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BMW 3 Series set for mild facelift

The latest BMW 3 Series is pretty new, right? Well it's been on the market for the better part of three years now. And on a typical six-year production cycle, that means it's halfway through its life. It only makes sense, then, that BMW should be preparing a little mid-life facelift, and that's just what we appear to be looking at in these latest spy shots.
The changes will likely be minimal when the revised 3 Series debuts sometime in the middle of next year, with the visual changes to the exterior centering around a new front bumper. New lighting front and rear may also be part of the package, and you can also expect some updates to the interior while those Bavarian engineers are at it. Take a closer look in the gallery of high-res spy shots above for an idea of what to expect.

Ford, Toyota clean up in Best Car For The Money Awards

The U.S. News Best Cars for the Money Awards picks winners by looking at the average transaction price, five-year total cost of ownership, the regard a car has from the automotive press, reliability figures from J.D. Power and Associates and safety data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The result, according to the magazine, is "the best combination of critical acclaim and long-term value."
Ford nabbed six of the 21 categories that received awards this year, the Focus, Fusion, Fusion Hybrid, Taurus, Escape and Edge getting trophies. Toyota and its Lexus and Scion sub-brands took another five, the Tacoma and Tundra owning the two categories given to pickup trucks. The other ten awards were split between Honda with three, Buick with two, and one each for Subaru, BMW, Hyundai, Chevrolet and Mazda.
Follow the link to see all the winners and read about why they were chosen.

BMW calls in 50,000 motorbikes over fuel pump leak

If you don't often see motorbikes being recalled, it's probably because there's less to go wrong on a motorcycle. But a problem with the fuel pump on a wide array of BMW Motorrad products has prompted the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to issue a recall for over 50,000 of the Bavarian two-wheelers across America.
The issue revolves around the fuel pump flange on R-model, K-model, S 1000 and HP2 motorcycles built as far back, in some cases, to 2005 and as recent as 2012, depending on the model. The flange was found to be prone to crack and leak fuel, which NHTSA evaluated as a fire risk. As a result, precisely 50,184 such motorbikes are being recalled to have their flanges reinforced or, where necessary, to replace the entire fuel pump. If you're the owner of such a Bimmer bike, expect a call from your dealer sometime next month, but you can read the full notice below.