tim330i
02-14-2011, 12:16 PM
Thanks to our guest writer Oliver from Netcars.com ***8211; a used car search engine specializing in popular car brands such as <a href="http://www.netcars.com/used-bmw/">used BMW</a>, Ford, Audi, Peugeot and Volkswagen for this recap of BMWs on the silver screen!
Taxi ***8211; BMW 760Li
The 2004 re-make of Taxi may have suffered with poor ratings at the box office, and Queen Latifah may have been about as convincing as Dustin Hoffman is in the Meet the Parents franchise, but there were some good bits. The cars, for instance, helped keep Taxi just above the 'truly dreadful' film moniker. The BMW 760Li was featured in the picture, and while it may be an executive saloon, it still looks as menacing as Al Pacino in Scarface.
The 760Li represents BMW at its most luxurious, superlative best. It is the company's swansong for executive saloons and features a gigantic V12 power plant that can embarrass quite a few sport cars. It may be heavier than all of Jupiter's moons put together, but the 760Li is so cool we think it makes big-wig business very appealing, indeed.
GoldenEye ***8211; BMW Z3
There are many ways to promote a car, but we can't think of a better one than having it in a James Bond film. While Bond may be more accustomed to Aston Martins, he has had his hand on some of the coolest BMWs ever made. Pierce Brosnan's first Bond adventure, GoldenEye, saw him take the wheel of the BMW Z3. It was a match made in heaven for the Bavarian brand as Z3s started selling like hot-cakes after the film's release.
Escaping from terrorists can have a direct effect on your adrenaline levels and it can also make the car you're driving look cooler than anything, ever. And while the Z3 may not have been the most technically perfect car BMW ever made, it was immortalized forever by appearing in GoldenEye.
I Know What You Did Last Summer ***8211; E36, BMW 328i
The infamous car from the iconic and often duplicated scene where the kids run over and kill someone is the BMW 328i. The E36 model looked great ***8211; and, if we're honest, it helped the acting along a bit. The E36 variant was a popular choice during that time and the I Know What You Did Last Summer producers knew what they were doing.
It's the perfect car for college kids with rich parents. It encapsulated the whole 'American spoiled brat' image that the producers were obviously looking for. There's nothing like some European exotica to get the pulses racing.
Tomorrow Never Dies ***8211; BMW 750iL
Yep, another Bond film and another BMW, but this time 007 was given the keys to a top-of-the-range 750iL. And what a 750iL it was; fitted with missile launchers, tire spikes, self-inflating tires and the ability to be controlled via a mobile phone, Bond's 750 was cooler than the other side of the pillow ***8211; even though it was painted in brown.
This particular 750 represented a new wave of sexy styling from BMW and even though Tomorrow Never Dies came out in 1997, the Bimmer still looks good today. We wouldn't say no.
The World Is Not Enough ***8211; BMW Z8
Ok, so the James Bond franchise likes BMW. The late '90s 007 films featured quite a few BMW cars, and one of the most iconic was the Z8 sports car in The World Is Not Enough. The Z8 was one of those cars that you wanted to drive. It looked good. It sounded good. And it was as rare as hens' teeth ***8211; but was that enough for BMW? No. That's why the Z8 appeared in the Bond epic ***8211; there's nothing like a bit of worldwide, mass market publicity to sell a car.
It didn't really work, though. Despite the Z8's visual appeal, unfortunately not enough customers bought it, and BMW scrapped it relatively early on in its life. It's a real shame, but it does mean that if you fancy one today, you'll be driving one hell of a rare car. And that is what BMWs are all about ***8211; exclusivity.
Gone In 60 Seconds
Was there a cooler movie made in the early 2000s? If there was, we haven't seen it. Gone In 60 Seconds was a movie dedicated to cars, girls and speed. Nicholas Cage was superb as a low-life, car robber with emotional family ties, and any car that was included in the film meant that its street credibility would shoot sky high.
The BMW 540i E39 variant was one of the 50 cars that Cage and co. needed to complete the order. It made the 540 ***8211; which was already a nice car ***8211; into a super desirable model. Competing with Mustangs and Ferraris is tough on any given day, but we think the 540i did a more than stellar job.
Taxi ***8211; BMW 760Li
The 2004 re-make of Taxi may have suffered with poor ratings at the box office, and Queen Latifah may have been about as convincing as Dustin Hoffman is in the Meet the Parents franchise, but there were some good bits. The cars, for instance, helped keep Taxi just above the 'truly dreadful' film moniker. The BMW 760Li was featured in the picture, and while it may be an executive saloon, it still looks as menacing as Al Pacino in Scarface.
The 760Li represents BMW at its most luxurious, superlative best. It is the company's swansong for executive saloons and features a gigantic V12 power plant that can embarrass quite a few sport cars. It may be heavier than all of Jupiter's moons put together, but the 760Li is so cool we think it makes big-wig business very appealing, indeed.
GoldenEye ***8211; BMW Z3
There are many ways to promote a car, but we can't think of a better one than having it in a James Bond film. While Bond may be more accustomed to Aston Martins, he has had his hand on some of the coolest BMWs ever made. Pierce Brosnan's first Bond adventure, GoldenEye, saw him take the wheel of the BMW Z3. It was a match made in heaven for the Bavarian brand as Z3s started selling like hot-cakes after the film's release.
Escaping from terrorists can have a direct effect on your adrenaline levels and it can also make the car you're driving look cooler than anything, ever. And while the Z3 may not have been the most technically perfect car BMW ever made, it was immortalized forever by appearing in GoldenEye.
I Know What You Did Last Summer ***8211; E36, BMW 328i
The infamous car from the iconic and often duplicated scene where the kids run over and kill someone is the BMW 328i. The E36 model looked great ***8211; and, if we're honest, it helped the acting along a bit. The E36 variant was a popular choice during that time and the I Know What You Did Last Summer producers knew what they were doing.
It's the perfect car for college kids with rich parents. It encapsulated the whole 'American spoiled brat' image that the producers were obviously looking for. There's nothing like some European exotica to get the pulses racing.
Tomorrow Never Dies ***8211; BMW 750iL
Yep, another Bond film and another BMW, but this time 007 was given the keys to a top-of-the-range 750iL. And what a 750iL it was; fitted with missile launchers, tire spikes, self-inflating tires and the ability to be controlled via a mobile phone, Bond's 750 was cooler than the other side of the pillow ***8211; even though it was painted in brown.
This particular 750 represented a new wave of sexy styling from BMW and even though Tomorrow Never Dies came out in 1997, the Bimmer still looks good today. We wouldn't say no.
The World Is Not Enough ***8211; BMW Z8
Ok, so the James Bond franchise likes BMW. The late '90s 007 films featured quite a few BMW cars, and one of the most iconic was the Z8 sports car in The World Is Not Enough. The Z8 was one of those cars that you wanted to drive. It looked good. It sounded good. And it was as rare as hens' teeth ***8211; but was that enough for BMW? No. That's why the Z8 appeared in the Bond epic ***8211; there's nothing like a bit of worldwide, mass market publicity to sell a car.
It didn't really work, though. Despite the Z8's visual appeal, unfortunately not enough customers bought it, and BMW scrapped it relatively early on in its life. It's a real shame, but it does mean that if you fancy one today, you'll be driving one hell of a rare car. And that is what BMWs are all about ***8211; exclusivity.
Gone In 60 Seconds
Was there a cooler movie made in the early 2000s? If there was, we haven't seen it. Gone In 60 Seconds was a movie dedicated to cars, girls and speed. Nicholas Cage was superb as a low-life, car robber with emotional family ties, and any car that was included in the film meant that its street credibility would shoot sky high.
The BMW 540i E39 variant was one of the 50 cars that Cage and co. needed to complete the order. It made the 540 ***8211; which was already a nice car ***8211; into a super desirable model. Competing with Mustangs and Ferraris is tough on any given day, but we think the 540i did a more than stellar job.