This very attractive estate is the new BMW 5-series Touring, unveiled officially today. It’s more elegant than its predecessor, and has many of the features of the saloon announced last year.
   There is an optional eight-speed automatic transmission to aid fuel economy, and, depending on the model, brake energy regeneration and an automatic start–stop function.
   Other driver aids include a Parking Assistant, collision warning with brake activation in conjunction with active cruise control, lane-change and lane-departure warnings, BMW Night Vision with detection of persons, as well as Head-up Display.
   The BMW 520d Touring reaches 54·3 mpg (5·2 l/100 km) with carbon dioxide emissions of 137 g/km.

Thierry Mugler today announces a new website, Womanity.com, which aims to connect women in an interactive platform.
   The idea behind Womanity.com is to spark creative exchange between women, says the company, ‘where members can share knowledge, trade experiences, express their creativity, and—above all—have fun.’ Members are invited to share video, photography, and writings with one another.
   The site will also include special guest contributors from the literary, artistic, journalistic, cinematic and fashion industries. It is online today, with full functionality expected by June.
   The site appears to have been developed with the cooperation of Microsoft, whose copyright notice features at the foot of the web page. At first glance, it has a fairly complex appearance.
   In 2007, Thierry Mugler introduced the Blogalaxy, where fans could set up their own blogs to share experiences about the brand. It also created the Island of Dr Muglerstein on Second Life. It has been using ecommerce since September 2007.

Normally, we don’t profile concept cars in Lucire: cars that appear at shows but are not available to the public. They usually demonstrate the company’s advanced thinking, but they tend not to be things we can buy for some years.
   However, we’ll make an exception for the Porsche 918 Spyder concept shown at the Salon de Genève. This mid-engined sports car is a hybrid that can see 100 km/h in 3·2 seconds, weighs less than 1,400 kg, and has carbon dioxide emissions at a possible 70 g/km. Excuse the cheesy voiceover, claims of ‘Porsche DNA’ and the soundtrack: the message itself is more important here.

Nintendo knows how to engage the tech-savvy, as the idea of having an online fashion store as part of a gaming environment steadily becomes mainstream. Those who own its Style Savvy game for the DS can, as of March 1, access fashions from Deréon, the fashion line created by Beyoncé and her mother, Tina Knowles.
   Players with internet access can choose from five real-life designs for the clientèle in the game. Below are an interview with Beyoncé and some behind-the-scenes footage.