The downside of progress?

[Scania]

Just a thought that crossed my mind after a comment yesterday by my Brother in law on his new E60 520d M-Sport BMW.

Whilst trying to research the "Efficient Dynamics" economy features of the car (which I can't find any mention of in the handbook) he said that he was'nt that bothered to read up on it or anything else for that matter as he "Simply sets everything to Auto and forgets about it"

Meaning that the lights come on & turn off automatically, as does the aircon, the reverse sensors, wipers etc etc.

Whilst this is all well & good, it underlines my view that technology (especially Sat-Navs but, thats another thread!) is removing a lot of the basics from driving.

He need not look at a map as the car tells him where to go, nor bother about ambient conditions as ,again, the car takes this away from him.

If he so chooses, he can reverse the car and not bother to look around him or use his mirrors as that "great" i-Drive will tell him (supposedly) when he's about to run over that child......

Sure, we can't stop progress, but I feel that progress is slowly eating away at a lot of basics of driving, people are un-surprisingly more inclined to simply operate the vehicle these days rather than actually drive it if you see what I mean.

Thank god he at least got a manual so he has at least gearchanges to concentrate on!

Thoughts?

Very impressed with the e60 520d btw, I was not expecting it to feel as lively as it did, the M-Sport package seems to really sharpen it up , its handling was very very good.

Certainly, imo, as well built as an e39 if not better (awaits Fox's opinion!) unlike an e39 however, you'd struggle to jump in it & drive off without a good browse through that phone book like handbook!

A few pics of it - typical brand new company car - its filthy!

 

[Scania]

And if only your comment about the build quality as true

Don't forget that I have regular access to an e39 Fox, If I thought the build was poor, why would I not say so?

Blatant look at my brother in laws BMW post.

J/K

I took the pics with this place in mind - his comment gave me the reason to post them!

 

[Scania]

Becuase you value winding me up far too much

A sincere point. - Not in this case, honest!

The E60 build quality is not as good as that in the E39, and many say the build in the E39 was even a shade lower than that of the E34. It's a trend across the whole BMW range - quality is marginally lower in the current models than it was in the previous generation. It's annoying, because it makes potential upgrades more difficult - I had a 530d Sport for a day and loved the car and although it was well built it's just a shame the quality level is not on a par. Dissapointing, infact, as there is no real reason for it.

Accountants spoiling the Brew as they nearly did with Mercedes imo.

Well, I guess we'll have to agree to disagree - My Dad thinks his e39 is a vastly better car than his old e34 530i (s) ever were.

Anyway, how long before cars drive themselves? - Drivers are indanger of ending up on the options list!

 

[Scania]

I've no E34 experience so can't really comment on how true those claims were, but obviously you know my E39 v E60 experiences

But this by no means makes the quality poor, infact it's still excellent and compared with anyone else on the market with the possible exception of Audi they are considerably better. It's only those who've come from the previous models that would notice.

Compared to the sort of junk VW, Seat, Vauxhall etc like to palm off on the public an E60 is fashioned from the strongest granite in the world.

Aye, and to be fair, my Dads e39 is getting on a bit now....

Strangely enough, the same issue arises with trucks, Modern Scanias whilst still exceptionally well built do not have the built from Granite feel that earlier ones do.

As I say, accountants penny pinching.....

 

[Scania]

What if we had an EMP blast?

This "Credit Crunch" would seem mild by comparison! - Pray that we don't. (Seen the price of CAR ECU's recently! ? )

 

[Scania]

Looks nice..... is that Deep Sea Blue or Le Mans Blue?

We were meant to pick up our new E61 M-Sport today, but the paperwork hasn't been sorted out


Re the Efficient Dynamics, AFAIK the turning engine off at lights bit is selectable in the iDrive settings somewhere. And although you say he's got a manual, a bit in the dashboard will tell you what gear to be in.

Not sure, I though it was Black at first!

I've not experienced the i-drive, but, by sister was moaning about the way it kept "cutting out in Traffic".......

According to the manual, it should tell you what gear is best for economy, his does not and I could not get it to!

Tbh, I only spent about an hour in the car and I was driving it for most of that time.

Edit - We think its Deep Sea Blue......