By Mark Atkinson for MSN Autos

There are plenty of sports car racing fans who denigrate the Grand-Am Rolex series for being too much like NASCAR because of the focus on driver safety and team equality. After this past weekend's Rolex 24 at Daytona, though, it's hard to argue that they haven't built up an equitable series.

Despite having significantly smaller budgets than big-name teams like Target Chip Ganassi or Suntrust Racing, Michael Shank Racing used a combination of guts, driver talent and luck to win the 24 hour race on its eighth try. Both the winning #60 and the second-placed Starworks Racing entry were brand-new Ford-powered Riley cars that had barely turned a wheel in anger before pre-race qualifying on the Thursday before. Shank was doubly happy because his second entry, a much older Ford-Riley that at its best was two or three seconds a lap slower than the new-reg cars, remained on the lead lap after 24 hours and rounded out the overall podium.

The both big-dollar Ganassi entries - BMW-powered Rileys - had trouble with gearshifters and gearboxes, putting them too far behind to match the speed of the Ford-powered rivals. The heavily-favoured 'Corvette' prototypes had rough races as well - lots of unexpected teething problems that kept the big-guns in the garage early.

In GT, Porsche had a similar night, with the small Magnus Racing squad holding off bigger-budget squads from The Racers Group and Brumos Racing. Despite issues with front splitters affecting all 911 teams, the proven Porsches held off the relative newcomers from Ferarri, Audi and Dodge, along with proven winners from Chevrolet, Mazda and BMW. 

The GT field had over 40 cars entered, and promises to remain that competitive for the rest of the season.

For full results, click here. 

By Mark Atkinson for MSN Autos

Perhaps forgotten or ignored during last week's all-out NAIAS content avalanche was a release from the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC) revealing the top-three finalists for the body's 2012 Canadian Car, Utility Vehicle and Design of the Year awards. 

For Car of the Year, Hyundai has both the Accent hatch and Elantra sedan, the latter of which was also recently named North American Car of the Year at NAIAS. The Kia Optima rounded out the contenders, making it the first all Korean category in the award's history.

For Utility Vehicle of the Year, the BMW X3, Dodge Journey and Volkswagen Touareg TDI Clean Diesel caused less of a stir, mainly because there are only three Utilility categories to pull favourites from...

Finally, Design of the Year finalists are the funky three-door Hyundai Veloster, the brutal racecar-themed Jaguar XKR-S and the futuristic Range Rover Evoque.

Bing: Learn more about the Canadian Car of the Year awards

It would be silly to be against the Elantra for COY thanks to its obvious popularity with Canadian customers, but I've been wrong plenty of times before. For Utility Vehicle, my pick would be the Journey if only for its value-for-money argument. And the Jag gets my vote for best design.

Which would you choose?

Photo courtesy Michelle Siu for Automobile Journalists Association of Canada

By Greg Migliore, AutoWeek

BMW's posh 5-series is getting an eco-friendly sibling—with a mean streak.

The 2012 BMW ActiveHybrid 5 makes its official debut in January at the Detroit auto show, packing 335 hp with an “e-boost” function that enhances acceleration. It arrives in the U.S. market in the spring.

Still, the ActiveHybrid5 maintains considerable green cred; it can drive under electric power for two and a half miles (at an average speed of 35 km/h), and it can reach speeds up to 60 km/h on electricity. There is also a coasting mode, which decouples the engine and shuts it off at speeds up to 160 km/h.

By Greg Kable, AutoWeek

Details leaked from a dealer conference held in Holland this week suggest that BMW's upcoming 550dX will be the first recipient of the German carmaker's new high-tech triturbo 3.0-liter inline six-cylinder diesel engine.

The new engine, which also is destined for the new X5 xDrive50d and X6 xDrive50d models, is claimed to produce 376 hp and more than 516 lb-ft of torque--some 70 hp and more than 74 lb-ft more than the most powerful version of BMW's existing twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter inline six-cylinder diesel engine, as found in the X5 xDrive40d.

By Jake Lingeman, AutoWeek

Directly on the heels of SEMA, the matte capital of the world, BMW announced a special run of the 2012 BMW M3 Competition Edition coupe in Frozen Silver matte paint. And we mean extremely limited: just 40 cars celebrating 40 years of BMW racing in North America will be made.

Each car will have the Frozen Silver paint, black hood intakes and dark chrome exterior trim. Black M3 GTS wheels will sit at all four corners.

The interior will stand out from your neighbor's M3 thanks to palladium silver accents and palladium silver-contrast stitching on the front seats, headrests, door trim panels, center console and center armrest. The steering wheel is covered in Alcantara and the dash is trimmed in carbon fiber.

By Greg Kable, AutoWeek

BMW has confirmed plans for an X4 SUV, a spokesman told Autoweek.

As the name implies, the ute would slot in between the X3 and the X5 and likely get an M variant. BMW would distinguish the X4 from the other models with a bolder face and perhaps a curvier body--much in the manner in which the X6 stands out from the rest of the SUV line.

By Mark Atkinson for MSN Autos

Those of you who read my original impressions of the BMW X6 ActiveHybrid know that I was never a fan of the overpriced, over-complicated performance crossover. Too heavy, too compromised, and too expensive.

Well, apparently the world agrees with me because BMW is reportedly putting the 'green' X6 out of its misery.

That only leaves one automaker still involved in building the dense, technologically confusing dual-mode hybrid system out of four: General Motors still sells dozens of its Chevrolet Tahoe, GMC Yukon and Cadillac Escalade hybrid units, but Chrysler/Dodge (Aspen/Durango), Mercedes-Benz (ML-Class) and now BMW have all packed it in for good.

How many billions lost? Oh boy...

By Greg Kable, AutoWeek

BMW is attempting to seize the alternative-drive initiative from luxury rivals by creating a new subbrand, under which it plans to sell a range of purpose-built electric, hybrid and range-extended models.

The company is planning to take its new subbrand, called BMW “i,” public in September at the Frankfurt motor show, where an initial two-model lineup consisting of the diminutive i3 and a larger, more sporting two-plus-two i8 will be revealed in concept guise for the first time.

By Michelle Koueiter, AutoWeek

The BMW Art Car Collection has made a global debut on the Internet, with a virtual video tour that gives an overview of each car and outlines the collection's development since 1975.

Photo and video content are included in the tour for each of the 17 art cars, at www.bmw-artcartour.com.

"Whilst the originals are often exhibited individually at the BMW Museum in Munich or at significant cultural institutions throughout the world, people are now able to discover the BMW Art Cars in their entirety," BMW spokesman Bill McAndrews said.

By Steve Mertl for MSN Autos 

By the time Tom and Barb Chandler’s 1954 Bristol 403 rolled into Vancouver from their home in Elkader, Iowa, it had logged almost as many kilometres as the they’ll drive it during a two-week tour of B.C. and Alberta by classic BMWs.

Elkader, population roughly 1,500, is about 3,200 kilometres from Vancouver. But the Bristol, a British luxury car that used pre-war BMW running gear, is no trailer queen.

“I bought it in the early ‘70s,” says Chandler, a retired teacher with a stable of classics he restores in his own shop. “I’ve basically made all the repairs it needs when it needs them. It’s a driver’s car, not a show car.”