BMW Recalling 7-Series for Rollaway Threat and for Doors that May Open by Themselves

Bad news for several thousand owners of BMW's previous flagship model, the E65 and E66 7-Series sedan, which is the one featuring the pronounced boot(ie) that came to be known sarcastically as the "Bangle Butt."

The Bavarian carmaker filed two separate recalls on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) website, the first concerning a transmission flaw that could cause the car to roll away, and the other, because of a faulty software concerning the door latches.

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Stormbringer: BMW Celebrates 25 Years of 12-Cylinder Engines [49 Photos]

Just like Deep Purple sang in Soldier of Fortune, I feel I’m growing older. Not only because of the receding hairline (or what’s left of it, anyway), the back-aches or my firstborn being less than a year away from high school, but also because BMW has just informed us that its creamy V12 has being powering the top versions of the 7-Series flagship saloon for no less than a quarter of a century.

Some of you may point out that other engines, like Porsche’s flat-six, have been around for much longer, while others may wonder what the big fuss is all about. Hopefully, not too many of you reading this article prefer Justin Bieber to Ritchie Blackmore and David Coverdale.

No matter; on February 1987, seven years before the inexplicably successful young singer was born, BMW released the technical specifications of its then brand-new V12 engine that would power the range-topping 750i and make its debut a month later at the Geneva Motor Show.

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Audi S8 vs. BMW Alpina B7: Which One is the King of the Road?

For decades now, German carmakers have dominated the premium segments from top to bottom with only a few notable exceptions questioning their 'authorita' along the way.

Two of the most successful luxury brands from the land of engineering excellence are BMW and Audi, both of which offer a high performance version of their flagship limousines.

Audi chose to go alone to create the S8 sports sedan, which it equipped with the most potent version of its new 4.0-liter TFSI V8 pushing out 513hp (520PS) and 479 lb-ft (648Nm) of peak torque towards all four wheels via an 8-speed automatic transmission and a permanent all-wheel drive system.

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A Flashback to BMW's Short Film Series "The Hire", Which One is Your Favorite?

In 2001, BMW launched a hugely successful campaign called "The Hire", which was a series of eight short films, each roughly eight to ten minutes long.

The movies were directed by established filmmakers like Ang Lee and the late John Frankenheimer, with actor Clive Owen taking on the role of the "Driver" who was hired by a different person in each movie to transport important people in a number of BMW cars.

While over a decade old now, BMW's film series remains wonderfully entertaining to this day.

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