LOL! Motor Trend Publishes BMW 7-Series First Drive Review- But They NEVER drove It!

First drive is usually when the company gives them a pre-production vehicle to test drive, am I right?

lol...I guess they really are desperate. I mean...they used to make TV clips, but they lost that to Top Gear. Their magazines have lost a large portion of their business to the internet...and now their website isn't doing so well...I guess...

Thanks for telling me, Agent001. I hate it when these people review the car without actually testing it in real life. It's like staring at press pictures everyday instead of visiting a car in person.

— WorldofLuxury (View Profile)

Posted on 7/25/2008 8:51:00 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 11   

It is even published under the "Road Tests" section of the website.

That's rather pathetic.

— cdoke (View Profile)

Posted on 7/25/2008 9:11:17 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 6   

Of the US car mags Motor Trend is the worst. Not only do they publish articles like this, but one can also consider them a "glam" car mag that is poorly written. Sometimes when reading an article you get the sense that a teenager had written it.

— _43LE (View Profile)

Posted on 7/25/2008 9:43:03 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 6   

idiots.

— Htay7500 (View Profile)

Posted on 7/25/2008 9:51:41 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 4   

The new 7-series hasn't even had a formal introduction at an auto show yet, has it? Why would BMW be giving out press previews?

— Maverick2020 (View Profile)

Posted on 7/25/2008 10:00:00 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 3   

Based on their logic, can I claim to have driven the GT-R since I've seen one on the road?

-00J

— Agent00J (View Profile)

Posted on 7/25/2008 10:03:14 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 4   

Motor Trend is full of $h!t.

:-/

— EL34 (View Profile)

Posted on 7/25/2008 10:18:37 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 4   

Motor Trend is the magazine that always praises the American cars, right?

Ya, they are crap.

— MercedesBenz00Z (View Profile)

Posted on 7/25/2008 10:30:25 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 0   

Wow, what a bunch of idiots! I can believe this... it is typical of this magazine that constantly changes the style and look of their publication and is basically a fluff mag, full of pictures and not much else. Sorry.

— atomicbri (View Profile)

Posted on 7/25/2008 11:14:16 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 3   

I think you guys are being too hard on Motor Trend. Yes, they screwed up regarding this "first drive". But usually they are more dependable than this.

My favorite car magazines are Road & Track, and Car & Driver, however. Road & Track is the more serious of the two, while Car & Driver is edgy and irreverent. Motor Trend is between these two extremes, which means that it is a little too bland for my taste.

— Audiphile (View Profile)

Posted on 7/26/2008 1:42:10 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

oops!!

— EL44 (View Profile)

Posted on 7/26/2008 1:57:56 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

even though Im on this site... What makes your site better than motortrends? Most of all your postings are flame wars and any real news is stolen from other articles.

— xlr8 (View Profile)

Posted on 7/26/2008 5:13:17 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 4   

Most Autospies articles are just ripped from car blogs or 3rd hand hearsay anyway. This is a case of the kettle calling the pot black.

— PrancingHorse (View Profile)

Posted on 7/26/2008 6:02:16 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 4   

Truly hideous front end, i would be embarassed to be seen in something so ugly as this. The grill reminds of the nostrels of a pig!!!

— ubercool (View Profile)

Posted on 7/26/2008 6:05:21 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 0   

Two points...

1-Since when was motor trend ever relevant. As a reader of all major auto-mags since the 1980's I realized early in my youth that motor trend was very soft at best as a true enthusiasts magazine, and at its worst a pure advertising vehicle for the big three. I recently read some articles in there magazine and thought they have improved but from where? The bottom!!!

2-I agree with the above comments regarding the comparison of this blog and motor trend. There not the same, or have the same purpose. I would imagine that most of us here read R&T, C&D, Automobile or what ever your flavor is. And we watch Top Gear, Fifth Gear, Speed Channel and racing where ever we can get it. Yet we come to this community because it provides something unique to all other car enthusiasts outlets, and that is the beauty of AUTOSPIES . IMHO we are responsible for bringing all the relevancy, debate and wide ranging resources that this blog provides. Know what you are....and be good at it.

— mpwr (View Profile)

Posted on 7/26/2008 10:08:30 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

Its not right for MT to post a misleading headline of a Test Drive that they apparently haven't done. Perhaps the headline should have read "First Look." Whether it was some sort of editing error or MT purposely did so isn't factually known- one can only speculate. MT and Autospies are two totally different kinds of autmotive destinations on the net- while MT has great review content and test drives , Autospies has the full scope of the automotive industry from all types of sources and that is what makes it so great.

— 007vehispy1 (View Profile)

Posted on 7/26/2008 10:46:19 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

Let's forget for a moment that Autospies is the best executed automotive blog on the Internet (it is in my opinion anyway) as strikes me that those who set it up know more about what they are doing.

I visit a few of the other blogs, and frankly many of them are much worse than this one. I have stopped visiting some of them as a result, in fact. Namely, Autoblog. I can say without reservation that one of the single stupidest things I have ever heard (so to speak....uh, so to speak, ;) ) was on Autoblog in the comments section. That particular thread turned into a catalogue of emotional appeals masked as rationality- it was very faux intellectual. I didn't even bother commenting. The worst part of it is that many of the commenters tried to lecture the only person on there who was educated in the subject on that subject, despite the fact that the man knew what he was talking about. I'm not going to associate with such people- the stupid that don't know that they are stupid are dangerous.

Say what you will about Autospies flame wars, but when a serious discussion does occur here on Autospies, most people are, if not correct, at least rational in the execution of their arguments.

— cdoke (View Profile)

Posted on 7/26/2008 11:43:29 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 0   

Hahaha, I guess they couldn't be bothered :) stepping into to a BMW is dreary.

— sector (View Profile)

Posted on 7/26/2008 3:27:22 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: -1   

I think it's premature to assume so strongly that Motor Trend has released the article in the "First Drive" section with ill intentions and for unwholesome marketing reasons. It is, after all, simply a speculation by the author of this post and there is no evidence presented whatsoever. It may simply have been a mistake on Motortrend's part. Based on the author's dislike and strong choice of words, it gave me an impression that perhaps the author once applied for a job or something at Motortrend but was turned down because of lack of writing and driving abilities. So much explosive emotion and over-reaction over something so minor and insignificant.

— optimummind (View Profile)

Posted on 7/27/2008 2:09:10 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 0   

I think the "First Drive" was made by the BMW engineers - is this what MT was referring to? The article doesn't actually state that MT staffers actually had driven the car but gives the impression that "someone" did. The driving characteristics that were described were very general and gave the impression what would might be experienced when a test of the car is actually performed.
As an aside, the front overhang for the 7 Series is quite truncated, which is good. Also, the rear has no wasted overhang space which means the handling will likely be superb for a car of this size.
Overall, great job BMW; will be the class of the field in the luxury car field.

— BMW995 (View Profile)

Posted on 7/27/2008 6:00:52 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1