interiors, and complicated controls. These traits are all present in the X5, an updated SUV that faced off against the Mercedes-Benz ML350 in the June issue of Consumer Reports.

BMW is currently offering 700 people the opportunity to lease the Active E, an electric version of the BMW 1 Series. This car is essentially a test bed for BMW's electric drive research, underwritten by participating consumers at $499 a month. The company has loaned us an Active E for 10 days, and we've been enjoying the zero-emissions driving... with a sporty flavor.

Car owners were more satisfied with independent shops for maintenance than dealerships, according to the last annual auto survey by the Consumer Reports National Research Center. The survey found that owners of all makes were equally satisfied with the timeliness and courtesy of the maintenance service at the dealership, where the majority turned for this routine work.

Most people know that for years, BMW's marketing tag line has been: "The ultimate driving machine." For a long time, this strong statement was appropriate. Now, I'm not so sure. After taking our new, redesigned 2012 3 Series over hill and dale during the last few days, I'm thinking the thrill is gone.

German luxury car maker BMW AG is recalling about 1.3 million BMW 5 Series and BMW 6 Series vehicles worldwide due to an issue with the cars' battery cable covers. The recall affects approximately 367,000 BMW cars in the U.S.

During the last 11 years, I’ve purchased over 90 cars for the Consumer Reports auto test program. I’ve probably seen it all. Been there, negotiated that. However, my latest experience was notably frustrating, and I suspect, it wasn’t unique.

Our Annual Autos Issue presents a dizzying array of facts and figures, all aimed at helping car shoppers choose the right model for their needs and budget. While we rate the automakers and present numerous best and worst lists, we haven’t offered a simple guide to the best and worst models by brand. Until now.