A new Congestion Charge for the City of London is coming on ground. It will come into effect in October this year. As per the new charge structure, vehicles that emit CO2 less than 120g/km will be exempted from the Congestion Charge. Cars that emit CO2 between 120g/km and 225g/km will continue to pay the current £8 a day fee, while those vehicles where the quantity of CO2 in emission is more than 225g/km will have to pay an augmented every day charge of £25.

This new charging arrangement connotes that the BMW and MINI owners will be fiscally better off than who possess other cars. All MINIs and most of the cars in BMW family will be subject to this £8 charge structure.

That’s not the end. We have additional good news for many BMW and MINI owners. The new BMW 118d, the MINI Cooper D and the MINI Clubman D; all emit very little CO2, to say clearly, the emission is below the minimum chargeable 120g/km discharge. So, do your calculation to see how MUCH you are saving thanks to BMW.

Out of all BMW cars, four cars are exceptionally fuel efficient. The three- and five-door BMW 118d has an extraordinary 62.8mpg on the combined cycle with CO2 emissions of 119g/km –which places the vehicle into a lower category for yearly Vehicle Excise Duty in UK, too.

Talking about the MINI family, the 110hp MINI Cooper D and MINI Cooper D Clubman have unbelievable figures in terms of fuel-efficiency and CO2 emission. The MINI Cooper D is at present BMW Group’s most fuel-efficient car having an amazing 72.4mpg on the combined cycle with a CO2 emission of only 104g/km. The MINI Cooper D Clubman is also close to these figures with 68.9mpg and 109g/km CO2.

All these above mentioned vehicles have state-of-the-art Brake Energy Regeneration, Auto Start-Stop, excellent gearshift change indicator and Electric Power Steering under the EfficientDynamics technology of BMW. So, take care. Your moneybag my suffer from BMW-moneybag-obesity syndrome (only applicable for classic traditionalists, who are not yet comfortable with the plastic cards).

What do the convertibles mean to you? All round freedom? The immense pleasure of going out-of-the-box? Enjoy your luxury driving with a convertible to see around and (probably) show (off) around! And here comes our new player, the BMW 320d Convertible.

The Geneva car show will unveil this new BMW convertible. It will come in two models for Europe. The BMW 320d Convertible SE and the BMW 320d Convertible M Sport.

Both the models will be on sale in Europe from March 2008. The acceleration will be such as to take you from zero to 62mph in 8.6 seconds and you can harness a top speed of 139mph. The engine will be the same 177 hp two-litre (exactly saying 1,995cc) turbo-charged engine as the 320d Saloon and Touring models which can create a torque of 350Nm.

And the engine is a diesel engine. Diesel for convertible? Yes, you read it right. These convertibles are coming with diesel engine. Convertibles are not anymore vehicles of the top notch. So, if you can enjoy your drive (and the show-off) along with a penny-wise driving, get this beauty! Your fuel economy is catered, too.

Apart from the excellent fuel economy, BMW’s new convertibles will be environment friendly, too. This “green” car uses the Efficient Dynamics technology of BMW which will keep your CO2 emission as low as 140g/km on a combined cycle.

The convertibles will be quick yet stylish cars. The price will be far lower than the gasoline-driven predecessors. Moreover, you save on fuel running with diesel.

After entering the European market, BMW plans to appear in the American market with the new model of convertible BMW 335d. This will be another diesel-consumer and expected to become a popular model.

Gasoline is not anymore the lone luxury fuel. Caution, gas-station owners; diesel too is coming with luxury tags.