Talk:BMW Z8

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Additions

I've made many additions to this page, and we should continue to work towards making this an authoritative Z8 reference, but I feel the need to address two issues directly. The first is the Z8 and the Bond connection, and the second is the frame warp issue.

I'm changing the portion of the "Media" section that claims the Bond producers were "tired" of using BMWs. I don't want to delete somebody else's work without justification. The Z8 was selected for the last of three movies in which BMWs were contractually scheduled to appear. The return of Aston to the Bond films was another business decision. Almost every scene in "Die Another Day" is groaning with Ford products.

I've tried to treat the frame damage issue with sensitivity to BMW and owners who worry about the value of their cars. Since questions remain about the extent or even the existence of the problem, claims should be addressed as "allegations" and "reports." In deference to owners seeking redress, I think the BMW "performance package" needs to be treated with some skepticism until users confirm that the problem is solved. For that reason, I see the frame warp issue as open and ongong. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Tim LM (talk • contribs) 18:49, 16 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I'm not arguing with what you've done, but if there's more information I don't think "sensitivity" and "deference to owners" are relevant concerns. If you have a reliable source with encyclopedic information, add it. atakdoug 02:21, 16 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

11/03/2008

I've removed the line "In 'Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker', the Z8 is used by Ian Rider (played by Ewan Mcgregor) to escape capture from Darius Syle's henchmen. He is also killed in the vehicle by Yasan Gregorovich."

The car in Stormbreaker was a Z4. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 212.103.233.1 (talk) 09:32, 11 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Media (journalist) reviews

Since I'm not in the habit of knowing all the ins and outs of editing here on Wikipedia, I'll just list what results I've found while searching through my automotive library of U.S. auto gearhead publications:

In the Criticism section...

Wind noise complaint: Car & Driver, April 2001 edition. "Aston Martin DB7 vs. BMW Z8, Ferrari 360 Spider"; article by Csabe Csere, Ray Hutton, Pete Robinson, Barry Winfield. From the article the reviwers cited that with the roof up, the Z8 was subject to wind noise that became prominent at 70 mph (even more restrictive--of a sort--than the 85 mph listed in the Wiki Z8 article). And with the top down, they claimed that the wind blocker design used by BMW was not effective at all, describing the resultant buffeting inherent with many convertible-topped cars as "gale-force backdrafts" in the Z8.

Seating position: didn't find much of anything from my library that addressed specific ergonomic qualms, but from the same C&D article above, the authors describe the seating position as "you seem to sit on this car, rather than in it", in reference to the relatively upright feel (presumably when compared to the two other cars of this road test article, if not other contemporary vehicles to the Z8 of the era). The authors implied that this was in large part due to the BMW's intentional retro lineage to its predecessor and inspiration, the 1950s-era BMW 507. One of the article's writers (Hutton) did indeed dislike the steering wheel, though not necessarily for the same reasons as the Wiki article seems to suggest, and didn't care much for the center-mounted gauges with the consequence of "the blank space where I want the rev counter and speedo to be", quoting from the article.

So...I guess I found one "professional" resource that appears to collaborate to a varying degree at least two of the criticisms cited in the Wikipedia article against the Z8. If there are more, others will have to sniff them out from other resources (Road & Track was quite complimentary in their May 2000 review of the Z8. I've already archived (dead storaged) my Automobile issues from that era so their review is not easily available to me any more. And as for Motor Trend...well, it's Motor Trend and it'll be a cold day in h-e-double toothpicks before I'll let a copy of THAT rag into my house, let alone my library). —Preceding unsigned comment added by Monoblocks (talk • contribs) 14:22, 25 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Returning?

Is it true BMW is going to start offering this model again? Its design is supposed to be somewhat similar to the current Z4 Coupe. --71.237.182.222 (talk) 00:57, 11 July 2011 (UTC)[reply]

12/6/2011 edit

Looked at the article. Found the picture stating "Alpina V8 roadster" this seems to be a typo so fixed to "Alpina Z8 roadster"