I attended an automotive unveiling of the brand new ****** ******* today at Trump National Golf Course in Rancho Palos Verdes. Last time I ventured to the Donald's ocean-side links, Sadlier and I went in our departed long-term Honda Accord. A nice car to be sure, but when visiting a place adorned with more gold than Louis XIV's bathroom, it's just better to drive a fancy car.
Scanning the key board, I boosted the 750i, eager to see if my initial impressions from back in March still held true. In short, abso-freakin-lutely. The BMW flagship is a remarkable engineering and technological tour de force. Lay into the twin-turbo V8 and it rushes forth with almost the same sort of hushed, effortless lack of drama as Rolls-Royce's V12. The ride, regardless of suspension setting, soaks up broken pavement better than almost every other car on the road. And the seats, oh boy the seats. My back feels like crap at the moment, and yet they have the ability to coddle and support in ways that would make my mother jealous.
As I looked out upon the Pacific Ocean, I had the sudden urge to jump in the 750i and just start driving until I hit the Atlantic in Florida. I'd probably regret it somewhere during my seventh hour through Texas, but I could think of few other cars I'd rather make the journey in than the 7er.
James Riswick, Automotive Editor
carfreak8394 says:
03:49 PM, 07/28/09
If you come to Florida, I'd like to meet you.
(Half-joking, half serious :P).
sgude says:
03:59 PM, 07/28/09
I bought a house outside of Atlanta about a year before I retired from the Marine Corps, and moved my family into it while I served my last 14 months at Camp Pendleton. I drove my 01 GTI 1.8T cross-country several times, and the experiences made me extremely happy with the car as a cruiser. The way it sounded at 95+ mph across Arizona, New Mexico and Texas made the drive worth it as well. Those little things snarled. And even at those high speeds I averaged 28 mpg.
But I imagine I would have been a bit more comfortable in a luxocruiser like the Bimmer.
BTW -- the quickest I made it from Pendleton to my garage in Ellenwood, GA, was 37 hours. I was soooooo tired...
dragonflight says:
04:56 PM, 07/28/09
Building on Carfreak's idea, it'd be awesome if we could do IL meetups next time a car has to be moved from Detroit to Cali or vice versa. Chi-town is oh so conveniently positioned...
....not that I'm biased towards having it in my city or anything.
mercedesfan says:
05:17 PM, 07/28/09
James I have to disagree with you about the ride. Perhaps it was just the particular 750Li that I drove, but the suspension hardly "soak[ed] up broken pavement better than almost every other car on the road". In Sport mode the suspension was brittle and expansion joints sent jolts to the cabin, while in Comfort mode the car bobbed excessively like some ancient Lincoln or Cadillac. I certainly agree about the seats, though, truly some of the best anywhere.
bc1960 says:
05:20 PM, 07/28/09
"Rolls-Royce's V12"
Which, being BMW's V12 to start with, is not terribly surprising to be similar to BMW's V8?
aohurst says:
08:59 PM, 07/28/09
Test drove a Mercedes S550. Next day test drove a 750i.
The seats in the Mercedes are more comfortable by far.
BMW seats are no slouch though.
The difference is the lower thigh extension- much better executed in the S550.
festiboi1 says:
09:14 PM, 07/28/09
You should've shown up in the Smart to get some heads to really turn
festiboi1 says:
09:15 PM, 07/28/09
You should've shown up in the Smart to get some heads to really turn
drhorrible says:
05:29 AM, 07/29/09
The drivers seat is why I will keep my 7 series until they pry my cold dead fingers from the steering wheel. I love the drivers seat in my car.
drhorrible says:
05:32 AM, 07/29/09
I really should have said "until the extended warranty runs out and they put a similar seat in the Genesis".
rsholland says:
06:55 AM, 07/29/09
****** *******?
Grande Bentley?
crowb says:
06:57 AM, 07/29/09
I second the chance to meet up with IL next time they are moving a car across country. I probably wouldn't drive all the way to Chicago, but if you guys held a gathering for fans that was within a reasonable distance I would be down for that.
alihasanain says:
08:38 AM, 07/29/09
****** *******
My guess: 2010 Subaru Legacy
Outside Bet: 2010 Toyota 4Runner
roadburner says:
10:27 AM, 07/29/09
I drove a B7 from Fort Worth to Louisville in one day. It was a long drive, but not exhausting.
dragonflight says:
10:47 AM, 07/29/09
My guess, seeing tweets from auto journalists, is the new Suzuki sedan, starts with a K. Suzuki fits the first word too
alihasanain says:
01:46 PM, 07/29/09
You're right: Suzuki Kizashi fits too
There were conflicting reports that they had scrapped that car though...
Also, isn't Suzuki Kizashi too Japanese-sounding a name for the US market?
alihasanain says:
01:53 PM, 07/29/09
Sure enough, AutoBlog confirms the release of the midsize Suzuki tomorrow...