X6 Blisters the Eyes
It turns out that others at the North American International Auto Show were agog at the BMW X6. My colleague Jim Hossack related a conversation with senior BMW of North America planner Rich Brekus and it sounded much like my own with him. What is it? "Well, it' a category defining new idea," said Brekus. Who will buy it? "People who want something really different with outstanding performance." I'll give 'em credit, I guarantee the X6 will be wonderful to drive, once you can get into it, but I think living with it will be another matter. Even if you like the styling, ingress/egress is very compromised. Visibility is poor. Cargo room above the beltline is non-existent (BMW's response is that folks rarely stack anything above the beltline - true enough).
Divided Opinions Between Old and Young?
As Hossack was commenting about the X6 in the AutoPacific staff meeting the Monday following the show, Ed Kim, AutoPacific's new Director of Industry Analysis joined in saying that he loved the X6. Being younger than me and 'Sack, and smaller, Ed had a very different take on the X6. Much more positive. Well, he's entitled to his opinion.
In any event, the BMW X6 promises to be among the most controversial new vehicles introduced this year. NEW -- Watch our video montage here.
What are the Germans Smoking?
You wonder what the Germans are smoking, however. Americans must seem very, very conservative to folks who are launching products like the Mercedes CLS (beautiful car you can't live with - almost, if not quite, a failure in the USA), the Mercedes R-Class (Grand Sport Tourer not setting the world on fire), the BMW X6, the rumored Audi A7 (a CLS from Audi), etc. We applaud Audi, BMW and Mercedes pushing the envelope, but they do it at the potential risk to their vaunted reputations for building some of the world's best vehicles.
AutoExtremist Weighs In
Peter DeLorenzo of the AutoExtremist website, wrote this blurb about the X6... we can't help but agree with most of it.
Speaking of arrogant Germans in the car business (btw, is there a more accurate and time-honored descriptor than that? Uh, no - ed.), you gotta hand it to BMW. I swear these guys don't understand the word "restraint" in the English language. These guys are inventing niches within niches, and in their obsessive quest to become all things to all people, I believe they get lost in their own talking-to-themselves brilliance to the point that they can't even see the Black Forest for the trees. Add to that their annoyingly unhealthy habit of believing half the shit that Chief Designer Chris Bangle shoves their way, which just compounds matters, and you have a recipe for a truly ugly little bundt cake. Once again, some of my esteemed colleagues (cough, hack) in the media just couldn't wait to gush over Bangle's latest atrocity, the BMW X6, but believe me, it will not "redefine the category" or "set the standard for crossovers for years to come" or any other such nonsense. On the contrary, as a matter of fact. The X6 is nothing more than a German-accented Pontiac Aztek, a vehicle for Bangle's self- aggrandizement, a rolling monument to one man's mediocrity and an unmitigated P.O.S. that is "beyond category" tedious. Trust me on this one, the only inspiration other designers will take away from the X6 is the inspiration to turn their heads in horror and then walk - make that run - away. If it weren't for the perfect albeit overpriced 1 series, I'd be worried that BMW has finally gone off the deep end.
