[tracythorne]

So . . . I just drove up to Annapolis from Richmond, VA to the dealer where I purchased my 850 GC a few months back. I bought the car in March during the initial phases of COVID (when factory was shuttered and not taking orders). It was exactly what i wanted minus the interior trim, and due to the timing of pandemic, dealer was reasonably aggressive on pricing. The dealer worked with me and agreed to swap out the center console trim from piano black to fineline wood trim. It took a few months to get the parts from Germany, and install was today - about three hours labor.

On the way back to Richmond, I hit a five mile backup on I95 and decided to use the traffic jam assist for the first time.

WOW!! That system is amazing!! It drove the car completely autonomously with no assist - from full stop, to speeding up, and following at a safe distance. All while I relaxed with my hands draped through the wheel. It seems silly that something so minor could assist so much on a long drive. It almost made the traffic jam bearable.

On another note - I kept the piano black parts - they are much larger than I thought. Far more than just the cup holder lid and gear shift surround. It's basically the whole center console - front and rear (everything but the clamshell box). In any event, I'm going to sell them on eBay (or here) if anyone is interested.

Finally - yes, I know it's lousy grammar to start a sentence with "So" but it's my thing. So, yeah - there you go.

[Ozzie8]

Thanks tracythorne - yes the driving assistance mode is way way better than it used to be! Only problem with COVID is with working at home (still) there are not so many traffic jams to negotiate. Outside of a traffic jam, the system is great for long drives on country roads as you can just relax a bit more and let the car do more of the work for you.

As to Piano Black, I had that finish in my 6GC and while it looked the part with the all black interior/exterior, the 6GC was my first and last all black car. It's just unforgiving.

[bloozemanAZ]

Originally Posted by tracythorne

On the way back to Richmond, I hit a five mile backup on I95 and decided to use the traffic jam assist for the first time.

WOW!! That system is amazing!! It drove the car completely autonomously with no assist - from full stop, to speeding up, and following at a safe distance. All while I relaxed with my hands draped through the wheel. It seems silly that something so minor could assist so much on a long drive. It almost made the traffic jam bearable.

Yes, it is a great system and I wrote a recent thread as to my experience literally letting the car drive itself 90% of the way on a 10 hour round trip to San Diego a few weeks back. Although there was not a true traffic jam I did encounter the same scenario in the backed up traffic to go through the CA border patrol check point. The exact same experience as you outside of having to disengage full Driving Assistance as the car in front of me was waved through the checkpoint. Otherwise the car just would have decided to accelerate to keep up with my 3 car length distance setting for the ACC component.

[bloozemanAZ]

Originally Posted by Ozzie8

As to Piano Black, I had that finish in my 6GC and while it looked the part with the all black interior/exterior, the 6GC was my first and last all black car. It's just unforgiving.

I couldn't agree more. Although Piano Black would go stunningly with my Fiona Red/Black interior I negated it from day 1 even though I'd prefer wood in the center console. I've owned home theater speakers in Piano Black finish and they were a total PIA (easiest surface for swirl marks even for the diligent). Thankfully with the 2020s and the advent of the M8 carbon fiber was offered and I'm a happy camper with it.

[Ozzie8]

Would have loved the CF but alas not an option at time of ordering.

[Resjudicata]

Originally Posted by Ozzie8

Would have loved the CF but alas not an option at time of ordering.

yeah piano black or carbon fiber would be awesome. But even my Ash Grain Grey-Metallic Wood looks pretty good against the ivory interior.
If I had to do it over again, I'd probably get the Piano black or Fineline Copper Wood; since Carbon Fiber wasn't an option for my m850i.