I also believe that our blog became successful because we added a more personal feel to it, but we can always reverse to the more “corporate” /media approach.

Fair enough, I just had a different expectations of the blog. The reason I dont go to forums every day is because of the noise/signal ratio, if the blog becomes a field of controversial subjective views and unfounded rumers, then it might turn to be like the forums. But I see your point that some spices will be good to keep the traffic and discussions. but maybe a good balance between them would be good too. Also what I like to see is a separation between the article and the personal views of the writer, maybe under the article (but in the same section) you could say my personal view about this is blablabla… I felt sometimes that your personal views were totally biased which made me feel like this website is almost a BMW martketing tool. I know it’s not :)

So, it’s really a question of people having the right expectations for the blog when they visit. Many people might be linking from other sites, and so forth, so that’s a tough challenge.

No need to apologise Horatiu.

I think the reason for the low response rate to informative material is due to the fact that it is just that -info.

When it comes to BMWs future product strategies and line-ups, we all have a lot to say. The great thing is that we don’t all agree, we all have personal preferences and tastes. All based on what the brand means to each individual.

I was very young (14) when BMW won me over. My brother and I first visited the Merc showroom where the unfriendly salesman showed us the door. Straight over to BMW where a senior manager brought us brochures and discussed the cars with us at great lenths.

I’m sure most fans were won over by the designs and others by the technology. These are the things we like to talk about and are fanatical about.

Keep up the good work!

Although I don’t like John criticism style, I would agree with him to some level that credibility is crucial for this site to stay one of the best and most read non-official BMW sites.
I think it’s healthy that readers criticize info that don’t come from reliable sources and opinions that are biased and subjective, off course it should be said politely.

I also have to agree with John here that this rendering is simply a CS with 7 series nose and back.

I agree with you that BMW is trying to be in too many niches/markets at once. However, I meant don’t necessarily look at the 8 Series of the future as having to be a coupe. BMW’s naming system seems to change year to year. I wouldn’t think of the 8 as being too expensive. It will probably be in the $110k to $140k category. So you can choose between a balls-out M6 or a comfortable luxo-GT 860i or something like that.

That said, I think we can expect another V12 in an 8 Series – likely turbocharged.

I would have thought that the CS concept would have been implemented in 6 and 7 series revisions. This over-diversification really hurts the brand, IMHO.

I wouldn’t get too caught up in the naming of the vehicles. These days it seems to be popular to start “cashing in” on brand and model cache. The 8 sort of flopped when it was selling new but gained a substantial reputation in more recent years. I think BMW is cashing in on that by naming some large GT Sedan an 8 Series to fight the Panamera, Rapide, and CLS. Besides, this will be an expensive car and the 8 was one of the most expensive cars in BMW’s history.

If it is a sedan, it ends up in the strange positioning that the Audi A10 was in before it became the VW Phaeton. So… will this end up as the Volvo S100?

2. These photoshops are terrible. period. And no, you’re an idiot for not realizing that the VAST MAJORITY of the F01 7 Series design is directly sourced from the CS Concept so perhaps it’s a little difficult to tell the two apart, especially when you alter the nose and tail leaving only the middle – which is also primarily where the 7 and CS are similar.

3. Goodbye!

Good riddance!

Please, no more men with pms!

As far as the CS concept altered, please check this gallery and tell me if the cars really look the same http://www.bmwblog.com/2008/03/23/bmw-cs-concept-ultimate-photo-gallery/

By the way, the body of the car is the BMW CS concept unaltered with 7 series headlights photoshopped in. So how exactly is this not true to the CS? Are you an idiot? I guess the headlights are what defines the car and not the 99% rest of the car.

I told myself I would give this place a second chance this morning and I come online to see this. Well now you will be happy cause i’m gone forever and you guys can live in your little dreamworld of false news/rumors from non-BMW enthusiasts.

It’s just an F01 7er with the actual CS Concept’s nose. Seriously…what the hell?! At least give it a fastback look or two doors or something to make it look like a GT or a 4-door GT car…