The Car Tech blog

Freshly unveiled at the 2008 Paris Motor Show, the BMW's 7 Series luxury sedan gets updates inside and out, with a new exterior aesthetic and an updated iDrive system.

See all coverage of the 2008 Paris Motor Show.

(Credit: Google)

BMW has been telling us that the iDrive interface will be upgraded soon. It's even given us a peak at the next generation of vehicles. It looks like BMW owners will be getting a double dose of new cabin tech as BMW has just announced that the BMW Assist feature will be upgraded with a search feature to be powered by search engine giant Google.

In actuality, the Bavarian automaker has also been teasing us with information about its partnership with Google since the 2007 Frankfurt Auto Show, but only recently announced final details of a production implementation.

After enrolling in the BMW Assist Convenience Plan (available at an additional cost of $199 per year), the system will use AT&T's GSM network to connect to Google Search to look up business information such as the names of restaurants, hotels, supermarkets, and public facilities such as schools or city halls. Once found, the driver will be able to navigate to the point of interest or call the business using the system's Bluetooth connectivity. Users will be able to, for example, search for the lowest gas prices in the area or find out what movie is playing at the nearest cinema and display search results on a Google Map.

Essentially what BMW is offering is in-car internet access using a wireless connection and drivers and passengers will also be able to browse the web from the dashboard, albeit at EDGE speeds.

The BMW Assist service will continue to offer its core functions such as remote unlock, automatic collision notification, and location of stolen vehicles. The system will be available on 2009 model year BMW models, as an option on 1 and 3 Series models (except for the X3, which gets no Google love) and standard on 5, 6, and 7 Series models.

BMW's new iDrive screen is a radical change from the previous generation.

(Credit: BMW)

For years, BMW has heard complaints from automotive editors and enthusiasts about its iDrive control system, the interface for accessing infotainment and car functions in BMW models. But with the introduction of the new 7-series, iDrive gets a radical transformation. We don't have too much to go on, mostly a picture of the new main screen for iDrive, in German, no less, and some details from the news release. The controller for iDrive remains the same, a big knob with joystick functionality. BMW adds to that hardware a set of dedicated buttons for immediate access to the radio, CD, navigation, and phone menus.

Although some would disagree, I never thought iDrive's problems stemmed from the controller, but from the software interface. Mercedes-Benz COMAND system uses a similar controller, but hasn't elicited the same level of complaint as iDrive. The software interface makes it much easier to use. From the picture released by BMW, the new main interface for iDrive shows a stack of menus that you can scroll through and select. The previous interface used four quadrants, which limits the amount of new function areas BMW could add, without shoehorning newer functions in odd places. The news release points out that "letters of the alphabet and numerals are arranged in circular form for more intuitive input of addresses and phone numbers." I have mixed feeling about this last point, as the circular menus for letter input on Audis and Hondas are a little tedious to use.

BMW will show the new 7-series at the 2008 Los Angeles auto show.

(Credit: BMW)

We will take a close look at the new 7-series when it makes its North American premier at the 2008 Los Angeles auto show this fall. For more pictures of the new 7-series, take a look at our preview photo gallery.