Monday 25th June 2001

New 7 Series

BMW revise the top of the range.

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[antonbarri]

They must be pissed - looks soooo 1970s. Check out the Austin Maxi style striaghtline dashboard from left to right. Oh dear me. And what about the plastic Allegro steering wheel. Oof.

[andyf]

oh heck. This rotary dial thing looks odd. but oh dear, column shift ?

[danmangt40]

I really don't know what to think... BMW always used to be the most masculine of sedans to me, and the most phallic thing in the cockpit is the shifter! column shifters, whethers high tech or old school, are for grannies. I thought a lot of people were going to have issues with i-drive... a lot of bimmer drivers take pride in the fact that they have masterd the small button environment and putting a big knob where the shifter ought to be isn't the solution. Also, what's with the insane abundance of wood? Wood should be in panels running between components, just to warm up the place, not taking over the entire dash and console. The correct way to do a new high tech interior is the new Q45's cockpit, this sucks... the new exterior will grow on everyone, I'm sure, remember how odd the 5 series looked after the previous version? A lot screamed that an icon had been lost. I expect the same for this one. However, what BMW didn't do is produce a car that is immediately desireable, and I predict that as a result, BMW will be revising this car shortly b/c its too new and a lot of important details are missing. what's with the classic BMW body crease being dropped so low that it looks like a backfat fold instead of a deltoid crease? the door handles are supposed to sit on that thing, and its supposed to run the length of the car, and from headlight to taillight. Its new orientation has it being snuffed out by the rear fender bulge, and it shouldn't be anywhere near the well... I think sheetmetal modifications are at least in order, bmw was chasing s-class with this model, and I'd be extremely surprised if they didn't have a "code red" backup plan if this one sinks....

[FourWheelDrift]

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha

[Marshy]

Oh bollocks, what an embarassment. Maybe I should hang on to my existing E38 7 series in the hope it'll become a classic? Mind you: with 153000 miles, it could expire in an expensive way at any time now. Damn. Sell or keep, sell or keep...

[FourWheelDrift]

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha BMW have lost the plot this time, what a pug ugly car. It makes an FSO Polonez look possitively aerodynamic in comparison. What have the BMW designers been drinking, toilet duck....again! I'm sure it will appeal to tasteless executives who get their 7 series BMW's when they reach a certain weight, but this is really a very bad looking car. Are they trying to out Maybach Mercedes in the Ugly stakes???? Or is the design a result of endless tests designed to produce a car that no one in their right or even left mind would ever steal because they'd look such a wilf driving one? Answers on a post card to..... John Prescott's Dream machine competition. c/o Whitehall London Edited by FourWheelDrift on Monday 25th June 23:23

[marshy]

Hey Ted, can we have a slack-jawed-with-amazement smiley please?