Interesting Factory BMW Options
This week, I have a confession to make. I’ve never bought a new BMW. Or even purchased one from a dealership. I’m on the ‘built not bought’ side of things, so I prefer the classics and would rather have something that needs a bunch of work so I can make it my own rather than something ready to drive all the time reliably. What a concept that would be! Reliable. Psh. Who needs it. However, if you are someone who has purchased a new BMW, you’ve probably become fairly familiar with all the options you can add to your choice of model. I have recently discovered some, let’s say, ‘interesting’ options you could have added to a new BMW back in the day.
Now, options are fairly uniform across all models and in all countries. A few decades ago, though, there were some options that I think are incredibly curious. Maybe it’s because I’m younger, maybe because I’m not your typical car buyer, but I found some options for new BMWs that I never knew existed. And I know quite a bit about different trims and equipment BMWs could have. Here we go.
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Smoker’s Package
I’m not so young that I don’t remember when ashtrays were more numerous than cupholders in cars. I have owned plenty of cars, including my current E30, that have ashtrays within reach of all passengers. But more modern cars, in the years since smoking has become a bit of a taboo around the world, seeing a ‘smoker’s package’ option is a bit odd to me. Not that it should be, but it’s just not something I expected when I found that a ‘smoker’s package’ option was and is available on modern BMWs. In the E46, for example, it was a cupholder-ashtray and a 12v cigarette lighter under the armrest. Not much, but still, seeing a ‘smoker’s package’ option on the vehicle equipment list is certainly interesting.
| | Heated Wiper Washer Nozzles
I came across a thread in an E30 forum that showed a hood the user had found as a replacement that included some funny little wiring bits that were more extensive than just the windshield washer fluid sprayer wiring. It was quickly pointed out that they were heaters for the nozzles themselves, which was part of the cold weather package I never knew existed. I looked at my own cold weather package-equipped E30 hood and found, sure enough, there they were. I have mine all disconnected because I deleted the washer bottle for a ‘cleaner’ look, but I never would have known they were there had I not tried to find optional equipment BMWs could have had. So yeah, heated wiper fluid nozzles are a thing I didn’t know about until today.
| | Car Phone/Umbrella
Ok, these are more like ‘accessories’ rather than options and, to be fair, I knew about the car phone. If you are over the age of thirty, you likely remember car phones, especially if you were a fan of Alf and saw the episode where he bought a Ferrari with the gold and platinum from his space ship’s plumbing. However, there were quite a few more BMWs that could have the optioned car phone than I knew. The E30, E34, E38, E39, and several other BMWs could have had the Wall Street takeover, American Psycho, ‘I can buy and sell you’ car phone option. However, what I didn’t know, your BMW could also come with a matching BMW umbrella, likely so your valet could shield the high-powered finance mogul owner from rain. Precipitation is for peasants. | | Dual Pano Roof in the E34 Touring
As a lover of tourings, this one struck me as obvious, until I saw that it was on the E34 that one could have an optional one-touch dual panoramic sunroof. This is something I thought was a fairly modern trend and had no clue that as far back as the early 1990s a BMW buyer could have an E34 Touring with a dual sunroof and an automatic rear liftgate (rear hatch).
| Rough Road Package
While it was mostly just a fatter sway bar in the rear, like in the E38, or spacers under the strut/shock tower mounts like in the E46 AWD optioned cars, a rough road package is something you can select if your local streets are more pothole than flat streets.
| | AC Schnitzer Special Editions
Maybe it’s my narrow United States worldview showing, but I didn’t know the ACS package was so comparable to the Alpina BMW models. I always thought that ACS just partnered with BMW to provide optional wheels and the like, but they were ACS-badged, completely re-equipped cars, like the ACS7 E38. They could be had with manual transmissions, had several wheel choices, completely different interior trim like the ACS steering wheel, shift knob, pedals, and other bits, and even had tuned suspension that made the ACS7 much sportier than your ‘run of the mill’ flagship estate. | | BMW Individual Program
Now, you’re probably sitting here thinking ‘when are they going to talk about the Individual Program?’ Well, we didn’t forget. For the past 25 years, BMW has offered the ‘Individual’ program that allows buyers to make some fairly wild requests. A spectrum of color options, interior materials, special insignias, even pillows can be personalized in your BMW. This is likely BMW’s way of continuing many of those exclusive and often unique options they offered from the factory. Now, you do have to pay a premium, but if you are willing to pay, BMW is willing to do it for you. Champagne flutes in a special compartment? Done. Lace-covered, monogrammed, exclusive pillows? All yours. A theme centered around fencing? (the sport, not property borders.) You can have it! At any rate, I’m certainly glad to know that for the past 25 years, BMW has given buyers a way to make their BMW exclusively theirs straight from the factory.
| Wrapping Up
Naturally, these options don’t even begin to scratch the surface of interesting equipment lists BMW offered over the years. With independent company partners like Alpina, ACS, Baur, and others producing special edition BMWs, as well as the ‘individual’ experience BMW can offer, there are plenty of unique options you can select with your BMW. Anyway, what options have you seen that made you double-take that it was something you could have with your BMW? Let us know at [email protected] and tell us interesting BMW options you have seen or ordered yourself! Maybe you’ll see your response in a future edition of Turner Motorsport Weekly. | |
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