2009 7-series will be first BMW hybrid

rybo submitted on 02/22/2008 Official AutoSpies Timestamp: 10:01 AM
from: www.motorauthority.com

[46] user comments | category: Misc News

Tags: BMW

BMW

BMW is about to debut a new diesel-hybrid version of the X5 SUV at next month’s Geneva Motor Show and previously it unveiled a hybrid version of its new X6 crossover, but both of these vehicles are strictly concept vehicles. The first BMW vehicle with a hybrid powertrain to on sale will actually be the next-generation 7-series limo, which is due to be revealed in the second half of this year.

The hybrid variant of the car, featuring BMW’s new ‘mild hybrid’ system, won’t arrive for another “two to three years,” a company spokesman confirmed to Germany’s DPA. The powertrain will feature a petrol powered engine mated to a compact generator-motor mounted directly onto the gearbox. This electric motor will be powered by an array of lithium-ion batteries in the boot, which can be topped using conventional Brake Energy Regeneration technology. Read Article

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0to60 - 2/22/2008 10:18:43 AM

-10 Boost

Just like lexus. LOL to the german fanboys

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Hwany - 2/22/2008 10:29:24 AM

+13 Boost

If there were no German brands, there would be no Lexus today.

If there were no Lexus, I don't think German brands would have pushed their technology to the next level.

07G35J - 2/22/2008 10:54:56 AM

+6 Boost

Couldn't have said it better, Hwany

TurboSpyder - 2/22/2008 10:58:22 AMView My AgentSpace

-1 Boost

"Luxus" is the German word for luxury. Coincidence?

0to60 - 2/22/2008 11:01:17 AM

-7 Boost

Hating bitches.

0to60 - 2/22/2008 12:37:43 PM

+1 Boost

if Lexus were doing something BMW has, they would be copying. You all are a bunch of hypocrites

TurboSpyder - 2/22/2008 6:24:52 PMView My AgentSpace

+2 Boost

"Is that how the Germans spell that word?"

Yes, the English word "luxury" translates directly to the German word "Luxus". For example, Google translates "luxury sedan" to "Luxus-Limousine".

AROD550I - 2/23/2008 11:31:01 AM

+1 Boost

Why has lexus done hydrogen to? lol.

BMW4me4ever - 2/22/2008 11:09:50 AMView My AgentSpace

+10 Boost

actually it is not like lexus. Diesel variants with a new brake regeneration hybrid battery. Lengthens lifetime, doesnt require as much space and gets about double the gas mileage of the Lexus hybrid. Oh yeah, they are similar.

Competition of all models and new technology as the world progresses is the reason for creating new ideas. Lexus didnt start it or is the reason for it, not BMW, not mercedes, not Audi but by all manufacturers who strive to create new technologies to meet enviromental demands.

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1970toyotamarc - 2/22/2008 11:15:43 AM

-10 Boost

rationalize it all you want BMW fanboys, but BMW is going hybrid. And of all the Lexus hybrids to emulate, the top end? the one that gets the most flak? By the time the 7 series "mild" hybrid actually arrives, the LS600hL will have gen4 HSD and the German brands will be back to playing catch up.

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TurboSpyder - 2/22/2008 11:44:48 AMView My AgentSpace

+6 Boost

All the Lexus LS600h reviews have been pretty bad.

JRobUSC - 2/22/2008 11:47:04 AM

+7 Boost

I hope you're right, really, because the CURRENT Lexus flagship hybrid sure doesn't have anyone trying to play "catch up" with it. The only games I've seen people playing with it are:

a) the "what's the point" game,
b) the "great marketing, but does nothing the marketing promised" game,
c) the "not as good as the non-hybrid version of the same car" game, and
d) the "pointless compared to a good diesel" game.

So again, I hope you're right and Lexus learns from their mistake the next time around.

S4cabriofoxone - 2/22/2008 11:53:43 AMView My AgentSpace

+4 Boost

1970, watch this car not only outrun the LS600hL but get significantly better mileage.

ICON - 2/22/2008 12:41:36 PM

+4 Boost

I don't care if Lexus (LS)fills the damn thing with chipmunks on a wheel - it is still going to be a Luxo-barge that is competent,focused on older demographics, and more concerned with being a great appliance than a drivers car.

It looks too much like the rest of the Toyota/Lexus lineup(ES/LS are way to close in appearance) and already is not aging well.

By the time the new 7er,A8 come out the LS will be back being compared with the Buick/Cadillac group whose demographics are going younger while their autos are getting better and better.

Lexus has to come to the table with more than what they have to be a truely "world-class" luxury maker.
IMO

enthusiastx11 - 2/22/2008 12:44:58 PM

+2 Boost

toyota:

at the moment, the LS600 is nothing to catch up with. boring driving dynamics, 20mpg, and styling that fades into the wordwork when parked next to an S-class.

1970toyotamarc - 2/22/2008 4:57:00 PM

-4 Boost

I know this car is amazing, it's going to blow the Lexus out of the water, with superior mpg, performance , emissions. How many years away from production is it?

Gimme a break, it seems like we've been getting these stories all week about these Euro concepts. Until one actually arrives, I'm taking each article with a grain of salt. You all can keep salivating at the porpsects of these vehicles some day showing up. Yet keep on dissing the Toyotas and Lexuses that are already here. No matter, hundreds of thousands (over a million by now?) of early adopters are enjoying their rides while you sit and wait for yours.

No one knows what the Toyota upcoming concepts are like, what the new engines have in store, because Toyota doesnt tip its hat ahead of time. They dont have to. Their current products have set the bar so high, that all these other brands are scampering to put out concepts with inflated numbers, none of which have been validated in the real world. If you have issue with the LS600hL, fine, but to compare it to a car that doesnt exist, well who can argue with fiction?

flychronic - 2/22/2008 6:44:26 PM

-1 Boost

1970, Well said. No matter what anyone says about Hybrids, Lexus has them on the market TODAY. Not BMW, MB, or Audi...Lexus.

enthusiastx11 - 2/22/2008 8:57:05 PM

+4 Boost

toyota:

no need to wait! the S-class blew every version of the LS out of the water. and the 5 year old 7-series is holding it's own quite nicely against the LS. not to mention, both cars have far superior driving dynamics and are better looking. ; )

TurboSpyder - 2/22/2008 6:39:35 PMView My AgentSpace

+3 Boost

"How come the Germans use english letters on their vehicles even in their home land?"

Lol! That's the first time I've ever heard that German and English use different "letters". Everyone knows that it's French and English that use different alphabets. ;) There are a lot of English language phrases used in Germany but they confuse most people and their use in diminishing .

---

Impossible Is Nothing, Except Understanding Ads in English

After years peddling anglicisms, German advertisers have rediscovered their own language. If the advertising industry is a barometer of the zeitgeist, what does this say about the state of the nation?

From Vodafone's "Make the Most of Now" to Siemens' "Be Inspired," the lingua franca of cutting-edge advertising has long been English, and Germany is no exception. But for a variety of reasons, companies across the board have recently been switching back to German, reflecting both a burgeoning cultural self-confidence and a growing desire to slam the brakes on the rapid spread of "Denglish," as anglicized German has been dubbed.

Examples include retailer C&A, which replaced "Fashion For Living" with "Preise Gut, Alles Gut" (The Price Is Right, Everything Is Right) and McDonalds, whose advertising campaign morphed from "Every Time a Good Time" into "Ich Liebe Es" (I'm Lovin' It).
One reason for this shift is purely practical. While even native speakers struggle with the double negatives of Adidas' promise that "Impossible is Nothing," a study commissioned last year by advertising agency Endmark revealed that Germans respond to most English-language claims with sheer bewilderment.

Faced with a dozen Anglicisms, only one-third of those questioned in the survey actually knew what the slogans meant. Few grasped the point of "Come In and Find Out," the ubiquitous promotion for the Douglas cosmetics chain. Most consumers, it emerged, thought they were being invited to enter a store and then find the nearest exit…

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,2914472,00.html

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bobus - 2/22/2008 10:56:24 PM

+2 Boost

It's because they both lost the war, sorry, couldn't resist =)

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EL34 - 2/22/2008 12:33:06 PM

+4 Boost

English is the #1 language around the world.

It's not Spanish like the Mexicans think it is ;-)

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Rupert - 2/22/2008 12:37:54 PMView My AgentSpace

+9 Boost

What do you mean "English letters"?
German, English, and all the Romance languages use the Latin alphabet...the letters are all the same. The letters stand for something, in German ie SL - Sport-Leicht.
Do you really think German uses another alphabet, like Cyrillic or something?
And there are a lot of Spanish signs in the US as 17% of the US population speaks Spanish at home.

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JRobUSC - 2/22/2008 12:48:55 PM

+3 Boost

I was stationed in Germany with the military and travelled all over Europe. I don't recall there being English signs guiding me around everywhere, you still had to know what you were looking for ("Bahnhof, Flughof, Nord, Sud, etc.). If there are English signs, I'd guess it has less to do with Americans than the fact that Great Britain speaks English and is also in Europe. Also the fact that in Europe there are so many different countries right around one another that all have different national languages and dialects that it would make sense to have some signs in a language pretty much everyone over there speaks.

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ICON - 2/22/2008 12:53:55 PM

+4 Boost

Wow...you really need to get out more. English is the Intl language of Business, traffic controllers,etc. If you have to choose a language to appeal to the most tourist possible that would be English, since it is the most popular second languages taught in schools around the world.

The Latin alphabet used by german mftrs always have german meanings.

Good luck with getting out a little more.

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enthusiastx11 - 2/22/2008 9:00:34 PM

+2 Boost

you're a genius!

what do you think germans use...the cyrillic alphabet? kanjii? katakana?

the romance and germanic (english is a germanic language) use the same alphabet.

it's the japanese that use a foreign alphabet for their cars...even in their own country!

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enthusiastx11 - 2/22/2008 12:42:23 PM

0 Boost

this car is ridiculously HOT.

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2ndbimmer - 2/22/2008 12:45:45 PM

+3 Boost

diesel-hybrid, lexus has no diesel

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LexusKindaGuy12 - 2/22/2008 2:00:08 PM

-2 Boost

IS220d

VISO - 2/22/2008 2:42:22 PM

+1 Boost

He meant not a serious diesel that can compete with Audi, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz.

Bmw8ter - 2/22/2008 8:38:33 PM

0 Boost

"He meant not a serious diesel that can compete with Audi, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz."

How exactly does the IS220d NOT compete with the likes of Audi, BMW, or Mercedes? There are tons of reviews out there that praise the IS220d for it's abilities. It's everything a Lexus is except, it's a diesel. Your comment is rubbish.

EL34 - 2/22/2008 1:30:14 PM

+1 Boost

The new 7-Series will crush Lexus like a coke can ;-\

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VISO - 2/25/2008 10:52:10 PM

+1 Boost

Really, so how many diesels does Lexus sell in Europe compared to Audi, BMW and MB. The serious diesels come from Europe not Japan.

bclemans - 2/22/2008 2:04:28 PM

+2 Boost

I recall BMW was developing hydrogen based cars in the last few years and even talked about hydrogen filling stations (vs. gas station) in Europe. I think I noticed BMW showing hydrogen cars at car shows as recent as 2007 or 2006. Did they completely ditch the development?

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Alec - 2/23/2008 1:24:02 PM

+1 Boost

... do you understand the point of hybrids? wait what am i saying, you drive a rx7. reasons for hybrids and green vehicles is to save money at the pump and be friendlier to the environment. something im sure you care less about with your turbo spooling carbon monoxide generator. so what if hybrids are slow, theyre never suppose to be fast (apart from lexus contradicting gs450h performance hybrid).

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huu76 - 2/23/2008 12:42:53 AM

0 Boost

Hypocrites aside.

turbospyder,
I guess LATIN is just a new-age made up language right?
luxuria : luxury, extravagance, opulence.

bclemans,
The BMW Hydrogen-7 was just a lame attempt to be the first to market with a functioning hydrogen car purely for bragging rights. It doesn't even use new technology.

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TurboSpyder - 2/23/2008 1:31:31 AMView My AgentSpace

+3 Boost

"I guess LATIN is just a new-age made up language right?
luxuria : luxury, extravagance, opulence."

So Toyota's luxury division is called Luxuria? And Mercedes had hydrogen powered test vehicles circling highspeed tracks in the 1970s.

Designer1 - 2/23/2008 1:34:50 AM

+1 Boost

I'm really not fan of hybrid cars that have more than 4 cylinders. But it would be interesting to see what MPG numbers the 7 series will have compared to the LS600h.

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huu76 - 2/23/2008 10:11:30 PM

+1 Boost

turbospyder,
Just pointing out the fact that the Germans didn't invent the word luxury like you'd have us believe.
There are numerous theories on how Lexus was derived. Try looking them up before claiming the Germans came up with it.

Wow, some guy in France invented a vehicle in 1807 that burned hydrogen (just a few years before MB and the Germans)
http://www.h2mobility.org/1_cardata/c214.htm

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huu76 - 2/23/2008 10:14:16 PM

+1 Boost

Here's the full link, I don't see MB anywhere near the beginning.
http://www.h2mobility.org/index.html?http://www.h2mobility.org/1_cardata/_timeline_past.html

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VISO - 2/25/2008 10:53:14 PM

+2 Boost

I think this is a great concept. Looking forward to the comparison of this BMW 7-Series Hybrid vs. the new A8l which will have the V12 TDI in it.

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