The last few years have seen our friends in the official BMW Naming Department wearing some pretty fancy pants. How else does one explain the craziness creativity of calling a car the 440i xDrive Gran Coupe? (The why of that car’s existence is a whole other matter not to be taken up here.)
It therefore comes as no surprise that said BMW Naming Department decided the fanciest cars in the lineup should get the fanciest fancy-pants treatment — more specifically, a whole new logo, complete with unique black-and-white roundel and the very formal full German spelling: Bayerische Motoren Werke.
“We have a strong history of 100 years, and we think that’s something we should use,” Hildegard Wortmann, senior vice president of brand BMW, told Automotive News at the Frankfurt Motor Show where the automaker rolled out the new logo. “It’s a new visual identity (that’s) more involving, more emotional.”
Wortmann referenced the fashion industry, where some designers reserve their full names for their high-dollar lines.
You won’t find the new logo on any label, though. For now, at least, BMW is using the black-and-white design solely in its “communications activities.” BMW isn’t even requiring its dealers to update any signage, a spokesman said, which poses the question: Why?
We ask that a lot about BMW moves of late, but one change we can get behind: paring down the names of said high-end models. The vehicles themselves henceforth will be referred to as the 7, the 8 and the X7. Let’s hope the Naming Department allows the change to trickle down to its cheaper, plebian, more affordable models.