To get your ad here, email Donald@autospies.com
Dear 001,
I used to read Car & Driver religiously (I still do!!!) but ever since I started reading your newsletter... all the news and info on all the other mags seems so stale... keep up the great work!!!
As far as the new 7 series refresh goes, I think that BMW has totally lost it with the 7 series... as first sight of the pics, I thought it looked more like the Hyundai XG350. Now the 7 looks like it's trying to imitate the new 5 (which itself is not the hottest looking sedan out there) and just making an ugly car worse. I think the previous 7 series was the most elegant, graceful and beautiful sedan that BMW had built... and now they just messed up...
But, on the other hand, when I first saw the Z4, I hated it in the pictures, then I saw it in the showroom... it wasn't that dab... but now when I see more of these Z4s on the road, they definitely stand out and do look great. I mean it was built to grab attention and that's exactly what it seems to be doing best... same thing with the new 5 series... I saw one on the road (it was camouflaged, but thanks to autospies, I had no trouble identifying it!!!) and I think it is gonna do fine!!! Coming back to the 7, u know what, I think it is also gonna get a lot of attention as there are gonna be very few on the road and everyone's gonna want to see the notorious one!!!
BTW, the new 6 series is BEAUTIFUL. I'd love to get my hands on that one. It's gonna be in a class of it's own... I don't think there is much competition in that class anyway...
Dear 001,
It just keeps getting uglier. Having owned 12 7
series beginning in 1979 and ending in 2000, I wouldn't be seen in one.
Also, have no interest in sitting behind a computer screen in a car. Do that at the office. Just bought a Saab 9-5 and love it. One of the few drivers cars left. Also, gets great mileage.
John
Overland Park, KS
Dear 001,
It still needs work on that horribly designed fish-tail rear end! The sportier style on the new 6-series looks 100% better! Also, I can't tell by the interior pic, but I hope they do something about that ugly column shifter to!!!!!!!!
I've owned three BMWs in the last six years - 7-series, 5-series, and currently an X5. While I bought the X5 for more rear seat room and 'throw in the back' storage, I loved both the 7 and 5-series sedans. I miss driving the sedans even now. I bought the X5 because I thought the new 7 wasn't quite right in several ways: design and ergonomics. Maybe Bangle did miss the mark on the 7, but I would argue that the new 6-series proves he was/is on the right track. He has created a car
that looks great from any angle - and looks ahead of its time (like the 7-series in 1995). Look at the CLK for comparison - a complete piece of _ _ _ _. Even the E-class looks dated already with its ridged trunk. People may argue that the front lights and grill seem strange on the Z4, but on the 6-series, they look right-on to me.
With all the negative press that Bangle has gotten on the 7, he should get some good press for the 6. I may need to visit a BMW dealer real soon now!
One note on the Cayenne, the turbo is a complete waste of money and maybe the S is better value. But the X5 has an interior that is easily on par (if not better), an engine that provides tremendous torque, and an exterior that looks better. I like Porsches (my other car is a Boxster S), but you have to wonder how this SUV is going to compete against a refreshed X5 (or even a new ML). By the way, I've driven my X5 at speeds I won't put in writing, and the thing is beyond amazing - incredibly stable with handling that feels like a 5-series.
Adam
Dear 001,
Nose better. Tail still horrible. (ditto 6 series.)
Frank
Dear 001,
First off I would like to congratulate you with the good work you are doing.
As for the minimal changes for the 7-series, I think it still looks like an overweight elephant in the back.
Without major surgery in the back (trunklid, rearquaters and underside) it won't change the ugly back
As for the front, I think it wasn't to bad, the rear is what (most ?) people hate about the car
Hopefully Lexus will come out (soon) with a revised GS/LS that will kick butt, both in looks and in horsepower/handling.
Regards
Mike
Dear 001,
Hell No!!!. The camel's hump is still on the trunk. The lines on the side are still just as many. No one complains about the headlamps, but it seems they are making it bland. Also the cheesy seat controls are still at the place where you thighs can accidentally move them!! It's too little too late. I'll rather have an S430 with sports pack. If Maserati's 4 door is priced right that may be the death certificate for the Top & series models....Can Chris Bangle see how clean the design of the New XJ is?
OOF
Dear 001,
I hope they all come with the black masking tape. it REALLY helps.
Bruce
Dear 001,
Thanks guys and keep up the great work.
Front is decidedly better--rear end--they insist on hurting themselves with that Chrysler bustle that just won't die! You would think they had bought Chrysler not DB? Oh well, their big autos are meaningless anyhow!!
Regards,
David
Best letter:
Dear 001,
From your latest photos it would seem like BMW has, in the most cost-effective manner possible, morphed a particularly bad design into one that is just uninspired. Given the limitations of a mid-life refresh, that is probably all we can hope for until the next total redesign.
We'll just have to face the fact that the 7 is an ugly girl who is good in bed!
Best,
J.D.
Auto Spies perspective: That sums up what we've been trying to say in one sentence. Bravo J.D. !