Friday, June 1, 2012

What's So Active About an "E"?

Far be it from me to criticize BMW's car naming abilities.  They have been in the car business far longer than I and have come up with iconic car names using words such as "7"..."5"...and the ubiquitous "3."  So I guess their first attempt at naming a car using something other than numerical nomenclature shouldn't be too harshly judged...but what exactly is an "Active E?"

The "E" part I get, it stands for electric (no applause please, I figured that out on my own).  But what makes it Active?  It's active electricity?  That doesnt mean anything to me. 
 
Now "Mobile E" that would be good because it's electric mobility.  That I would get.  But it kinda sounds like a mobile home and that has a rather bad connotation.

How about E Drive.  It actually says that on the side of the car, but that's more of an adjective, not a name.
Time for some brainstorming.  













Here's some of my best ideas:

E licious

E delirious

E power 

Electric car (a little obvious, but on point)

So maybe naming a car isn't so easy after all.  Just what do you call a car that presents a glimpse, even a promise, into the future of mobility, something so striking that it could change the world from transportation to energy consumption, environmental impact and even world politics?  How about:


"The earth shattering new electric BMW that has no gas powered engine whatsoever," subtitle: "take that al Qaida."

Well it's a bit long, but what it lacks in brevity it more than makes up for in descriptive power. 

O.k., so Active E it is then.  What a wonderful name for this outstanding car. 

2 comments:

  1. Keith,

    I don't have any official confirmation about this, but I believe it's because the ActiveE has an active thermal management system. The MINI-E was most criticized because of it's primitive thermal management system that couldn't keep the batteries properly cooled/heated. I believe this has a lot to do with the name.

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  2. Well that makes more sense. But not easily understood by the general public (me included).

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