2013 BMW 7-Series To Start At Only $74,195

Only 74K!

WOW, maybe I'll buy 2!

The Mercedes-Benz S-class still costs more than the 7-series and still outsells it globally by a HUGE margin.

No wonder Audi will overthrow BMW for the title of best selling premium brand.

BMW is pricing themselves out of the market. The 6-series GranCoupe is priced way too high and the 7-series is getting closer and closer to that point.

Regarding the 7-Series, it's priced basically identically to the Audi A8 so I'm not sure what you're talking about. For your reference:
A8 3.0T $72k vs 740i $74k
A8L 3.0T $78500 vs 740Li $78195
A8 W12 $134.5k vs 760Li $140k
I am sure the upcoming A8 4.0T will line up pretty directly with the 750 as well.

Regarding the 6GC, just because something is "expensive" doesn't make it "way too high". Is the Panamera priced "way too high"? Because that's the car BMW wants people cross shopping the 6GC with. When Audi comes out with the A9, also to compete with the Panamera (and 6GC) and prices it accordingly, will it be priced "way too high" as well?

Fact is most BMW models line up pretty directly in price with equivalent Audi models. Sometimes the BMW is more, sometimes the Audi is more. The instances where one is significantly higher than the other are usually because either one is newer than the other (RS5 vs. M3) or the two cars are aimed at different target markets (6GC vs A7). Unless of course the concept of "way too high" pricing is limited only to BMW in your world. Even though you work for Audi I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt that you can ignore the bias and recognize the reality, but I'd understand if that's not the case.

GermanNut,

What are you talking about? Sure the S class outsells the 7-series, but Audi has 80,000 cars to go to catch BMW in global sales. It has been helped along by stronger economies in China, where it is more popular, as well as a weak economies in Western nations where BMW tends to be more popular. A turnaround in either (an dips are expected in China) will make it more difficult for Audi to capture the lead. It gets more difficult to capture leads as available market segment dwindles. Audi has taken a great deal from MB, but will find it harder to take the remainder it needs to surpass BMW. Finally, on my last check, BMW was projecting 500,000 more cares through 2016 than Audi. Of course, anything can change at any time. I just don't see it happening.

One another note, the A8 starts at nearly the same price as the 7 series, so your criticism seems misplaced. After all, these companies price relative to one another, so they are always going to be within $2,000 or so of the competition.

LJ745, of course we don' know what will happen in the future. Audi has stated its goal of overtaking BMW for first place in global sales by 2020. The U.S. economy is growing at a snail's pace and that will hurt BMW's ability to maintain its leads over Audi as the U.S. is a much larger market for BMW than it is for Audi.

JRob, the problem with BMW is they are encroaching on Mercedes-Benz pricing. The 7-series is already outsold by the S-class and the price increase for the 7-series won't help its case.

People will cross shop the 6GC with the Audi A7 and MB CLS550 before they cross shop it with the Panamera, regardless of what BMW's intended competitor was. Just because BMW wants people to cross shop a 4-door coupe (6GC) with a sedan (Panamera) does it mean they will? Absolutely not. The consumer will cross shop a 6GC with other 4-door coupes, which would be the Mercedes-Benz CLS550 and the Audi A7.

Year to date the 7-series is ahead of the S-class in the U.S. I don't know the global numbers.

By the same argument, just because you want the A7 to compare to the 6GC doesn't mean they do. And how is the A7 any more of a four door coupe than the Panamera? Both are five door hatchbacks. You can't call one a sedan and other a four door coupe, if you're going to call the A7 a four door coupe than the Panamera is too. Worst case they're ALL competitors, with two that are designed to cater to a higher end clientele and therefore cost more than the others.

GermanNut,

JRob has trounced your logic regarding the Panamera and 6GC, so I won't reinvent the wheel. Audi has had, as its general goal, the overthrow of BMW and MB for some time. The problem is, stating a goal and achieving it are two different things. Price point seems to be less relevant in these matters (given cars are often within a few thousand of each other) than perception of brand quality, prestige, handling, etc. I don't think BMW is worried about Audi, but at the same time they aren't going to let down their game any. BMW makes better cars than Audi and, for the most part, always has.

"MW makes better cars than Audi and, for the most part, always has." What a ridiculous statement. Without going into all the history etc. Audi has clearly caught up and many would say surpassed BMW in quality among other factors. Audi's faster global sales growth than BMW is a sign of this as are the many comparison tests that now place the Audi ahead of the respective BMW (A8 over 7-series, A6 over 5-series, Q7 over X5, Q5 over X3, Q3 over X1 etc.)

These are unwinnable arguments, both sides win more than their share of comparison tests. That includes Audi over BMW and everyone else but also plenty of BMW over Audi and everyone else. I have no problem giving credit to both sides. I include the info below not to incite a link war (I believe we both know how to use Google), only to provide some perspective since you made a blanket statement regarding all those models.

I like the A6, I think it's the best looking sedan Audi makes. And it has done very well against the 5-Series in U.S. reviews. The rest of the world seems to have different priorities with the results often reversed. Top Gear, which is typically unkind to BMW's, loves the 5-Series. Jeremy Clarkson ordinarily HATES BMW but said the 5-Series is the best car on the road, and even called the new M5 the best car ever made.

I am a fan of the A8, just wish Audi would jazz up the exterior a little. The 7-Series has beaten the A8 too http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/sedans/1103_entry_level_fullsize_luxury_sedan_comparison/viewall.html
I am very interested to see some tests of the refreshed 2013 7-Series, all-new S-class, and A8.

I have never seen the Q7 beat the X5, at least not since the engines were updated in 2010. Personally I've never been a fan of the Q7, I consider it the weakest link in Audi's lineup.

The Q5 is a great vehicle, and routinely beat the original X3 when it came out. That's expected, the Q5 was five years newer. That stopped when BMW came out with a new X3 in 2011 and the X3 has been racking up wins and awards ever since.

I can't speak to the Q3 vs X1. It wouldn't surprise me if the Q3 beat it, though, since like the Q5 versus original X3 above, the Q3 came out years later. We'll see when both are available here, initial reviews of the refreshed X1 that the U.S. is getting have been overwhelmingly positive.

Point is, they both make excellent vehicles. And they need each other. If Audi didn't have BMW and vice versa I don't believe they'd constantly be pushed to make such great products.

Well said, JRob. I must give you credit for your above post.

The C&D article where the Audi Q7 won the comparison test over the BMW X5, among others can be found below:

http://www.caranddriver.com/comparisons/acura-mdx-vs-audi-q7-bmw-x5-land-rover-lr4-lexus-gx460-comparison-test

My apologies, I did see that article when it came out. The reason I remember it is the X5 came in second by one point to the Q7, but it lost three points to the Q7 on price. That was BMW's fault, they shouldn't have provided an X5 with a ridiculous $22k in options (almost 50% of the base price), many of them superfluous. Maybe they thought there'd be a Cayenne in the comparison, but they cost themselves the win. Either way if you look at the results the difference between #1 and #3 was a total of three points (202, 201, 199). All good cars, separated basically by personal preference.

Why they put Alpina? is like to Put Brabus , or Modified Audis in those lists.

No it's not. You can buy an Alpina B7 at any BMW dealer in the U.S. Alpina is a manufacturer, not a tuner.

they need to fix the smoking turbos on the TT V8