There is a simple answer to that ... don't buy S or the JCW or whatever

People have to know gas is never going to get cheaper, in the long run it always goes up. This isn't 1955 anymore.

You pay your money and take your chances. If the environmenalists get what they wish for and high gas prices (well higher) ... as I said, it WILL hurt the average person ... but NOT the people in their Escalades.

 

OMG, a USB port! That's it, I'm trading my 06 for an 08 next year.

Seriously though. I would love to see the diesel make it here.

 

Yes! BMW has committed to bring 50 state legal Diesels in 2008, (most likely x5 and 5 series first) so why can't we get a MINI D? I guess time will tell, but my fingers and toes will remain firmly crossed. A MINI D might be the only car that could pry my beloved '05 S from my hands.

 

It's not all about SUVs. It's about driving less and changing our culture of excess. Something that is illustrated by almost all demographics in the US unfortunately. But that is another topic for another day.

 

Forget all these doo-dads and bring on the MINI D

 

Chows4us, here in my neck of the woods the owners of Escalades, Suburbans and Hummers are the ones crying at the pump each and every time they have to fill up their behemoths. The truly rich don't spend money on "social status trophies" (Read upscale SUVs). They drive Ford Tauruses and Honda Accords (Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon has/had an older Honda Accord). The Noveau Riche types and the ones with debt up to their eye ***** are the ones suffering with the $100 a week SUV fill ups. I think we tend to underestimate the rich. The rich got to where they are because they carefully planned their purchases and allocated for savings, investments and did not borrow plastic money at 18% interest. Read the book "The Millionaire Next Door" It is an eye opener into the world of the truly wealthy and how their lifestyles don't truly reflect the real financial power they have.

 

Your Mac example (or any IT example) is not valid in relation to cars. IT technology increases all the time. We just bought a Mac (which we LOVE!), intel 2 duo whatever, all the widgets, airport extreme, multiple shared drives, all "n" network ... but as an IT person ... I know full well its going to be obsolete in six months.

Besides, the average person who does email, websurfing, MS word simply does not need the latest and the greatest. Most PCs are NOT CPU boung but I/O bound (as it has been for many years).

Cars tend to be more evolutionary (well from some makers) than revolutionary. As Gabe mentions, BMW constantly makes changes. Good car companies do that.

Its like the story of the guy who wanted to buy a TV but heard 25" consoles were coming out so waited, but Color was coming out so waited, but 36" TVs were coming out so waited, But HDTV was coming out, etc. etc. etc ... so he's still watching his 19" B&W (well at least until Jan, 2009 in which case it wont' work over the air) and so never buys a TV

Life is just too short to not enjoy what you can now ... You just don't know what can happen tomorrow. And in cars, you know very well the next model will be faster ... you can never catch up

Off soap box

 

OttoManS your 05 has plenty of good years ahead of it why dont you just enjoy it and quit worrying about other peoples transportation issues.

 

Are you nuts? My '05 is a keeper. It is fully paid off and still has 2 more years in the warranty. It has 26K miles and the car for the most part has been very solid. I love it. Looks, feels and drives like new. In fact, if I decide to jump ship on either a '08 R56 or R55, I will still keep the R53 around. That car is a beauty and a classic. My Supercharger whine is too good to let go of. At present I am beginning to investigate long term storage options for the R53 when the time comes to retire it temporarily into my very own time capsule. I want my son to enjoy it as much as I have in 20+ years in the future.

 

Agree on that. I'm commenting mostly on the attitude of some who WANT to see higher gas prices hoping its going to hurt big SUV sales. This might be a regional thing but here, they simply do not care (at least from what I gather). Another couple of dollars is pocket change. But it WILL hurt the Average Joe.

I agree 100% that the truely rich act different. They drive their cars until the wheels fall off (well except Jay Leno).

And again, it might be a regional thing but around here, DC area, these type of cars are all over the place. The owners are not the truly rich or superrich, just people living down the block or the town over. Its a matter of perspective of what might be important to them and paying another $50 for a tank of gas is ... pocket change. So, it might be a matter of perspective. "Maybe" they charge their gas, dunno. But I have specifically asked Ford excursion owners ... when are you going to stop driving that thing and get an economy car and the answer is consistently ... not going to happen. They simply do not care.

 

Sure it isn't. The IT world moves at a much faster pace than the car world, but the point I am trying to make is that I wish I had waited for the second series Mac with the Core 2 Duo chips. A co-worker bought a Core 2 Duo Mac and the thing just flies. If you had to spend some time with my Core Duo MacBook you will probably agree. Very good machine but the heating problem is an issue. I do a lot of work stuff in my machine that does not just involve just 'net surfing and emailing. Apple typically upgrade their machines every 6 months.

 

BTW the title on this post is misleading = there's no more power in the '08 than there was in the '07.

 

I disagree. The majority of people I know have expensive gas-guzzlers, and all are looking into more economical options.

 

I'm not too wild about the car shutting off every time you stop and disengage the clutch and put it in neutral. I hope you can shut that feature off. I tend to agree with those who see most of this (not all of it) as more marketing/sales oriented than performance/customer oriented. Yeah, the USB gimmick, but you pay for it. They should have more leather choices and a mondo brake option. Heck, the thing already gets me 31 mpg in town as it is.

 

I never look at the computer the other guy has and wish I had waited. I look at what I bought to do a task and if it still does it and I am happy with that. I recently built my Wife a computer which is twice as fast as mine. But I did not need it. Mine does the task just fine.

I used the same approach with the Mini. For the most part, I could care less what is coming down the road. I am happy to be motoring down that road instead of standing on the side just watching everyone else have fun. My Mini, 'Romi', is a fantastic car. She puts a smile on my face every time I get behind the wheel.

Why wait for that kind of fun? That is how I approach it.

 

According to the press release, you can by the push of a button. I suspect that this button goes in the phantom missing button slot that we've all been so curious about on the R56. It also says you can disable the shift indicator.

 

When MINI came in 2002 I wanted one. Reported quality issues held me back. Re-visited the car after the 2005 facelift and couldn't be happier. It cuts both ways. Whether you want to be happy now or later is your own personal choice. The bottom line is that you'll be happy regardless.

 

Me, too!!!

 

I, for one, am not interested in all the extra gadgetry listed in the article.

Anyone want to loan me some money so I can afford an '07 before August?

 

Green jacket, gold jacket, who gives a #%&. I was very, very interested in the news of 08's, not about a debate on SUV/Gas. Hasn't NAM already covered that a couple billion times in other threads?

And quit trying to lump everyone into categories. Categories are great, but not when it comes to backing up your whine. In my family alone, there are those who truely care about petro going up in price, and those who don't give a crap and drive their 10-14 mpg rigs daily.

 

I'm sorry but I must disagree. It might be that way in your "neck of the woods" but certainly not in most places, IMHO. It's definitely not that way here in South Florida

Also...I think the definition of "rich" is a very subjective one. The very rich might not drive SUV's, but very high end sports cars which consume way more gas.

On the upgrades to the R56 - I think it's great that they're making changes. However, I wouldn't wait and wait for changes because then I'd never buy. Others have mentioned laptops and there is no better example. I bought one in 04, and a second one just last year for less money and much better technology than the one in 04; however, that doesn't mean I would've rather not bought the first laptop b/c I was going to wait. You can spend your whole life waiting b/c there will always be something better coming out in the future. Just my $.02

 

Though some may say otherwise.....my wife is an instaclassic, never to be bettered in my lifetime!

Anywhoo - Whether or not all these changes occur in the 08 or not, is it fairly for certain that the 08 model year will be available by August 07? No matter what, if I ordered one now, it'd be the last of the 07s and thus lose some in the residual department.

 

These are all very gimmicky add ons, and actually sound like they might create more trouble than they're worth. If I'm not mistaken, they are all items that recently debuted on the 1 series after the recent refresh in Europe.

I'll comment on each one:

1) This regenerative braking, shutting down generator under acceleration?? WTF does this mean/do? What, does it turn off the lights, fan, A/C when I'm accelerating so that it doesn't drag on the power? Honestly, what is the point of this?

2) Auto Shut Off. No damn thanks. Wow, you'll save my 0.6L/hour I likely burn if I sat at idle. I'd rather just burn that gas than have some system that starts and stops the car when I sit at a light. Or I go drop somebody off, stop, take foot off clutch, the door opens or the seatbelt is unbuckled, and now I have to restart the car instead of just putting it in gear. Thank god this could be disabled.

3) Gear Indicator, for christ's sake??!! What is this, 1987 again? My father's VW Jetta (1984) had this, my 1997 Mazda 626 had this, a friend's 1992 Rodeo had this. ALL OF THEM WERE A COMPLETE PITA!! Telling me to shift with some stupid light on the dash always lighting up. Then you upshift and you got no power. It is such a POS. Again, thank god you can turn it off.

I didn't read all the other interior/trim changes, but these are the big ones, and each of them is completely worthless in my mind. This is still the same engine, etc, the difference in power/acceleration is probably un-noticable. At MOST I could see this saving 1mpg. In a 30mpg car this is 3%. Wow. I am so impressed. You saved me a couple pennies a gallon when I fill up. No offense, but if gas was that big of a problem for me to pay, then I shouldn't be buying a brand new MINI. If that much gas savings is worth it, then you should be driving something used, or something new but a whole lot cheaper.

Anyway, these big ticket items are worth exactly $0 to me. But they cost money to add to the car. I suspect we'll see a price increase, offsetting any sort of silly little fuel savings you might actually get.

If you want an 07 and don't want to wait till Aug or Sept to put in your order, it isn't worth waiting....

 

On Motoringfile you said you were from Germany,I did'nt know they were driving Escalades,Suburbans and Hummers there?

 

The r56 was being produced several months before the US got them. Just ask the English. Why would the 08 model be any different?