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>> BMW has reworked their big flag ship, the 750. Let's
take a run in the long wheel base version and let the
tech just wash over us.
^M00:00:09
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^M00:00:12
>> The navigation system and everything else is
controlled by the new iDrive, which we still are getting
on our knees and kissing the earth for, because it's so
much more logical, so much more human-friendly than that
load of crap that they had for years, the original
iDrive. You got a nice logical stacked menu. Imagine
that. Kind of like other electronic products in the
world. Here's an nav screen. That's a 3 D view right
there. You've also got the more traditional straight up
or direction of travel north view. All of this, by the
way, is handled by this controller here, the new iDrive
center, which is more than just a jog, click, and push
nob, you've got lots of dedicated buttons, which BMW
didn't do much before. And that nav is standard on this
car, at a car this level you expect it would be -- as is
live traffic, which is not tied to having to have
satellite radio. We have the premium sound system here.
Everything just gets better. 600 Watts. 9 channels of
amplification, 16 speakers, 2 sub woofers, still. Which
brings us to our other option, which is the new rear
seat entertainment system on the 7. We have that here.
Dual 8-inch displays on the backs of the seats, not on
the head rest, but actually on the back right there,
really -- really done factory style. Couple of
interesting options, small ones at that. Something
called smart phone integration will do a more elaborate
job of connecting your smart phone cradle based here in
the center console, or go for the iPhone cradle for,
like, a paltry 175. You'll end up with a place you can
actually doc your iPhone, it will get you charging, and
streaming music off your iPhone. Also note in the
console here this is our iPod adapter because it's USB
and aux jack combined. That's how BMW does it. But
notice this, that's not the USB drive you use to
transfer music from your USB thumb drive into the 12 gig
hard drive. That is inexplicably located way the hell
over there, where you can't possibly get to it without
booking a flight. Oh, by the way, this iDrive control
center, and I believe these button ease all along here,
we have what's called the ceramic controls package.
Yeah, I laughed too. Apparently those are ceramic
finish buttons. Really? Right by that is your all
electronic shifter. You're not moving any greasy
linkages when you pull this thing around. Reverse,
neutral, drive are all in a line. And when you come
over here on the left side you've got your shiftable
gauge, your manual, slash, sport mode where you can go
forward into down shift, back for an up shift. Here's a
crowd pleaser. Little half moon over the road. Hit
that, and it turns the screen into a night vision camera
with infrared. Now this car has got a camera package
that I think is the only one of its kind in the
industry. The camera package includes your usually back
up camera like you see here. Then you've got this one
up here. The real crowd pleaser for the camera package
is the front cameras. Up in the very front end of the
fender, slash, bumper, where they meet at the corner,
you've got side firing cameras. We haven't seen
anything like this since a Rolls Royce we drove a couple
of years ago. Our car also has the ala cart head up
display, which is one of the brightest in the business,
I think. And you'll get things like navigation
instructions, your speed, vehicle status messages can
show up there as well. Now up here in the engine bay
we're reminded that BMW's model names used to tell you
what the displacement of the car was. But not any more.
This 750 does not have a 5 liter, it's got a 4 liter.
Because a couple of years ago BMW announced as part of
their efficiency vision they're not going to make bigger
and bigger engines to get more power. They're going to
use technology to ring motor out of smaller
displacements. So here's a 4 liter V8, but with twin
turbos to get bigger displacement power out of a smaller
breather. 400 horse power, 450 foot pounds of torque.
Nice numbers. 1422 are your EPA estimates, and that
also avoids the gas guzzler tax. All the while, moving
this big boy from 0 to 60 in about five seconds and just
a little bit more. Pretty good. On the road I smell a
rat. Somewhere between the turbos and the trany.
Initial tip in to the throttle is rewarded with a vague
sort of, hang on, I need to get back in gear again
feeling. Not nice. You just can't get any super-sharp
really edgy go the minute you dip into the gas. There's
always some thinking and hesitation. Beyond that, the
BMW feeling is there, making this car feel a lot smaller
than it is, certainly in turning and cornering dynamics.
And to be sure, once the power does spool up, it comes
on like mad. Yeah, that's a twin turbo V8 for you. Our
car is a stretch, as I mentioned. And the extra leg
room in cars of this class is truly transformative. And
I must say, BMW did a really good job of hiding the
extra six inches or so from the outside. You really
don't notice it in the lines. But you do notice it in
the back seat. A 750 LI starts at 85 grand, with nav,
iDrive, hard drive audio system and four-zone climate
control, but then start piling it on. Head up display,
1300, adaptive cruise control, 2400, rear seat
entertainment, 2200, and night vision, 2600. The
ceramic finish on the console trim is a snake-oilish
650, add 2000 for premium sound with iPod and USB, 750
more for cameras, the one in the back and the two in the
front. Not a cheap date done up CNET style. But if you
go that way, it's one of the most tech, luscious cars on
the road today. ^M00:05:37
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