PHOTO GALLERY: Spies test new 2008 BMW 5-series and M5 in Death Valley

I would agree.

Me neither. I was just trying to appear as "unbiased" towards BMW for a change...

SWEET!!!

Nice!!

hehe. U GOTTA HAVE THOSE RADAR DETECTORS! :)

The regular 5 looks more tame with the new bumper.

We always have insurance...we don't care which one is better...we take both kinds to be sure! ;)

001

WOW! I never thought I would like the 5 Series interior- but this freshening is amazing. The inside looks fantastic in the white color with aluminum trim.

535i should have exhuast the 335i has and the 550i w/sport should have exhaust like the m5

Agent001, nice photo essay of the killer BMW M5's.

Dood, nobody does aluminum like BMW!!!

What a bunch of lovely ladies;)he...he...he.. I mean what a bunch of lovely BMW.

001, I am very jealous of your job. Your out having a great time in the desert while I am getting ready for my Corporate Finance final.

Someone has to make a sacrifice for the team! ;)

001

And, "no1," 001 gets free cars and leases new luxury cars pretty much every other month. I feel the same way. I have to WORK to get my cars.

As long as the 5-series incorporates those headlights into the design of this car, it will never be perfect...never.

We did. We brought both for the trip, the Passport and the V1. I'll go into more detail in my write up, but the V1 performed better and wasn't set off by the active cruise control radar like the Passport was.

But really, there weren't many cops out on the roads we were on.

Chip-

Does anybody have a new BMW on this board????

I just picked up mine and the cruise control switch is the worst. It seems to function just the opposite of how it should...up and down are both 'off' and fwd and back are 'on'.

The auto stick transmission control feels kind of junky too.

001..can you please opine on the 'dare to be different' nature of BMW's. It seems they made lots of choices so that their cars are different (not better but just different) than their competitors.

and remembering to push forward or back to turn on the cruise control and up or down to turn it off -- that's too hard for you? Sorry but I don't see the big deal. I have a 2006 BMW and I like the fact that if I want to turn on the cruise the switch is the perfect distance from the wheel for my fingers to just grab and pull.

Yeah the cruise control is a bit of a pain in the ass until you figure it out. I don't have active cruise control but the regular cruise control is a bit different. Once you figure it out (doesn't take a rocket scientist) it's actually more intuitive than other systems.

The auto gearbox is one of the best in the business, second only to Audi's DSG, I don't see how anyone could consider it "junky".

Jrob..I hear you but MB has the cruise function down perfect. Press up to accelerate, press down to reduce the speed, press back to cancel, and pull forward to resume.

My 10-yr old BMW, that I just got rid of, had cruise that functioned in exactly the same way as my MB. I guess I'll get used to it but it just doesn't function in an intuitive manner.

The transmission joy stick is just as non-intuitive plus it just feels flimsy in quality..have you tried one?

Wow. Im thinking of trading mine with a new one. Or I may just add those LED lights on mine. But looks brilliant.

why u guys talking about them "BUCKET" looking women.the cars are what look good.damn that white M5 looks AMAZING! ! i really like the new update to the M5.

I really don’t have enough experience with the 5-series to spot anything but major differences in the interior. I will say that the single panel doors are a nice accomplishment, despite that I am not inclined towards German interiors simply because I don’t like their dashes- I don’t like plastic. Although I will say that the new spy-shot of the XF interior at first brush look is a bit Germanic- although it actually resembles very old Jags the most. They don’t seem inclined to put the link to such on this website, but I am sure anyone who reads other blogs has seen it. It however, has something which its competitors do not have- a stitched leather dash.

I will agree, as well, that the M5 looks good in white.

Nevermind, they did finally add it.

I can see it was a fateful day for many bugs of the desert. Poor bugs! :'< I hope it was painless!

"nybimmer" are you talking about SMG or the regular auto-gearbox, & what BMW are you driving?

I have an auto gearbox in my 650i, it's perfectly smooth in drive & just aggressive enough in sport.

Waiting for the boat to arrive in 2 weeks with Alpine White M5 is like waiting to open a present when you were 8 yrs old. But this informative display really stratches the itch. Also the Be My Women (BMW), seemed to start working for these guys right off, they gave that a test run also, thats why they took their pictures.

I think you picked the best color for the M5. Few cars look good in white, but the BMW M5 is DEFINITELY one of them.