BMW's iDrive to be replaced as early as September 2008

So, BMW can move on to bigger and better things.

They will come out with something innovative only to have it bashed, at which point other manufacturers will copy the design. It's only the beginning of another cycle. It never ends.

The iDrive was the most useless piece of crap the auto industry ever produced. Far better would have been something useful like a diagnostic system that displays a code on a small LED display which allows the driver to consult a manual by cross-referencing the displayed code. I hate those idiot warning lights that force you to see the dealer to find out what's wrong. Another example of stupidity with warning displays is a tire pressure warning system that does not identify the exact offending tire or tires.

Great,no more laundry machine button....

It doesn't sound like you have ever actually seen or used an iDrive from your post. You should have someone give you a five minute tour, it will really open your eyes. It is straight forward and easy to use in its newest generations (it has been improving constantly since its introduction in 2002)

"Far better would have been something useful like a diagnostic system that displays a code on a small LED display which allows the driver to consult a manual by cross-referencing the displayed code."

Seriously? More informative warnings through the iDrive would be welcome, but the technology you've described was originally used on Nero's cart....

And after 6 years it is still a pain in the a_ _ that gets complaints from every model.

Good, took about 6yrs to admit their mistake, but it's a start :) I'll believe it when I see it though.

mistake? so audi, mercedes, acura, infiniti have all made a similar mistake? The idrive is pretty easy to use. Heck my Blackberry phone has taken longer to figure everything out. mental midgets are right...

No, Audi, Mercedes, Infiniti and Acura have all improved on the mistake ;-)

I can't understand what people find difficult with the iDrive?

Buy a $199 Garmin and then report back. The NAV in iDrive is particularly clunky and the POI categories are illogically sorted. The voice recognition is slooooow - I timed 15 seconds (of silence) from when I requested a sat channel change to when I actually heard music. Simple tasks like upping the bass on a particular song require 7 or 8 clicks of the wheel.

iDrive is easy to learn. I was programming addresses in while still in the dealer lot. It's just that the interface is not that well implemented or logical. For example, searching for 'Best Buys' should logically bring up 'Best Buy' but it doesn't. Little things like that are annoying.

It needs fixing.

15 sec is really insane. the Acura i have takes 2 to 3 seconds to respond (under noisy condition) and i thought that was slow.

Lewishamiltonpimp,

I agree with the way some of the information is grouped, but quite frankly it is a very intuitive interface and easy to use.
I have used Garmin, it does have its limitations as well.
I think most of the problem with the iDrive is not the equipment but with the software aspect and we should be able to make that distinction.

Nobody is saying it isn't easy to learn, it is just annoying and you know it.

well, since any/all car magazine says it's the worse navigation system on the market ... I don't have the power to disagree with them.

we all know BMW sucks at interior design, and guess what: iDrive is in the interior of the car too.

amazinBimmer, it has nothing to do with how smart people are. It has everything to do with how smart BMW's engineers are. They get engines perfectly but they haven't cracked the code on this system--it is slow to respond, not all that advanced in terms of features, has multiple steps for simple functions and other nuisances.

I have never had a problem with the i-drive seemed quite logical to me. Don't know what all the fuss is about?

it's just taking longer for a simple task to acomplish .. longer than any other NaviSystem I tried..(audi, lexus, MB and portable ones).

do you like going through 5 different submenus instead of pushing one (1) button?

One point that I hope most of you can appreciate is this: The audience that buys BMWs (I say audience, not everyone) are well do to middle to upper age people (45 and up). And the majority of the ones who buy the truly expensive BMWs ( 6 series and up), with the exception of some, do not have any clue as to how to work a Garmin, let alone an I-drive. Keeping everything in one clean package with one central knob is a very effective interior premise. But when you do have to make several engagements just to change a radio station, it leaves a LOT of people in the dark. BMW makes some VERY nice but VERY EXPENSIVE luxury cars and with the exception of some, the majority of this audience is not as technologically saavy as some of the younger demographic.
To take that to the other side of the equation, you have a very effective NAVI in our cars (ACURA), but you also have a SEA of buttons on our dashes. Very cluttered to some when you first get in the vehicles. Never mind that you can control every single function (from TEMP,NAVI,STEREO etc...) with voice commands, it still looks very overwhelming to some. IMO there will never be a perfect interface in which to control the features that are becoming standard on some vehicles nowadays. The I-drive isn't that confusing to most of us here that have spent any time in an I-drive equipped car. It's just that to the BIG audience of these cars, it is.

.02$
V-10 NSX

exactly !
yeah you can use it ... but not everyone can!
we all know older people are no so good with tech stuff, why make them learn wierd things when it could be so simple ...
not everyone is like us on the web on car forums, reading the car manual twice just to make sure we didn't miss something. Quite a lot of people tend to just DRIVE their car, and a system that need learning is anoying to them. And iDrive needs much more learning time than other systems.

BMW buyers on the whole are the most technologically savvy buyers of any marque. BMW buyers on average are ten years younger than Mercedes buyers AND earn more money. Very few are going to be intimidated by a Garmin as many have a PDA such as a BlackBerry, Treo, or iPhone and have no trouble using a simple iDrive to customize their car to their own preferences. And why stereotype older people. Frankly I haven't found that older people have any trouble learning a modern BMW, quite to the contrary actually. BMW owners appreciate the use technology and design to create a tasteful, pleasant, and highly functional cabin that satisfies many demands for information. The other brand's solution has the effect of a Walmart boombox with 100 buttons scattered about creating a very inelegant result.

Honestly I have to say, I drive a 750, and it's really not that difficult. I will admit the navigation menus may be a little irritating, but everything else seems to be relatively logical and straightforward. However I will say that to some I can very easily see why it is difficult. You need to sit down and just use it. Once you get used to it, everything is very easy and I really have no outstanding complaints.

AUdi's MMI is much easier to use and much more intuitive than BMW's iDrive. I must give credit to BMW for coming up with the iDrive concept, but BMW should know that once they release a technology other companies will improve upon the existing design. Audi has done just that with the MMI.