BMW 7 Series News

At first glance BMW’s yet-to-launch luxury flagship is about as relevant to the average CarsGuide reader as haute couture.Yet just as bespoke fashion finds its way into mainstream outlets, so will the technology infused in the big limousine filter down to more affordable models.And the sheer number and extent of the computer-controlled systems is staggering. In a segment where owners now expect to awe their audiences with more than a serene ride, it’s a case of innovate or be irrelevant.BMW’s 7 Series product guru Sven Arens says the 7-Series combines futuristic functions with craftsmanship and materials borrowed from Rolls-Royce, which BMW owns.CarsGuide looks at some of the key features found in the sixth-generation 7 Series.Gesture control: BMW is the first carmaker to fit a production model with gesture controls based on specific movements. A camera monitors an area in the centre of the dash and finger swirls can raise or lower the volume of the 16-speaker Bowers and Remote parking: Operated using the display key with an integrated screen, the idea is the occupants can exit the vehicle before it drives in or out of a tight parking space.Carbon core: Adopted from the i Series vehicles, the carbon-fibre reinforced plastic has helped trim 120kg from the 7 Series. Arens says bonding car components is better than welding because the weld softens the metal around the joint.Wireless connectivity: The 7 Series can now wirelessly charge smartphones using an inductive pad while Bluetooth pairing uses near-field communication — the same tech used with “pay wave” credit card purchases.Removable tablet: Rear-seat passengers can use a seven-inch tablet to control everything from the aircon to the seats. The Android-powered device can be taken out of the car to load up a movie and various apps can be installed.Occupant wellness: The big BMW can emit occasional bursts of scent, the seats incorporate a vitality program that extends the massage function and “allows rear passengers to engage in active physical exercise for recuperation purposes”. The The cars will launch in Australia late this year in 730d, 740i and 740Li models, with the top-spec 750i/Li due early next year. Pricing has yet to be set but the current model starts at $206,200 for the 730d.

The Remote Control Parking function lets drivers exit the vehicle and use the key fob with a colour LED screen to direct the car to drive into or out of a tight parking slot or garage.The logic is such a feature avoids the difficulty of the driver parking and then trying to open the doors with little room to manoeuvre.BMW Australia spokeswoman Lenore Fletcher says there's every chance the feature will make an appearance on local cars in the near future."There are some steps we have to go through to comply with Australian laws and we're working on that now," she says.The sixth-generation 7 Series still has plenty of other techno-wizardry. It has gesture recognition for audio volume controls and accepting or rejecting an incoming phone call, an inductive pad to recharge smartphones wirelessly, a touchscreen mounted on the top of the iDrive rotary controller and a bigger, brighter head-up display.There's also a new adaptive mode in the so-called Driving Experience Control settings to adjust the vehicle's transmission and throttle responses, according to the driver's inputs and the nature of the route as determined by GPS mapping and forward facing cameras.Weight has been trimmed by up to 130kg relative to the current car with carbon-fibre reinforced plastic first used on the BMW i3 and i8.

History is about to roll over the top of the dimmer switch.

A government tender awarded to an Australian company was later taken away and given to German carmaker BMW last year.

Which way would you go? It's an impossible choice, but imagine it was out of your hands. That's the nightmare scenario of autonomous driving, when you give control of your car to a collective of on-board computers.It's one of the reasons — beyond the inevitable legal battles following a crash — that self-driving cars are not going to be a viable motoring choice for some time.They might be fine on highways dedicated to road trains of autonomous cars, where the driver and passengers can get on with more important things such as iPads and email, but no-one knows yet how they will drive in the real world.BMW admits it has yet to answer the tough questions on crashesBMW is one of the world leaders on self-driving cars and I rode in an autonomous 7 Series last year that's one of the best in the business, provided you stick to the 10km of German road it knows better than I know my computer keyboard.Introduce a crash scenario and things get woolly. Very woolly.Even BMW admits it has yet to answer the tough questions on crashes."Hit a truck or a pedestrian? That decision cannot be taken by a machine," says Ian Robertson, the global head of marketing at BMW and one of the men who will soon be selling us into self-driving cars, told me at the Detroit auto show. "I'm not sure we, as an industry or a society, are wanting machines to make those decisions."Do I see full autonomous driving in the near future? NoRobertson believes autonomous driving will be a stepped transition, as driver-assistance technologies show a clear benefit — as ESP stability control and blind-spot warnings do today — beyond auto braking for hazards."Do I see full autonomous driving in the near future? No," says Robertson. "The questions that need to be answered are not easy ones."

Audi showed its commitment with a self-driving A7 Sportback that drove itself nearly 1000km to the show, while Mercedes-Benz unveiled a show car called the F 015 that’s all about future luxury but also ticks the box for autonomous driving. But, should a car be encouraged to drive just because it can?I’ve ridden in a BMW 7 Series that can do a brilliant job of driving itself, but only on a very limited 10km stretch of road at home in Germany. It would be a total misfit and a failure in Australia, where the GPS data, road markings, street signs and much more would not allow it to operate.So, we’re unlikely to see self-driving cars here any time soon, if at all.But they’re important because the systems needed for autonomous driving — from stereo vision to automatic braking — are vital as car makers work to give us a world without car crashes. There will always be accidents and incidents and most of them will be caused by driver errors, so driver aids will play an increasing role in cutting the road toll.

There's always a great deal of interest any time one of the cars used in a 007 movie is offered for sale. And you can probably multiply that by 59 times for the collection of Bond vehicles owned by US real estate mogul Michael Dezer.Dezer is known for  development on a grand scale: nearly the entire suburb of Chelsea in NewYork, and several massive projects in Florida including partnerships with Donald Trump for the 900 million Trump Towers, $600 million Trump Grande Ocean Resort and Residences and the $166 million Trump International Hotel and Tower.And Florida is also where he garages his collection of 1800 vehicles, including the 59 genuine Bond ones he's selling, each of which has appeared in one of the movies.The catch is that Dezer insists they be bought as one lot, for US$33 million ($37 million). But the buyer will have a fairly comprehensive sample across the Bond series.Among the 59 are a Fairey Huntress boat used in 1963's From Russia With Love and an Audi A5 and Land Rover Defender used in the most recent film, Skyfall, for the kickstarter car chase scenes.From films in between, there are a brace of Aston Martin DB5 coupes, one of which helmed by Pierce Brosnan for Goldeneye -- and the Russian T55 tank from the film. The famed Lotus Esprit S1 that morphed into a submarine in The Spy Who Loved Me is also one of star vehicles, as are the armoured and armed BMW 750iL from Tomorrow Never Dies, and the Jaguar XKR from Die Another Day.There are also more everyday wheels, including the Citroen 2CV from For Your Eyes Only, and a replica of the AMC Hornet from The Man With The Golden Gun. The collection has been on display at the Dezer Musuem in Miami, and it's likely the buyer will do something similar once the deal is done.And while it will make a little space in the Dezer garage, there are still plenty of interesting cars staying there, including the 1948 Ford from Grease,  the 1981 DeLorean from Back to the Future, the Ghostbusters 1959 Cadillac, an original Batmobile, the Lamborghini Social Experiment Project AU 79, and many, many more.This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott

While those super expensive Aston Martins are out of the reach of 99.99% of collectors, there are other cars used in the movies and driven by 007 that will appeal to those with more modest budgets.How about a 1996 Z3 BMW? It appeared in Golden Eye and while it only was on screen for a minute or two they are cheap. A quick look on Carsguide suggests $11,000 will get you into one and I'm sure with a bit of arm twisting you could reduce that even more. Hairdressers paid over $70,000 when they were new.If a sports car is not your style, then there is always the 1997 BMW 750iL that Bond drove with his phone in Tomorrow Never Dies. When new BMW dealers were asking punters to part with $265,000. Right now depreciation is your BFF and you can snatch a high mileage example for under $7000. Be cautious though, it might be well shaken and mightily stirred.For a bit of Italian flavour, 1983 the Alfa GTV6 which 007 used in the movie Occtopussy makes for a cunning alternative. Some sell for as low as $3000 but good ones go for mid-teens. If something British is more to your liking, then what about the Triumph Stag? Bond drove a yellow one in Diamonds Are Forever while he was impersonating a diamond smuggler called Peter Franks. Around $15,000 seems a likely starting point for negotiations to get you into a true classic.Another British choice is the Sunbeam Alpine, which Bond drove in the first movie, Dr No. These are fabulous looking little convertibles. My neighbour in London had one and always referred to it as "the real Bond car". They range from about $16,000 all the way up to $40,000 depending on condition. As an aside, the Alpine was also the car of choice in the Get Smart TV series.But I'm saving the best two for last. In Man with the Golden Gun, Bond drives a red 1974 Rambler Hornet hatchback through the famous corkscrew aerial jump. Although the coupe never made it to Australia, 1,825 four door Hornets were built and sold here between 1971 and 1975. Many have been hot-rodded, but unmolested examples sell for less than $10,000 and are a bargain.So that leaves the red 1971 Mustang Mach 1 from Diamonds are Forever. A good one will set you back about $40,000 and there are plenty around. And yes, I know that's six times the price of the 750 BMW, but it looks way cooler!David Burrell is the editor of www.retroautos.com.au 

The Prime Minister's flagship fleet of high-security Holden limos is expected to be replaced with bomb and gas proof BMWs after Government sources claimed Holden had failed to bid for a lucrative $4 million plus contract to replace the ageing convoy of armoured cars.And a further armada of 20 German built cars will need to be leased for the G20 Summit in Brisbane next year - at a cost of $2 million - with foreign leaders prevented from using the Holden Caprice as it didn't meet their standards to protect against terrorist attacks.Government sources last night claimed that Holden had not submitted a bid for a new construction contract to replace the existing eight-year-old fleet of nine armour-plated Caprices - including the PM's own car "C1".Holden shutdown decision could come by Christmas. Carsguide understands that only four bids were entered, including Audi and Mercedes. The only options of a semi-local built car was believed to be a newer version of the retrofitted Holden Caprice offered by British Aerospace at a cost of $800,000 each, or a "ground up" model based on a Holden chassis, which cost $1.2 million for just one vehicle.However, neither option is believed to have been able to meet international standards for protection against attacks. The Federal Government is now expected to sign a contract to buy cheaper, off-the shelf BMW High Security 7 Series vehicles, at a cost of $525,000 each, which meet higher international standards of protection against ballistic and gas attacks - and which can be serviced in Australia.It has an existing contract through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade with BMW for high security cars. The BMW option would save the government more than $3 million. They would also be available for the 20 strong fleet of security cars required for the G20, saving the Government a further $1 million.Holden last night denied it had declined to bid for the tender, claiming it had partnered with the two aftermarket companies in bids to supply armoured plated cars. "We have partnered with two bids from armoured plated companies," a spokesman for Holden said. "Holden is involved in two bids for this work and we would love to see the PM in a Caprice, and we have obviously provided caprice for this purpose before."But departmental sources disputed the claim and said Holden had "shown no interest" when made aware the tender was being let.The imminent loss of Holden as the PM's official car was revealed as the brand's parent company in Detroit, General Motors, came under pressure to reveal whether it planned to close its operations in Australia by 2016.Yesterday thousands of Holden workers were left hanging over Christmas to find out whether they would still have a job with Holden boss Mike Devereux refusing to confirm whether it would continue to make cars in Australia.Labor has accused the government of trying to kill the Australian car industry by cutting assistance by $500 million and has urged the Government to restore assistance to Holden to protect thousands of jobs.But Acting Prime Minister Warren Truss yesterday wrote to the company requesting that it reveal its intentions and reminding it that the Government had already committed a further $1 billion to the industry until 2020."An immediate clarification of GM Holden's future plans is needed to end the uncertainty for Holden's workforce, its suppliers and the people of Australia," Mr Truss said.A senior government source yesterday confirmed that Holden "was not interested" in bidding for the government security cars with the contract likely to be awarded to BMW - which once made engines for the Nazi war machine - over the coming days.The AFP is already using BMW X5s for security support vehicles for the PM claiming there was nothing in Australia built to specifications required for protection. The Government will need a total of 20 armoured BMW, Mercedez or Audis for the G20 meeting next year. It could save $1 million in lease fees by sourcing 9 of the vehicles from a new Government fleet of BMWs.Read more here: www.dailytelegraph.com.au 

...but testing has begun with early prototypes of the car that will eventually run up against the all-new Mercedes-Benz S Class that launches this year.This prototype steals body parts from the existing Seven but everything under the skin should be new and more eco-friendly.This reporter is on Twitter @paulwardgover