I hate those piece of crap-lookin' suction cup sunshades you put on the rear window of the car to keep the kid from baking. If I wanted to roll with Pooh, I'd strap him to the grille, and if Safety 1st wants to roll with me, they can cut me a check. I was going to do some digging, hoping to find a cleanly designed--or better yet, cleanly designed AND custom-sized to my window--source for a rear window shade, when my father-in-law brought out the brochure for the BMW 7-series.
After recounting the scandalous debut of the latest redesign--the junk on the trunk [since toned down] and the iDrive user interface [six clicks to turn on the radio, etc.]--I settled into the glossy goodness. While contemplating the possibility of being allowed to special order green metallic with blue leather, I saw it. Them. Power rear- and side-window shades, and the sides are fitted in two pieces, even. Sunshade paradise.
Oddly, though, the power sunshades are only standard equipment on one BMW model: the 12-cylinder, 438-hp 760Li. Obviously, this is the car BMW intends for young families. Sensibly priced--with a few other goodies thrown in--at around $130,000. On other 7-series models, the shades are a $795 option.
For families on a budget, the compromises are harsh, so go with the 760Li except in the most extreme circumstances: 3- and 5-series wagons offer only manually operated side shades ($250), while the sedans split the difference with power-rear and manual-side shades ($575). The only option for the X3 is tinted rear privacy glass ($350). The X5 is an SUV, about which, nothing further [no offense, Josh!]
X5 has manual rear side window shades as part of the rear climate package (an option).
My dad just got an Acura RL, and it's got power shades on the back window (maybe the sides too- didn't look). The freaking things even go down automatically when you put it in reverse.
[yeah, I'm so easily impressed. Audi has power-rear and manual-side shades for $400; Mercedes has them, too. The C- and E-class sedans have only a rear sunshade, while the E wagon has only side shades, which are the ones you really need anyway. They're part of the $3,550 Premium package. ouch. -ed.]
It's times like this that I realize that I'm very often only tangentially your demographic.
[Yes, this site is solely for the "should I get a $10 sunshade was a $130,000 car with a sunshade?" demographic, sorry. But if you do get a 760Li, you should definitely get the "My other six cars are all Mazda5's" license plate frame for it. -ed.]
Our X5 has sun shades all around except, of course, the side windows up front and the windshield. The rear side windows have the pull up sun shades and the rear cargo area has these:
http://www.x5world.com/bmw-sav-items-sale/107-rear-sun-shade-4-sale.html
Not a picture of our car but that's the quickest link I could find on the web. My only gripe is that they're all manually operated.
[it's like getting up to change the channel; it's too horrible to contemplate. -ed.]
Cameron, you took the words right out of my mouth! Nothing like starting the day with an overwhelming feeling of financial inadequacy.
Just dropped the kid off at our parents' house- I can report manual side shades on the RL. And they are standard equipment. On our cheapass cars we just got the gangsta tint instead.
[this is how you roll. we just throw a blanket over the kid's head in our 20 year old Mercedes, hello. -ed.]
My wife's "entry-level" Mercedes C240 sedan (2003 model year) also has an automatic rear sunscreen. And my 06 "entry-level" Audi has a manual one. No need to spend $130K on a car to get this feature.
If you didn't get the power rear sunshade as a factory option, Audi sells a manual rear sunshade for the A6 (maybe other models) which is pretty sweet.
If the BMW's not exclusive enough for you, the Maybach 62 has fully automatic side curtains, and Rolls Royce will do about anything you want for the new Phantom.
[it's times like this I realize that I'm not in the demographic of this website. -ed.]
Mother Of Child's dad has bought one of these as a retirement present for himself, and the automatic shades are the coolest thing ever.
i am sure that junior miss would enjoy it more if she was in the car more than twice a year (going to and then from the airport).
things may get interesting when she is a little older and packs in a few secret crayons to keep her occupied on the ride there though.
[make sure she puts the crayons in the climate-controlled crayon caddy in the armrest. -ed.]
For $4.95 for two, this is what we use in our cars. They do not have the rolling "feature" and no ads. They fold up tiny and in a pinch on a road trip get you maybe 2 minutes of entertainment with the tike. (We like to make ours flap around the car and make pterodactyl noises when we get very desperate.) Not unique to this website, pretty much all car specialty stores carry these.
hello,
i have a 318 model 2000 - E 46 . i need rear windows sunshades the original and the rear side windows
thanks
mohammed