“What brand new car is this I’m approaching on my street? I think it’s an Infiniti G Convertible, or — wait — perhaps a Lexus IS C. It’s dark outside, so I’ll just keep walking closer for a better look.”
My inquisitive mental dialogue continued until I was upon the car with my certain answer. I was looking, for my first time, at a 2012 BMW 650i Convertible. While of course this grand machine is larger in every way than the Infiniti and the Lexus for which it was momentarily mistaken, I couldn’t help but lament the possibility of the all-new 6 Series being — well — mistaken for an Infiniti or a Lexus.
Engine enhancement, technical improvements and new luxury appointments notwithstanding, the third-generation 6 is looking like too many of its close relatives, namely a 3 on steroids or a 5 missing a top. The now “old” model that lived through 2011 was far more distinctive and unmistakable in its styling; no other BMW looked like it, especially from rear view. The newest incarnation does not demonstrate the same uniqueness, I’m sorry to say, at least not on first glance.
Still, whether momentarily mistaken for a related model — or worse, for something of a rival manufacturer — the 2012 BMW 6 Series seems altogether poised to once again prove itself the automotive marvel it’s always been.
And that’s my opinion. What do you think?
Mistakable.
Unique.
Ryan R. Sanderson 