BMW iX3 Reaches Way Back to Move the Entire Brand Forward

What is a BMW anymore? Once a paragon of German performance and clean styling, the car brand's modern cars have slowly morphed into more and more outrageous designs. Going back to basics, BMW has revealed the production version of its iX3 SUV. The styling draws from the automaker's watershed cars from the 1960s, which would eventually put the company on the map in the U.S. as a real performance and luxury car contender. In this edition of Jim Hall Knows It All, the eponymous Jim offers a history lesson to understand why BMW would choose this inflection point to guide the brand going forward. Whether you like the new face of the brand or not, the symbolism is hard to deny, and if the company sticks with it, things could get very interesting.

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📖Chapters:
00:00 - Introduction
00:27 - Meet the BMW iX3
01:44 - The BMW XM Problem
02:44 - BMW's Post-WWII Mess
07:09 - The Original Neue Klasse
08:52 - iX3's Historical Inspiration
10:47 - How to Redeem a Luxury Car
16:11 - Is the Design too Literal?
20:29 - Interior Thoughts
25:56 - Tech Specs
29:11 - Jim's Esoteric Pick
31:18 - Conclusions

Craig Cole has been a full-time automotive journalist for nearly 20 years and has covered the industry in countless ways. He’s worked at Autoline, Autoguide, Roadshow by CNET, EV Pulse, TopSpeed.com and is a co-founder of AutoEsoterica.

Ben Sanders is also a co-founder, though he’s also the executive producer of all AutoEsoterica content. He records videos, edits them, makes graphics, and does motion animation. He, too, has worked in the automotive space for 20 years and is famed for the quality of his work and the attention to detail he puts into everything he does.

📽️This video was produced by Pixel Shift Media. To make a little of your own audio-visual magic including videography, editing, motion graphics and design, visit https://pixelshiftmedia.com/ or contact executive producer Ben Sanders directly: bensanders [at] pixelshiftmedia.com.