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Car Review: 2022 BMW M850i xDrive Cabrio

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There is something special about driving a sports car with the convertible top folded down. When the roof is up it’s just another car; switch to Cabrio mode and the world opens to deliver a totally different driving experience. So it is with the BMW M850i xDrive — in this case it takes 15 seconds to get topless, and it can be done at speeds of up to 50 kilometres an hour.

When the top is powered down, wind is a non-issue when the windows are up and the wind deflector is in place. The latter does a good job of quelling the blustery backwash that sees the rider’s hair blow forward. The problem is when installed, it blocks the rear seat. This is less of an issue here, as the M850i Cabrio is a 2+2 where the rear seat is tight. Legroom is limited and, with the top up, headroom is at a premium, although a grateful rider did say it beats walking in the rain!

The rest of the cabin is class all the way. The fully articulated front seats are comfortable and feature seat-mounted neck warmers (part of the Premium pack). They add some needed warmth and coziness when out enjoying a fall evening cruise. Ahead of the driver, the 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster and head-up display combine to deliver the important information in a clean and concise manner. To the right, the 10.3-inch multimedia touchscreen responds quickly to inputs. However, on the road, the iDrive controller or “Hey BMW” assistant proved to be the better way to access or change a function. What impressed me was the fact the assistant functioned properly even when driving at highway speeds with the soft top down.

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The disappointments are the aforementioned tight rear seat and the 351-litres of cargo space. It sounds like an acceptable number, but the trunk’s odd shape means you have to pack wisely when heading out for a weekend away.

Power comes from a silky 4.4L twin-turbo V8 that makes 523 horsepower and 553 pound-feet of torque between 1,800 and 4,400 rpm. More importantly, when the top is down it sings a glorious song through the quad pipes — the crackling pops during overrun in Sport mode is sublime.

The engine works with an eight-speed automatic to drive all four wheels. The latter is completely seamless as it shuttles the power around to the wheels that can put the power to the best use. Even when matted at the apex of a corner, the xDrive just seems to bite harder.

Of course, the real sweetness is found in the numbers. The wide, meaty torque plateau means the M850i responds instantly to a healthy stab at the gas. It runs from rest to 100 kilometres an hour in a tick under four seconds. That’s good, but it really catches fire through the mid-range — the 80-120 km/h passing move comes in at 2.8 seconds!

The M850i fairs equally well in terms of the manner in which it blends ride comfort with cornering ability. It starts with the adaptive suspension and runs through the M Sport rear differential and active steering. At low speeds, the rear wheels turn in the opposite direction to the front wheels, which shortens the turning circle and eases the parking chore. When the speeds are elevated, the rear steer points the wheels in the same direction as the front wheels. This improves the response to input and adds to the sense of stability. It also helps to mask the M850i’s full-bodied size — it is a big car, but it has a mid-sized feel to the way it dives into a corner.

 

What separates the good from the bad in the convertible world is cowl shake. The easiest way of understanding this phenomenon is to look at a shoe box. With the lid in place the box has surprising torsional strength; take the lid off and it has the structural integrity of a soggy noodle. So it is with a car. Removing the second largest panel hurts the structural integrity. Yes, extra bracing and structural supports help replace the strength, but if it’s not done properly the body shakes and shimmies like a crazed go-go dancer when running a rutted corner. In this case, cowl shake in a non-issue. The result is a drive that has grand touring comfort about town, yet on a twisty backroad it’s nimble when heading into a corner and planted as it hauls out after clipping the apex.

2022 BMW M850i xDrive Cabrio
2022 BMW M850i xDrive Cabrio Photo by Graeme Fletcher

Where things do get complicated is the drive modes. There are Eco Pro, Comfort, Sport and Adaptive, but within each there are choices. For example, in Sport there are Standard and Plus settings along with an individual mode that allows the driver to tweak the suspension, steering, engine and transmission separately. Frankly, adopting a back-to-basics approach would suffice — Comfort for the city and Sport Plus for the fun times.

The BMW M850i xDrive has a sharp style and it’s very quick, but, more importantly, it manages to blur the line between a grand touring convertible and a drop-top sports car. It is a boulevardier when out for a sedate evening cruise; ramp everything up to hyper and its M side really shines brightly.

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The Ultimate Recap of Sea Otter 2024 – Pinkbike.com

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Vittoria Releases New Peyote & Mezcal XC Race Tires
Maxxis Team Spec Aspen ST Tire
New DT Swiss 240 DEG Hubs
Kali Protectives’ New Full Face Helmets
Industry Nine’s SOLiX M Hubs & Wheelsets
Michelin’s Aggressive New Wild Enduro Tires
Praxis’ New Flat Pedals, Stem, & Carbon Bottle Cage
Transmission Cage Upgrades from Kogel, Ceramicspeed, and Cascade Components
Randoms Round 1 – Sea Otter 2024
Madrone Cycles’ SRAM Eagle Repair Kits & Prototype Derailleur
Vorsprung’s New Telum Coil Shock
EXT’s Vaia Inverted DH Fork & Updated Coil Shocks
Randoms Round 2: New Tools, Goggles, Grips, Racks, & More – Sea Otter 2024
What’s New in Women’s MTB Apparel at Sea Otter 2024
Even More Randoms – Sea Otter 2024
Randoms Round 3: Dario’s Treasures
What’s New for the Kids at Sea Otter 2024
Deity Releases New Stems, Grips, & Pedals
Dario’s Final Sea Otter Randoms
Brian’s Randoms from Sea Otter 2024

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With roots dating back to 1991, the Sea Otter Classic is one of the biggest biking events and tradeshows each year and brings together all sides of the biking industry from athletes to brands, spectators and consumers. Taking place in April in the sunny hills of Monterey, California, that means this event really feels like the official start to the biking season in North America. Christina Chappetta covers why it’s much different to an indoor European biking tradeshow, a World Cup racing weekend or even Crankworx mountain bike festival, in that it encompasses nearly ALL of the biking disciplines, including road cycling, enduro, downhill, dual slalom, XC, trials riding and more.

In the past fortnight, we have seen large amount of new tech releases. However, Sea Otter 2024 represents some of the first opportunities for many riders to see these things in the flesh, as well as take a deeper dive into what the product aims to do.
Welcome to a video summary from Day 2 of the Sea Otter Classic.
There are so many giveaways, interesting new products and colourful characters at Sea Otter Classic that it’s hard to stand out from the crowd. Ben Cathro takes a lap of the venue to find his favourites.



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Apple iPad Air 2024: Insider Makes Hasty U-Turn On New Feature – Forbes

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Well, that was quick. On May 18, a respected industry insider predicted a new display technology for the iPad Air that’s expected in the coming days—Apple just announced its latest special event.

The new 12.9-inch iPad Air, the report claimed, would have the same miniLED backlighting currently found on the larger iPad Pro, using the leftover inventory from the current Pro as that model switches to OLED. That was exciting news.

But now, Ross Young, the analyst who made the claim, has changed his mind. The new prediction, shared with paid subscribers only, is that the miniLED technology won’t be coming to the iPad Air, in either size.

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While it made sense that the inventory could be maximized in this way, it now “makes sense” that it won’t.

Young says that while he’d heard from supply chain sources that it would, he’d now had contact from “even more supply chain sources” that it won’t.

And the reason this change of heart now makes sense is that this miniLED technology is expensive, so it would be surprising if it made it to the iPad Air, which is more affordable than the Pro.

That’s not quite all the analyst shared. He also said that there are now reports of a new iPad coming later in the year. This is a 12.9-inch iPad, with miniLED backlighting and it could arrive between October and December this year.

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This is intriguing. What could it be? Assuming that the iPad Pro and iPad Air are released in May, it’s extremely unlikely either will be updated later in the year. And if the iPad Air isn’t pricey enough for miniLED to be included, what tablet could Apple be introducing that is the same size as the bigger Pro, with a pricey screen tech, which would sit between the Air and the Pro, it seems?

Young is highly reliable, but this seems slightly preposterous to me. The only other iPad in the range due a refresh is the regular iPad (at 12.9-inches, the iPad mini is clearly out of the picture) and that doesn’t seem likely either.

It seems to me that any regular iPad will almost certainly have the same screen size as now, 10.9 inches. The regular iPad only grew to this size screen in the current generation, and Apple almost never changes designs after one iteration.

Perhaps things will become clearer as the year goes on.

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Woman who left beaten dad on floor for 2 days was 'overwhelmed' with his care, judge told – CBC.ca

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A Calgary woman who abused her sick, 77-year-old father was “overwhelmed” at the task of caring for him, a judge heard Wednesday at a sentencing hearing. 

In January, Tara Picard, 52, pleaded guilty to charges of assault and failing to provide the necessaries of life after her father (whom CBC News is not naming) was found injured on a basement floor, where he’d been lying for two days. 

On Wednesday, prosecutor Donna Spaner and defence lawyer Shaun Leochko asked the judge to allow Picard to serve her sentence in the community under conditions as part of a conditional sentence order.

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Justice Indra Maharaj agreed to a two-year conditional sentence for Picard followed by a year of probation. 

“There is no doubt she became overwhelmed,” said Spaner in her submissions. “There is no question Ms. Picard has remorse.”

Leochko told the judge that caring for her father “was really more than [Picard] could handle.”

Maharaj heard that Picard is Indigenous and was the victim of abuse growing up. She lives in a sober dorm-style facility and is working with a mental health and addictions navigator, according to Leochko.

A ‘willingness to give back’

As part of the sentence, Picard must complete 300 hours of community service. 

Justice Maharaj commended Picard for “taking that on.”

“That shows me Ms. Picard sincerely does recognize what has happened here,” said the judge. 

“What I interpret from that is Ms. Picard’s willingness to give back to her community.”

During Picard’s plea, court heard that in November 2021, Picard and her father fought over his drinking. 

Nurses discover victim

The victim suffers from a number of medical issues, including diabetes, heart disease, dementia and alcoholism.

At the time, home-care registered nurses were assigned to help provide supplementary care.

Nurses found the victim wearing a soiled adult diaper and suffering from two black eyes with blood on his head. 

He told the nurses who discovered him that he’d been there for two days. 

Picard admitted she knew her father had fallen and she had “administered a number of physical blows.”

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