BMW-Ultimate-Driving-Promotional-Materials.jpgI've come to the conclusion that BMW spends more money on sending promotional materials to their customers than any other automaker. Let's use my mom as an example. Momma Wert just bought BMW's new mini-UV, the X3. Since she bought the new car four months ago, she's received a "welcome letter" and "an exclusive invitation" to an event for new BMW X3 owners as well as "BMW magazine," a monthly "lifestyle" magazine for bimmer owners. Gag. As the topper to these wonderful parting gifts, last week she received a beautifully packaged official "BMW Welcome Kit." This kit, which looks like to cost the equivalent of a monthly payment, congratulates my mother for becoming the "new and proud owner of an X3 3.0si" and according to BMW's US office is meant

"To help you gain a deeper understanding of your vehicle, the community that surrounds it and the free-thinking company that created it, we've developed this Welcome Kit. It contains a host of information about your BMW Ownership Experience..."
But wait, there's even more precision packaged into this here plastic-wrapped promo-pack. They've enclosed a "Passion for Performance" DVD giving a "closer look at The Ultimate Driving Machine" as well as — get this — books on CD, or what they're calling "a special thank-you gift designed to make your next road trip even more exciting." We'd like to tell you what we thought of the DVD and books-via-CD, but after I took pictures of the package my mother promptly threw the entire thing in the garbage, disustedly exclaiming "I think they should cut the price instead of sending me more crap." My mother's a wise woman. – Ray Wert

Related:
BMW Drops The New 2007 X3 On An Unsuspecting UK; US Version To Follow [internal]