According to the folks at BMW Blog, a Bimmerfest forum has unearthed the very possibility of BMW customers going back into the time of using just buttons and knobs.
Impending models to be shipped with infotainment screens not operable by touch include mainstays like the 3 Series and X5 (even the highest-end X7), although Munich has decided to spare its flagship 7 Series and i electric cars from this fate.
Rather than have their cars sit idly in parking lots, waiting to be finished, BMW appears to be biting the bullet, instead going ahead with deliveries that will omit this small function. A window sticker will apparently denote affected cars, which will also retail with a USD$500 discount. (In other words, not very much.)
Well, small is a subjective term. You'll be hard-pressed to find a car that doesn't have a touchscreen in today's day and age. While it's unclear exactly how BMW will side-step its supply chain woes by removing touchscreen functionality from its infotainment systems, you'll realise - if you've been observing the market - that it's actually one of the few remaining luxury carmakers that can pull something like this off.
Arguably, this remains the most intuitive way to operate a car especially when you're driving and want to, say, scroll through your contact list to make a quick call. We've personally voiced our displeasure towards tablet-esque systems because of how they tend to complicate the most basic of functions, including just turning down the A/C.
Still, there's no denying the utility of touchscreens; we probably don't know what we're missing until we finally have to live without it.
The announced move appears to be limited to the U.S.A as it stands, so we're keeping our fingers crossed that Singapore is somehow exempt (maybe RHD cars are different?).
