2007 BMW M5 Manual: Why cant we switch off DSC? - Automobile Magazine
The spin doctors spout 'em, the executives fine-tune 'em, and the press releases coat 'em in pretty words and nothing statements about "integrity" and "dynamic strength. It's simply how things work: policies change, the industry changes with them, and the car companies become caught in a never-ending spiral of their own bafflegab. Few manufacturers--Porsche, BMW, and Honda being notable exceptions--ever have the tenacity to stick to a mission statement and philosophy over the long term. That's Tom Purves, the CEO of BMW North America--the largest arm of one of the most important car companies in the world. When the first press releases for the current M5 dropped, people yelled and screamed: there was only one transmission listed, and it was a sure-to-be-clunky sequential manual seven-speed. The car hit the streets, and again, people yelled and screamed: the sequential seven-speed was clunky, it wasn't very rewarding, and it was nowhere near as much fun as a traditional manual. For the first time, an M car. At the very least, the seven-speed M5 is capable of all the things we've come to expect from a BMW: It's a true driver's car. Feedback close to the edges of adhesion--where the chassis starts to seriously work , where slip angles and grey areas of grip/no-grip factor in--borders on amazing for a 4000-lb car. The North-America-only six-speed M5 does not want your hero moves. Source: www.automobilemag.com
