New BMW Makes Confusing Chicago Debut

Apparently BMW unveiled a new diesel vehicle at the Chicago Auto Show today. But the presentation and series of numbers and letters that were thrown at the crowd quickly confused most everyone in attendance. And the worst part was, it wasn’t even obvious where the new vehicle was in the crowded space that BMW occupied.

At the end of the presentation, the speaker asked for questions. The first one was: “Which one is the new car?” At that point you have to know that your message was convoluted. But once we were directed to the right vehicle, it became apparent that it was lost in a sea of BMW vehicles on display. Unlike the other presentations of the day that had the new cars front and center, the BMW presentation was done away from the car that was being unveiled.

Other than the fact that the car was hidden, part of the reason for the mass confusion is also the fact that the names of the vehicles are insane. The new diesel BMW is the diesel BMW 740Ld xDrive. This was in addition to the debut of the refreshed 2015 X3 xDrive 28d. The presenter even mentioned at one point that there would be an M edition of the 740Ld xDrive – or something like that.

Then there was the talk about the BMW electric rental program. More confusion, and an apparent sense that BMW might be concerned with the electric range that other vehicles offer. Needless to say, it could have been put together a little better as many of us were left bewildered. And I personally wish BMW and some other luxury car companies would make their car names actual names – not a series of numbers and letters.

We found the BMW 740Ld xDrive!