Spy Shots: BMW Progressive Activity Sedan

Are those CS headlights? cool

Although, I'm afraid that the practical intentions of this vehicle might ruin the looks a bit in the same way the Panamera isn't such a looker even in the proportions.

Volvo Cross Country XC70 and Subaru's 4wd Station Wagon have been selling this type of vehicle since the early 90s. Its a more politically correct vehicle if you need a tall wagon with 4 wheel drive but don't want to be seen in a gas guzzling SUV or SAV.

Again, if you need an SUV for its interior space, off road ability, towing, and not be a gas guzzler, you would want a diesel engined SUV because it has a lot of torque to haul the heavy loads not to mention the weight of the SUV itself.

In simple it's Mercedes R class competitor. Good luck BMW.

JUGNU

I don't know why, but I'm really excited for this, much more so than I was for the X6.

Enough of the odd variant, just bring us the new 5 series already!

I suppose it could be uglier. I'm not sure how BMW would accomplish that, but I think it's possible. Maybe.

Not sure whats going on at BMW. I think they're starting to panic. This will just add to their current growing fleet of not so handsome vehicles: X3...X6...1 Series...Z4...6 Series...WOW, thats half the line-up!!

It's dicking around with fruity shit like this that is killing this company. Moving so far a away from their core values that they are losing their identity as a car company. From the photo this car looks neither progressive nor active, it looks like a herse for midgets. Instead of developing goofy $hit like this, why don't they take a shot at knocking Lexus of the podium for reliability or something more constructive. SAV PAS X6 Hey! look at us, we're creating whole new segments without perfecting the ones we currently make a market in. The company has simply lost its way with garbage like this.

Smoke, I rarely disagree with you but I'll take exception here. The market for something like this will be exclusive at best. A prudent business move would be to shelve programs like this NOW. You and I have a vague idea what R&D runs when developing a new product, but I'm sure it's in the tens if not hundreds of millions of dollars. R&D is factored in the sticker price of every car on dealership lots as we speak, and those sales are drying up, as will the budget to continue exploring these wacky markets. If the recession lingers on and BMW experiences quality issues with their core products, these programs will be of service to no one and be shelved anyway. So why not do it now? If BMW brings the PAS to an unproven market they basically force the dealers to shouler the initial burden by taking the inventory (at a time most dealers are struggling with floor plan issues and carrying costs). Most dealers I trade with are refusing shipments from the port as we speak, and these are cars WITH a proven market. Becasue the economy is showing no sign of recovery, continuing with these obscure programs is just not prudent. What the factory should be concentrating on is moving core product and giving the dealers some form of floor plan assistance. You may not realize this but KBB is adjusting used car values weekly, used car inventories are losing thousands of dollars weekly (just in book changes) adding more instability to the market. If you were to ask 5 used car managers right now what a 2007 X5 is worth the values would be all over the place. Because credit markets have tightened up, very few banks are over-advancing on auto loans right now, and consumers lack the cash down to complete the purchse. For this reason, Dealers have reluctantly turned would be buyers away. I've been in the business for almost 20 years, I've NEVER seen it like this. And when I see the factory developing wacky shit like the PAS in this economy, it makes my blood boil.

OOH did somebody mention midgets? Gotta remember: Before I open my mouth, always look both ways for midgets. Denny Crane!

I can't see SUV's dying in the near future. They're just too damn useful. I find that once your used to that high-up above the road feeling, driving any car seems so low to the road that it's actually uncomfortable. My entire family is now driving some type of SUV with one pick-up in the mix. I live in a snowy region and I know there are many cars now that perform well in the snow, but there's also the safety thing...the bigger and heavier vehicle will more often survive an accident.

Smoke, The market sets the price, supply and demand. Used car values are hard to argue since they are so subjective, too many variables. If you think the price is too high or artificially too high, just say no! Spending $7,500 for a 200k mile honda is ass in nine (sic). As far as build lifecycles and product strategies... It seems now a days manufacturers have a seven, seven, seven core strategy. They roll out seven products over seven years with a seven year lifecycle so that they have something new being launched each year. From there they branch out and offer even more models, and that keeps the cycle rolling. I think because there is so much technology in cars now a days, you are seeing a shortening of the product lifecycle. There is a lot of really cool technology on the horizon, and I think for this reason you may see assembly techniques and automobiles going modular. Today the Navy comissioned the last of the nimitz class carriers CVN77. The next class is the ford class and how they will be built in comparison is vastly different. You never know, We may see a day when you buy a shell of a car and upgrade it modularly.