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BMW Alpina B6 Bi-Turbo Convertible (2011) at the Frankfurt motor show

BMW’s M Division is busy readying M6 variants of both the 6-series Coupe and Convertible, but if you can’t wait until 2012 – or if you want a fast but understated Six – then Alpina has just the car for you. It’s the BMW Alpina B6 Bi-Turbo Convertible, just unveiled at the 2011 Frankfurt motor show. And I’m guessing the BMW Alpina B6 Bi-Turbo Convertible does exactly what is says on the tin?

MINI Yours: MINI customisation kicks off with MINI Avenue

MINI Avenue - an off-the-peg MINI Yours We already know that MINI seems to launch more limited editions every year than the whole of the rest of the car industry. But now they’re going a step further with a customisation programme called ‘MINI Yours’, and an off-the-peg version called the MINI Avenue. MINI Yours is all about offering the sort of customisation offered for the original Mini in the 1960s by companies like Radford - and about making good margins on the add-ons – with a huge range of customisation stuff above and beyond what appears in the MINI Limited Editions.

Toyota says quake-hit plants escape major structural damage

Toyota Motor Corp. has released the first damage report for its northern Japanese factories in the region hammered by Friday's massive earthquake, saying some equipment and fixtures will need repairs but that the plants sustained no major structural harm. For days after the quake, Toyota had trouble contacting it plants in the northern Japan quake zone, making it difficult to assess their status.