Quote:
Originally Posted by bobloblaw
Quote:
Originally Posted by 530iDriver
E65 was the best selling 7 Series of all time.
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Yes it was, but I don't think it sold as many as BMW wanted to.
https://www.topspeed.com/cars/car-ne...-ar168860.html
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Despite being the most criticized BMW at launch, the E65 went on to become the best-selling 7 Series, with 343,073 units delivered from 2001 through 2008. However, sales were disappointing compared to the previous E38, which ended its life-cycle with only 2,830 examples less sold. Moreover, the 7 Series continued to be significantly less successful than the S-Class, the indisputable leader of the full-size market.
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For its price and segment, that 2,000+ vehicle difference is huge. At least to me, there is no way I'm looking at the E65 sales and say "it only sold 2,000 more than its predecessor."
At the end of the day, despite the design being highly controversial, I believe it was a first time (in some time?) that it sold more than the S-Class and reviews were more favourable towards the 7er. F01 onwards is when the S-Class took its commanding lead in all aspects.
We can all mock him for what he said but if you really think about it, he's not completely wrong. I'm not going to critique the actual design because that is highly subjective but everyone so far is acting like they never complained about the very thing he said. We all have said that BMW all looked alike and there needed more differentiation - all GXX BMWs are doing exactly that. I don't think you can hate a design and backtrack and say you wish BMW kept its traditional design. Regardless of what happens, people are going to hate it because it's not what they're used to. I'm sure each kidney grille design since the beginning had its fair share of haters/lovers.