https://www.bmwcca.org/node/7069 The next-gen X3 will have a rear-wheel-drive-only option... uh...doesn't that mean it's NOT an "X"? How are they going to label that.. instead of the already overly-cumbersome mouthful title "X3 sDrive28i" what's this going to be? "SAV3 sRWDrive28i"? or "½X3 sDrive28i"? ?
Well... a regular rwd hathback in BMW-speak has typically been a touring. The problem is the "X" identifies two things, the chassis, AND the awd system. Maybe they'll have to start using whatever the chassis code will be... F45 3 sDrive28i...
Remember when an i meant sedan and is coupe. Or when an E36 328 meant it had a 2.8 under the hood? Nothing makes sense now. Hasn't for some time. I lost track when they went to F chassis codes. It's all ///Marketing.
I think that BMW's marketing guys are on crack right now, they really seem to be throwing common sense out the window.
Brand confusion will go a long way in selling lots of cars that look the same. Audi makes the same car in different sizes and puts a different number on the back. BMW makes the same car and just puts spaghetti soup of letters and numbers on the back. I'm still trying to figure out the difference between a 3 series sedan and a 4 series GT. That one has me scratching my head.
In regard to Steve's plaint about the nomenclature no longer making any sense: This is my favorite explanation from Wikipedia: The platform developed for the 303 was used for several other BMW cars, including the BMW 309—a four-cylinder version of the 303—the BMW 315 (a 1.5-liter version of the 303 which replaced it in 1934 and was built until 1937), the BMW 319 (a 1.9-liter version of the 303 produced alongside the 315 from 1935 to 1937), and the BMW 329, a development of the 319 with styling based on the newer, larger BMW 326 that briefly replaced the 319 in 1937. The 303 platform was also used for the BMW 315/1 and BMW 319/1. These were high-performance versions of the 315 and 319 respectively, with tuned engines and lightweight roadster bodywork. The 315/1 and 319/1 were replaced by the BMW 328 in 1936. So, the numbers used to make sense, didn't they?!
