Because seven ate nine?

Transmission in Neutral, Parking brake not applied.... Car may roll away...

Hmm, this has the capability of impacting EVERY car ever made. OMFG! Oh wait, my car doesn't rely on a button to put it in 'gear' so I never 'accidentally' place the car in Neutral...

And I care because.....

Rich people problems

The 8 series is the last truly distinct and unique non-SUV vehicle BMW ever made. Now they all look the same, just varying in size.

pointless car that never should have existed anyways

The cars are designed to automatically shift into to park when the driver presses the Stop/Start button to shut off the engine. In some cases, if the driver presses the button two or three times in succession, the system may shift to neutral rather than park.

points. laughs.

BMW said automatic transmissions may not remain in "park" due to a software problem

Lolz- your car needs software.

AverageAmericanGuy: The 8 series is the last truly distinct and unique non-SUV vehicle BMW ever made. Now they all look the same, just varying in size.

Too bad most of the BMW V12s of that era were kind of hacks.

AverageAmericanGuy: The 8 series is the last truly distinct and unique non-SUV vehicle BMW ever made. Now they all look the same, just varying in size.

Car designer at Renault said they sometimes envied their BMW colleagues. At Renault, they had to bust their ass to make every car in their range distinctive, whereas they make all their came the same, change a few line each year, and everybody gushes at their work.

Java update maybe?

Press any key to begin driving

BMW, it's German for overrated.

AverageAmericanGuy: The 8 series is the last truly distinct and unique non-SUV vehicle BMW ever made. Now they all look the same, just varying in size.

It's my favorite BMW of all time. I find this headline to be disrespectful.

And still... Car and Driver magazine will swear it's the best car ever made.

vroom

TeddyRooseveltsMustache: BMW, it's German for overrated.

There's a reason some call them Bayrischer Mist Wagen. That's German for Bavarian Manure Wagon.

Too much electronics in a car is never a good idea.

cptcaveman: Press any key to begin driving

"Where's the any key?"

"No get BMW 7 series!!"

89 Stick-Up Kid
AverageAmericanGuy: The 8 series is the last truly distinct and unique non-SUV vehicle BMW ever made. Now they all look the same, just varying in size.
It's my favorite BMW of all time. I find this headline to be disrespectful.

Its a little sad, I see a driver in a older BMW sedan and I am willing to bet they can actually drive. Now you see someone in a BMW and it is just as likely to be texting or chatting at 5mph below the limit.

The cars are designed to automatically shift into to park when the driver presses the Stop/Start button to shut off the engine. In some cases, if the driver presses the button two or three times in succession, the system may shift to neutral rather than park.

Why is software necessary?

The first time I drove one with the new tranny, I pushed selector forward to what I that was PARK.
Opened door to get out and car started to move backwards.
TOO MUCH TECH

Expensive, high end cars doesn't necessarily mean "better" cars, or better engineering for that matter.


IMO Honda makes the best engines in the world and it's not even close.

Enemabag Jones: 89 Stick-Up Kid
AverageAmericanGuy: The 8 series is the last truly distinct and unique non-SUV vehicle BMW ever made. Now they all look the same, just varying in size.
It's my favorite BMW of all time. I find this headline to be disrespectful.

Its a little sad, I see a driver in a older BMW sedan and I am willing to bet they can actually drive. Now you see someone in a BMW and it is just as likely to be texting or chatting at 5mph below the limit.

The cars are designed to automatically shift into to park when the driver presses the Stop/Start button to shut off the engine. In some cases, if the driver presses the button two or three times in succession, the system may shift to neutral rather than park.

Why is software necessary?

You could say that about a lot of things.

padraig:
Car designer at Renault said they sometimes envied their BMW colleagues. At Renault, they had to bust their ass to make every car in their range distinctive, whereas they make all their came the same, change a few line each year, and everybody gushes at their work.

...and Renault has been very successful at it:

davidshi123: Expensive, high end cars doesn't necessarily mean "better" cars, or better engineering for that matter.


IMO Honda makes the best engines in the world and it's not even close.

My 335i reaches peak torque at 1200 RPM with no lag. Honda doesn't make anything within a decade of BMW drivability-wise.

mynameist: davidshi123: Expensive, high end cars doesn't necessarily mean "better" cars, or better engineering for that matter.


IMO Honda makes the best engines in the world and it's not even close.

My 335i reaches peak torque at 1200 RPM with no lag. Honda doesn't make anything within a decade of BMW drivability-wise.

Do you have to be at the gym in 26 minutes?

mynameist: davidshi123: Expensive, high end cars doesn't necessarily mean "better" cars, or better engineering for that matter.


IMO Honda makes the best engines in the world and it's not even close.

My 335i reaches peak torque at 1200 RPM with no lag. Honda doesn't make anything within a decade of BMW drivability-wise.

Is that anything like the listenablity of ones favorite band vs the poor choice of someone else's band?

Ahh, the circa 2001 E38 740i Sport was the last awesome 7-series. Nowadays a Lexus LS would be the call for a big sedan.

It would be a tough call to "upgrade" my E39 M5 to one of the new ones, what with the turbos and fake engine noises and so on. Modern Jaguar has been ruined also. Might think about a 2008 XJ or XJR if there were room in the garage...

Why is this a problem? Suggest do use their parking brake.

Problem solved.

blacklantern58
Why is this a problem? Suggest do use their parking brake.
Problem solved.

Are you an elite stick driver?

/How do you know the parking break is not software based in these thing as the gear selection is.

fdrebin: Ahh, the circa 2001 E38 740i Sport was the last awesome 7-series. Nowadays a Lexus LS would be the call for a big sedan.

It would be a tough call to "upgrade" my E39 M5 to one of the new ones, what with the turbos and fake engine noises and so on. Modern Jaguar has been ruined also. Might think about a 2008 XJ or XJR if there were room in the garage...

Huh? Have you driven the 2011 XFR? It's amazing.

Never buy a BMW with an automatic transmission.

Nutsac_Jim: [images1.americanlisted.com image 700x498]

vroom

Last good looking 7-series made.
/new one ain't too bad on the eyes

fdrebin: Ahh, the circa 2001 E38 740i Sport was the last awesome 7-series. Nowadays a Lexus LS would be the call for a big sedan.

It would be a tough call to "upgrade" my E39 M5 to one of the new ones, what with the turbos and fake engine noises and so on. Modern Jaguar has been ruined also. Might think about a 2008 XJ or XJR if there were room in the garage...

Bo 'n Luke: Never buy a BMW with an automatic transmission.

/2013 335i with a 6 speed.

Enemabag Jones: 89 Stick-Up Kid
AverageAmericanGuy: The 8 series is the last truly distinct and unique non-SUV vehicle BMW ever made. Now they all look the same, just varying in size.
It's my favorite BMW of all time. I find this headline to be disrespectful.

Its a little sad, I see a driver in a older BMW sedan and I am willing to bet they can actually drive. Now you see someone in a BMW and it is just as likely to be texting or chatting at 5mph below the limit.

The cars are designed to automatically shift into to park when the driver presses the Stop/Start button to shut off the engine. In some cases, if the driver presses the button two or three times in succession, the system may shift to neutral rather than park.

Why is software necessary?

The first time I saw the new M6 in Seattle it was being driven by a little old lady who could barely see over the wheel. I remember saying to myself 'BMW has lost its soul'.

does it run on Windows?

Manufacturers think that electronic controls will be cheaper to build than mechanical linkages but the funny thing about that is nobody ever had to calculate the 5-year percentage-of-failure in a steel shift linkage rod. They've gone from something which is cheap to make and has no real-world possibility of failure to something which is slightly cheaper to make, can fail for any (or no) reason, and which will end up costing everyone more in the long run. In engine management complicated is often better than simple (though there's a limit to that). In everything else it's not.

But hey, if I wanted to get worse fuel mileage than a 20-year-old, $180,000 (when new) supercar while at the same time going slower, having more breakdowns, and paying higher maintenance costs I'd certainly buy a new BMW. And even though the BMW costs more to buy today than the old supercar and won't hold its value nearly as well I'll still project the aura of a refined, intelligent consumer... somehow.

/Someone I know just sold the afore-mentioned supercar for the same amount she paid five years ago and bought a 1-year-old BMW for $13k less than it originally sold for. The BMW has a much smaller engine and gets the same mileage. Quite a bit slower, too. But it does have a heated steering wheel.
//I called her a moron.

Nutsac_Jim: mynameist: davidshi123:
IMO Honda makes the best engines in the world and it's not even close.

My 335i reaches peak torque at 1200 RPM with no lag. Honda doesn't make anything within a decade of BMW drivability-wise.

Is that anything like the listenablity of ones favorite band vs the poor choice of someone else's band?

It's more like the difference between someone who has a favorite band (any band) v/s someone who thinks that every audible sound is music because "it's just a noise".

/has a '71 Chevelle which will outaccelerate and outcorner his '95 740i while getting about the same mileage

Mr. Ekshun: Manufacturers think that electronic controls will be cheaper to build than mechanical linkages but the funny thing about that is nobody ever had to calculate the 5-year percentage-of-failure in a steel shift linkage rod. They've gone from something which is cheap to make and has no real-world possibility of failure to something which is slightly cheaper to make, can fail for any (or no) reason, and which will end up costing everyone more in the long run. In engine management complicated is often better than simple (though there's a limit to that). In everything else it's not.

I'm inclined to agree with you, but I just remembered my BMW (25 years old, 200K+ miles) has been sitting in the driveway for months waiting for me to fix the broken shift linkage.

change1211: Huh? Have you driven the 2011 XFR? It's amazing.

The XFR looks like a good bit of fun, but the styling on all the new Jags is too much of a Lexus-Buick-Audi-Aston Martin schmear. The 2008 XJR may not have the same broad appeal, and I wouldn't have it as an only car, but it's got personality.

Fark Me To Tears: FTFA: The cars are designed to automatically shift into to park when the driver presses the Stop/Start button to shut off the engine. In some cases, if the driver presses the button two or three times in succession, the system may shift to neutral rather than park.

Okay... That's just f*cked up.

Have BMW drivers become so self-important that they can't be bothered to shift the vehicle into Park themselves?

Of course, if they can't be bothered to insert a key into a real ignition switch and turn it to start the car, I guess I've just answered my own question.

That's not funny. I totally got embarrassed on a date last night when the valet guy had to track me down and ask me for my key fob.

JesseL: Mr. Ekshun: Manufacturers think that electronic controls will be cheaper to build than mechanical linkages but the funny thing about that is nobody ever had to calculate the 5-year percentage-of-failure in a steel shift linkage rod. They've gone from something which is cheap to make and has no real-world possibility of failure to something which is slightly cheaper to make, can fail for any (or no) reason, and which will end up costing everyone more in the long run. In engine management complicated is often better than simple (though there's a limit to that). In everything else it's not.

I'm inclined to agree with you, but I just remembered my BMW (25 years old, 200K+ miles) has been sitting in the driveway for months waiting for me to fix the broken shift linkage.

Ha! Let me guess, the plastic bushings fell apart or the shift plate hanging off the back of the trans cracked. Of course, both assume a manual transmission, since the ZF auto they were using then likely wouldn't have lasted 200k.

Yeah, I realized that what I wrote had some logical issues, but I was aiming for a point rather than a study. And we'll see how long the electronic whizbangery lasts compared to your 200k-mile E30/E28/E34.

/Had lots of fun in a 300k-mile BMW E21.