German Car Zone

I'm not the bit surprised... at that level, the S rules all, whether like it or not.

I agree with that. The first 7er was very nice (the most beautiful of all 7er for me), but no threat against the fantastic W126. The second gen was a similar story.
The e65 was a very nice try, but obviously flawed.

This gen is every bit BMW, while every bit worth the segment it competes in.
Of course, the majority of buyers of these cars want comfort, so the S is the weapon of choice.
However, for the sportier customers, the 7er seems to offer a true alternative this time.

It's the exact contrary of the 3er/C-Class: the buyers are younger, so BMW's values are attracting them more, therefore the 3er "rules" in a way in the segment. The C-Class is an excellent car, only not appealing to the "core-customer base".

Regarding the 3er it's still the market leader but the W204 and B8 are close to just as good. After the thundering success of the E46 which completely dominated the segment, Mercedes and Audi woke up. The competitors stood no chance as the E46 was a no brainier. It looks fantastic, driving dynamics were divine and sales were pushed by the E46 M3. Easily one of the best cars ever built and the w203 were light years behind in driving dynamics.

But things have changed since then, the C-Class does not handle like a boat and does look exciting. The same applies to the B8 A4 which is selling very well right now. There is no longer a big gap between the 3er and the competitors. All three are attractive packages.

S-Class dominance has partially been reduced but at the same time it hasn't and won't to so until BMW and Audi increase innovation. Porsche has somewhat given the S-class a hard punch with the Panamera that is quite revolutionary but fails hard in the design and price department. The Panamera has accomplish exactly what the 7er should have, which to bring something new to the game. Porsche have created the sport S-Class competitor that BMW should have developed to make a proper sporty S-Class alternative.

LLS....Klier, you are amazing!

Yea the W140 was amazing. I still see it on the road from time to time. I remember it was referred to as "The Big Body Benz".

Believe it or not I actually see more W140 S-Classes than I do E65 7ers!
About 3 to 1. Thats pretty outstanding!

I also have only seen about 2 760iL here

The Germans call the 140 the "Panzer"...
In France they're not so common any more.

In germany, you see nearly no W140 on the road, although I quite like it…!

Yeah, I love the W140s. That was my first experience in a real luxury car. The cool thing is my friend still has one. He has a black on black W140 and it's kept in REAL good condition.