BMW E65 7 Series and BMW iX Star In "Night at the Museum", Bavarian Edition

The two just happen to have come at largely the same time, which is why some might feel as though they are connected. In reality, a gas-powered car can just as well drive autonomously, just like an EV can - and does - move following the inputs of a human driver.

Before we get to experience self-driving vehicles, though, we will still see a shift in the way we interact with our cars. You can tell the layout of dashboards is changing, and these modifications bring more than just a new design: they alter the user interface as well, making the whole experience a much more digital one.

Back in 2001, the focus was on finding a way to keep the driver's attention on the road while navigating through the ever-increasing layers of information the vehicle's infotainment system contained. That's how BMW's excellent iDrive came about, making its debut on the 2001 E65 7 Series.

The system quickly made its way down through the entire BMW range, and it was a good thing that it did because it soon became a reference in the industry. It fulfilled its brief brilliantly by allowing the driver to control everything using just one rotary five-way button. A few minutes with the iDrive made it feel like second nature, which is not something you can say about many of the more modern similar systems that followed.

However, after adding a touchpad first, then making the entire screen touch-sensitive, it looks like the classic iDrive has finally plateaued. Twenty years later, it's time for something new, and that something will be introduced with the iX, BMW's first all-electric SAV coming later this year.

To mark the moment, the carmaker came up with a short film featuring the old 7 Series and the new iX as they meet at the BMW Welt and, as expected, go through a clash of generations. The clip is nowhere near as funny as BMW probably thought it was, but we'll admit to having a chuckle when the 7 Series claims it has Internet as well, then proceeds to launch its dial-up connection. As it turns out, that would also be its demise. You can watch the entire clip below.