ONCE AGAIN, BMW'S PREMIER PERFORMANCE-LUXURY AUTOMOBILES MOVE AHEAD OF THE COMPETITION WITH ADVANCED NEW SAFETY FEATURES At BMW, a "large luxury car" is so much more than just a large luxury car. The BMW concept, as expressed by the ever-impressive 7 Series, is a large, spacious and luxurious 4-door sedan that is also true to the BMW tradition of a "driver's car": offering the space, comfort and quality of a top-class luxury automobile, but also abundant and active driving pleasure for the fortunate person at its wheel. Following BMW's policy of continuous product refinement, the present, award-winning 7 Series generation (first introduced in 1995) has been meaningfully updated and refined in each succeeding model year. The 1998 models, going on sale in mid-1997, again take significant steps forward in safety features while offering detail refinements of luxury features as well. Once again, three 7 Series models are offered: the "regular-wheelbase" 740i with 4.4-liter V-8 engine; the long-wheelbase 740iL with the same engine and upgraded luxury equipment; and the flagship 750iL featuring the long wheelbase, a 5.4-liter V-12 engine, and an unsurpassed complement of luxury and technological features. INFLATABLE PROTECTION - Buy The 7 Series Here BMW pioneered the introduction of side-impact airbags in Large luxury sedans with the 1996 7 Series. With the 1998 models, the Bavarian auto maker adds two further elements to its side-impact protection system: for the driver and front passenger, the revolutionary Head Protection System; for rear passengers, optionally available side-impact airbags in the rear doors. An automobile has virtually no crumple zone at its sides, so providing inflatable protection in side impacts presents quite different challenges from those in front impacts. Front-impact airbags, for example, are designed primarily to - spread the restraint forces evenly on the occupant's body, allow no "hard contact" with the body, deflate quickly after impact, so that the occupant can breathe and, if possible, exit the vehicle. By contrast, an inflatable side restraint must come into contact absolutely as soon as possible with the occupant, which calls for faster deployment, The side device must then "push" on the occupant in what engineers call "hard contact" as the vehicle is impacted and deformed from the side. It is practical for the inflatable side restraint to stay inflated longer, and indeed BMW's side airbags are designed to do so. The side-impact airbags in the front doors of 7 Series models since 1996 provide welcome protection in the area of an occupant's upper torso shoulder and arm. Now, with the addition of the Head Protection System, BMW provides comparable protection for occupants' heads in side impacts. The central element of the Head Protection System is a hollow, flexible tube about 5 feet long and 1.5 inches in diameter, known as the Inflatable Tubular Structure or ITS for short. At its forward end, this tube is anchored inside the car's "A-pillar" (windshield pillar), near the bottom. At its other end, it is anchored in the roof just above the rear door. Its inflator unit, similar to that which fills a front airbag with an inert gas but much more compact, is below the instrument panel. The entire system is concealed by cladding and upholstery above the doors and within the A-pillar. The tube has two elements: a relatively airtight inner tube of silicone material to manage the inflation, and a woven Polyamid outer tube to control its shape. Upon side impact, the inflator is triggered electronically, filling the inner tube with the inert gas. As the inner tube inflates, the woven tube, with inflation forcing its diameter to increase, shortens in length. No longer fitting inside the area where it is stored, the assembly pops out to form a straight tube 5.1 in. in diameter and stretched in a straight line from the lower windshield pillar to the roof. Now the inflated tube is in just the area where an occupant's head could contact the side of the car - windshield pillar, window, center pillar (B-pillar). Because of the sloping position of the inflated ITS, it protects persons of small or large stature equally. And because of its own structural stability once inflated (the term Inflatable Tubular Structure is no coincidence), ITS can retain much of its effectiveness even if the window is broken or popped out by the impact. It is fairly obvious that a severe side impact, with little crush space to absorb its energy, is potentially much more lethal than an equivalent front impact. In BMW tests, a simulated side-on collision against a tree with head contact resulted in a head-acceleration factor of 2500, which generally would mean fatal head injury. In the same test of an ITS-equipped vehicle, this was dramatically reduced to an uncritical 330 points. To date, no other car in the world offers a head protection system. Thus the BMW 7 Series, with the Head Protection System plus standard front side impact airbags plus an effective interlocking door anchoring system (which structurally links the doors with the body sides in a side impact), offers an unmatched level of side-impact protection for front-seat occupants. REAR SIDE-IMPACT AIRBAGS - Buy The 7 Series Here A further safety refinement for the 1998 BMW 7 Series is the optional availability of side-impact airbags in the rear doors. Positioned and functioning similarly to those in the front doors, these airbags add protection in the area of each outboard rear passenger's upper torso, shoulder and arm. Equipped with rear side airbags, the 7 Series offers a higher level of equipment for all around occupant protection in side impacts than any other automobile. DUAL FRONT-IMPACT AIRBAGS - Buy The 7 Series Here The front-impact restraint system that is standard in not only the Series, but all other current BMW models, also embodies advanced thinking in occupant protection - and in the moderation of vehicle damage in severe collisions. BMW Dual-Threshold Airbags employ "smart" technology to choose the appropriate deployment threshold, depending upon whether the occupant is belted or unbelted' and whether or not the front passenger seat is occupied. There are two thresholds of frontal-impact severity. If the safety belt is in use, then the airbag will only deploy at the higher threshold; at the lower threshold, only the automatic safety-belt tensioner2 deploys to reduce belt slack and enhance the belt's effectiveness. If the safety belt is not in use, then the airbag will deploy at the lower severity threshold. Finally, if the passenger seat is unoccupied, neither the passenger-side airbag nor tensioner will deploy- a feature that is recoqnized and rewarded by insurance companies in setting rates. All these features- side-impact airbags, Head Protection System, automatic front safety -belt tensioners, Dual-Threshold deployment - are part of BMW’s F.I.R.S.T. system (Fully Integrated Road Safety Technology), which helps confirm BMW as one of today's most safety-conscious vehicle manufacturers. By providing this feature, BMW does not intend to encourage non-use of safety belts. The driver driver and all passengers should always fasten their safety belts. All current BMW models except the 8 Series are equipped with belt tensioners. The 8 Series has seat-integrated front safety belts, which have so little slack that tensioners are not deemed necessary. OTHER PRODUCT REFINEMENTS - Buy The 7 Series Here Detail refinements further enhance the 7 Series' unique position as the premier performance-luxury automobiles from BMW. A new generation of the BMW Cellular Phone System offers greater security against cell-phone fraud, expanded memory features and capabilities (such as phone mail and banking by phone), improved ergonomics, and a new, shorter external antenna that doesn’t need to be removed at the car wash. (740i and 740il models are prewired for installation of the phone system by a BMW Retailer; it is standard in the 750il.) A newly -designed luggage net better facilitates carrying smaller objects in the trunk without their being thrown about by vehicle motions. VIRTUES FROM STRATEGIC VISION - Buy The 7 Series Here The 7 Series has won numerous awards from independent critical sources, including top ranking in the J.D. Power APEAL study for 1995 and being named the Robb Report's 1995 Car of the Year. The latest laurel for the 7 Series is the 1997 Total Quality Award from Strategic Vision, a research firm that studies the decisions and experiences of consumers with products and services. Strategic Vision's survey rates total satisfaction with vehicles, not just statistical quality measures like the number of defects. The 7 Series not only won its own category (Luxury Car), but scored the highest number of points ever in the study's history: over 900 out of a possible 1000 points. BMW ON-BOARD NAVIGATION SYSTEM - Buy The 7 Series Here Along with the BMW 5 Series, the 7 Series remains one of relatively few car models offered in the U.S. with a GPS navigation system; it is part of the available multi-function BMW On-Board Navigation System. Another unusual option is BMW break-resistant Security Glass, which offers added protection against break-ins. It is available as an option on the 740iL and 750iL. A heated steering wheel is optional or standard, depending upon model. Every 7 Series model comes standard with a warmly luxurious leather-and-wood interior whose power front seats include 4-way power lumbar support; automatic climate control with independent left/right settings and an activated-charcoal ventilation microfilter; and a tilt-and-slide power moonroof. Unique 16-way power front seats, with articulated backrests, are standard in the 740iL and 750iL and optional in the 740i. SCHEDULED MAINTENANCE - Buy The 7 Series Here In engineering the 7 Series, BMW endeavored to keep routine maintenance requirements moderate. Instead of fixed maintenance intervals, for example, BMW's built-in Service lnterval Indicator, tracks actual vehicle use and recommends maintenance only when it is required. The engines' hydrauiic valve lifters and electronic management system require no routine service; the 5-speed automatic transmission never requires a fluid change. And yet this is only half the story: All scheduled maintenance for 3 years or 36,000 miles is included he base price of the 740i and 740iL models. Going a step further, the top-of-line 750iL model comes standard with full (not just scheduled) maintenance for 4 years or 50,000 miles, the entire length of the new-car limited warranty. BMW’S WORLDWIDE SUCCESS - Buy The 7 Series Here BMW's business results for 1996 are in, and they are impressive indeed. Worldwide, BMW sales rose from 590,072 units in 1995 to 644,107 in 1996; including the Rover group, total car and truck production rose from 1,073,161 in 1995 to 1,151,361 in 1996. In the U.S., BMW sales topped the 100,000 mark for the first time to reach 105,761 units. As of May 7 1997 Series sales are up 27% over the same period of 1996. BMW IN NORTH AMERICA - Buy The 7 Series Here BMW of North America, Inc, was established in 1975, at which point the company assumed marketing and distribution responsibilities of BMW automobiles in the U.S. from the previous private distributor. Motorcycle marketing and distribution was added in 1980. Since then the company’s North American operations have grown to include marketing, sales and financial services organizations in the United States and Canada; a South Carolina manufacturing operation; a design firm in California; and various other operations throughout the U.S. and Canada. BMW is represented in North America through a network of more than 375 automobile and 190 motorcycle retailers in the United States and Canada.
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