BMW Hopes Customer-Service 'Geniuses' Are Smart Move

BMW is taking a page from the successful Apple playbook as it prepares to staff its dealerships with "geniuses" to help car shoppers navigate the potentially intimidating technicalities of trim levels, specifications and features.

According to marketing-industry publication AdvertisingAge, the BMW Genius Everywhere program will follow the same strategy as the Genius Bar at Apple retail stores, with specially trained workers — generally college students — patrolling showrooms equipped with an iPad and a thorough knowledge of the stock. The biggest differences are that BMW's geniuses will inform customers about cars, not computers, and will wear white shirts instead of blue. BMW geniuses, salaried as opposed to commission-compensated, will only provide information and will leave the selling to the salespeople, AdvertisingAge reported.

BMW's program is being tested and launched in Europe, and the automaker expects to have it up and running in the U.S. by early 2014, in time for the rollout of the i3 electric car, according to AdvertisingAge. Cadillac and Lexus already have similar programs at their U.S. dealerships, and Ford has implemented a similar program to help familiarize customers with its MyFord Touch multimedia system.

Related
BMW Adapts Apple Genius Model in Its Dealerships (AdvertisingAge)
Ford Still Committed to My Ford Touch
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BMW i3, i8 Caught in Chicago

BMW unveiled the i3 and i8 last month, but today our staff arrived at Cars.com’s headquarters in Chicago to find messages from friends and contacts about a commercial being shot a few blocks away with some “odd”-looking BMWs.

Staff photographer Ian Merritt grabbed his gear and headed down to see what the hubbub was about. It turns out BMW did indeed ship its early prototypes for these two electric models to Chicago for a photo shoot. We love Chicago’s architecture as much as anyone, but it’s surprising that the company would go through the expense to put them on our streets just for a series of publicity shots.

Their pain is our gain. Check out the full gallery below.

BMW i3 Concept: First Look

• Looks like: BMW is proudly attaching its emblem to this little electric
• Defining characteristics: It’s an full-blown electric car, gunning for the Nissan Leaf 
• Ridiculous features:  Expensive carbon-fiber bodywork usually reserved for sports cars
• Chances of being mass-produced: 100% confirmed

BMW has been hyping its electric-vehicle platform for a few years now with the likes of the BMW ActiveE and Mini E pilot vehicles, but today we got the closest glimpse of the automaker’s first production-intent all-electric car — the i3 concept.

The BMW i3 concept, previously known as the 2013 Megacity EV, will be optimally equipped to operate in city environments, the automaker says. The four-seat i3 concept has an estimated 93-mile range and can be charged to 80% of its capacity within an hour when using a quick-charging unit.

What’s different about this EV compared with the Nissan Leaf is the use of lightweight carbon fiber materials and what BMW says are more driver-centric focused ride and handling attributes.