OFFICIAL: BMW Hosting A Private Unveil Of The All-New, Next-Gen 7-Series To VIPs

The passenger side touch screen is the only feature that may give this some kind of edge over the s-class. Other than that, the interior already looks dated.

I'm searching for something nice to say about that exterior. Sorry. I got nuthin'.

This is already dead-on-arrival and it won't even be launched for several more months. BMW barely changed a single thing except for the passenger touch screen and the tail lights. People like to criticize Audi for making its new models look just like the older versions, but this is equally guilty if not more so of that.

The S-Class will continue to outsell this by a huge margin given that there is pretty much nothing changed between the current 7-Series and this "new" one.

Superficial comments about the looks/interior aside, the one thing BMW can do to make this more competitive with the S-Class is to make the engines/systems more robust/reliable (not more powerful - more reliable).

Out of my many BMW E30, 3-series, one ran up to 250,000 miles with proper maintenance and no problems. It was a well-built and precision vehicle. They were all excellent drives and excellent to own.

The latest BMW's (most notably the twin-turbo V8's) are just a hot mess. The V8's use about a quart of oil per 1,000 miles, they overheat, and on rare occasion the engines catastrophically (i.e. needs a new engine) fail. Its like the lottery - if your 750i engine makes it to 30,000 miles without any major issues - you have a good one.

In contrast, the Mercedes twin turbo V8's (S550 and GL450/550) are very reliable. No/minimal oil usage over the 10,000 mile service interval, good electrics - they generally don't blow engines.

The older folks who make up the bread and butter 7-Series customer base are moving on to Lexus, Audi, Mercedes - cars whose engines don't blow up (warranty or no warranty - if your engine blows, you are out of commission for a month or two while they procure you a new engine).

That would be the single biggest improvement BMW could make.

Well, many criticized BMW for its very evolutionary 3 Series design and its rather underwhelming interior. Yet, those cars (along with the 4 Series) are selling like the best BBQ in Texas, and no one is even close (at the moment). The same/similar comments have been leveled on the entire BMW lineup and their sales are not hurting. Smart product positioning? Absolutely. Where Mercedes is going the more opulent route and continues to stay on its focus of luxury, BMW is maintaining its more straightforward approach and continues to focus on its focus on sport. Nothing wrong with that, and frankly, it might be the smartest route to go. Clearly there are buyers for both approaches and these two divergent approaches almost makes it a no-decision for the buyer. If they want luxury and opulence, here's Mercedes. If they want sport and a no-nonsense interior, here's BMW.

At least that's my take.

All is not well in Munich for BMW the way you make it out to be. Yes, BMW may still be the global sales leader, but Audi and Mercedes are both growing faster and rapidly closing in. BMW's new models such as the X4, 5-Series GT and 3-Series GT have been vilified in the press for their ugly looks, lack of sporty driving dynamics and cheap interiors. BMW's profit came under pressure and the CEO of the whole company had to step down earlier than expected because BMW was unable to control its costs as it continued its model proliferation strategy.

This will not end well for BMW as Audi will soon capture the global sales crown and buyers will be turned off of BMW for its ugly looks, lack of sporty driving dynamics and their inability to figure out what separates one model from the next in terms of both form and function.

nuttie ... lol ... you are talking about Audi right?

BMW's CEO moved from that role to be the chairman of the supervisory board, which is still a very powerful, but less visible position within the company. The supervisory board makes decisions on major strategies and senior management appointments. Not so sure I see his move as a bad thing.

And, yes, Audi and Mercedes are growing, but the fact is exactly what I said previously, BMW's formula is clearly working and Audi and Mercedes are playing catch up, while BMW is still showing year-over-year growth. That's really not a bad position to be in.

LOL, this car is now behind an A8 and competing with the Lexus LS. All while the Koreans get closer.