I struggle to understand cars like this in 2020

[pdk42]

BMW X7, Dark Shadow Special Edition...

- £115k
- 4.4l V8
- Less than 20mpg in the real world

It's a monster behemoth with appalling environmental impact. Is there a climate emergency at all?

BMW announces exclusive X7 Dark Shadow Edition

 

[Durzel]

What I find strange is that cars like this come from companies who are hawking their green credentials with other cars? BMW has the i3, i8 and others coming soon.

Stuff like this just cements for me that for these companies EVs are about ticking a box, having an offering that "caters to that crowd" rather than a fundamental belief in the tech or the overarching goals behind it.

I'm not a militant environmentalist but I don't think you can be half in, half out with this stuff any more than you can legitimately be a "weekday vegan".

 

[Jason71]

Its called capitalism. If they think people will buy it and they can get away with it. They will build it.
It is odd though the Germans are usually so good on vehicle emissions.........

 

[Chanser]

You should see the Aston Martin DBX.

 

[LongRanger]

Their marketing team has allowed them a few models like this that still allow them to come in under on the overall “fleet emissions” of their model range.

It’s why Porsche stuck the Audi V6 Diesel engine into the Panamera etc. A nasty affair but it’s what their bean-counters demanded.

Quite why BMW couldn’t do a “hot hybrid” version with that much floor pan to play with, put the turbo 6-pot petrol in and add some battery + mental electric oomph, seems a bit of a mystery - opportunity wasted ?

BMW are in a bit of trouble at the moment, as are Mercedes. Massive union rights issues, huge political in-fighting with the German states etc and only a token response to loads of core sales leaking away to other options, the Model 3 being a real pain in the ass for them right now. The i4 helps BMW a little bit but certainly the X7 Dark Lord edition doesn’t fix that (or help in any way really) and OP I agree it looks a bit like 2-fingers to their supposed green credentials message.

Nice car to do a 1000-mile stint in though ..... if someone is paying for fuel.

 

[Mr Miserable]

Its called capitalism. If they think people will buy it and they can get away with it. They will build it.
It is odd though the Germans are usually so good on vehicle emissions.........

Yes I read somewhere that VW are claiming zero emissions for their ID3. Can we believe them this time? I remain to be convinced...

 

[Generator]

Fuelling the ego’s and emptying the wallets of the misguided, the easily led, the insecure and the terminally vain.

Sadly, these w*nker tanks are the current lifeline of the automotive industry. Aston Martin for instance, who I think we can all agree deserve a place the future of the car, is now utterly reliant on the last roll of the dice that the DBX represents. Without it and the idiots that will buy it, Aston will wither and die. That would be a great shame.

In 10 or 15 years these hideous idols of excess and vanity will be seen for what they are. The BMW X Badge will be a byword for all that is crass, self indulgent and cringe inducing in human behaviour. In fact I’d argue that it already is. A low slung long bonneted sports car used to be the ultimate indicator of genital inadequacy, but for now the BMW X6 is as sure an indicator of being hung like a Chinese mouse as you’ll find anywhere in the automotive sector.

 

[Medved_77]

Fuelling the ego’s and emptying the wallets of the misguided, the easily led, the insecure and the terminally vain.

Anyone know if pre-orders are open in the UK yet?

 

[Generator]

Anyone know if pre-orders are open in the UK yet?

Well, they’ve taken my deposit...

 

[stonecoldrmw]

I look forward to spanking one of these off the line.

 

[Sparkeur]

4.7 seconds 0-60. Ah...brings back the good old days when I used to drive sluggish cars like that...

 

[TSLA Pilot]

What I find strange is that cars like this come from companies who are hawking their green credentials with other cars? BMW has the i3, i8 and others coming soon.

Stuff like this just cements for me that for these companies EVs are about ticking a box, having an offering that "caters to that crowd" rather than a fundamental belief in the tech or the overarching goals behind it.

I'm not a militant environmentalist but I don't think you can be half in, half out with this stuff any more than you can legitimately be a "weekday vegan".

With all due respect, I would encourage you to become a "militant environmentalist" given the consequences of the status quo, and the fact that BMW is an example of what happens when you (or a company) are a member of "The Great Moderates of our Time."

News | Huge Cavity in Antarctic Glacier Signals Rapid Decay

Key point:

About the size of Florida, Thwaites Glacier is currently responsible for approximately 4 percent of global sea level rise. It holds enough ice to raise the world ocean a little over 2 feet (65 centimeters) and backstops neighboring glaciers that would raise sea levels an additional 8 feet (2.4 meters) if all the ice were lost.

The implications of this event will be massive, and are still hard to comprehend.

And:

A warming Arctic could cost the world trillions of dollars

 

[Rustybkts]

Part of the description of the interior mentions "piano black". Is that the same piano black that everyone is covering up in the M3?

 

[LongRanger]

The only thing I would say about these largest German beasts is the feeling of utter imperiousness at 150mph on smooth autobahn is second to none.

The SQ5 for example, whilst not quite the size of the X7 was as complete a feeling of being in charge as I can recall in a car. Ridiculous.

Not a justification for killing the planet - but if that’s what you want then these big old units really deliver.

 

[j1mgg]

Not everyone actually cares about the environment, or they see it as an essential item.

 

[JohnSnowNW]

Not everyone actually cares about the environment, or they see it as an essential item.

Which is odd, honestly.

It's like not caring what's in the water you drink. The water in my Glasgow flat may have tasted like it was pumped directly from the River Kelvin...but luckily there are standards for drinking water.

 

[Neilio]

You should see the Aston Martin DBX.

Not if you value your eyes you shouldn't!

It's a beast of a car that BMW. I love a big V8. That being said it's also as hideous as the Aston as are almost all SUVs.

I'd go for a Mercedes G class if I was in the market for such a thing. Like all big SUVs that aren't the Bentley Bentayga, it's ugly. In a deliberately, military ugly way though and not accidental ugly like the rest of them

 

[j1mgg]

Not if you value your eyes you shouldn't!

It's a beast of a car that BMW. I love a big V8. That being said it's also as hideous as the Aston as are almost all SUVs.

I'd go for a Mercedes G class if I was in the market for such a thing. Like all big SUVs that aren't the Bentley Bentayga, it's ugly. In a deliberately, military ugly way though and not accidental ugly like the rest of them

If I win the lottery, AMG G63 would be my first buy, just loved it since I was a kid, although it is starting to lose its squarish appeal at the front.

 

[BK11SBY]

Imagine how stupid you'd have to be to buy this car. The depreciation will be horrific, let alone the running cost. It wouldn't matter how rich you were, you'd be very dim to consider this purchase, and throw money down the drain along with the planet. Makes me sick to think of the effort that car makers put in to designing/building these hideous machines in 2020. History will not look back favourably on them.

 

[adsheff]

It just goes to show how these big corporations (or more specifically, the people in charge of them) do not give one iota about anything other than their personal wealth. They have no moral compass, the only thing that drives them is greed. They are, without doubt, bad people. The only thing that will control these awful people is the law. A company like Tesla, who's very existence is to promote sustainable technology, are few and far between and usually much smaller and less successful.