1-series launch

Below is a nexcerpt from my review of the high-profile launch of the BMW 1-series line in Jamaica (The model only hit the US last year

BMW's big bash - 1-Series debuts in Jamaica
SUNDAY - SOCIAL
Michael A Edwards Observer writer
Sunday, November 07, 2004



Substitute an alloy composite suit for Armani or Lacroix, 17-inch alloy wheels for (Manolo) Blahnik pumps, add a strut and purr supplied by a four cylinder power plant and place said model on the expertly simulated catwalk (complete with klieg lights) on the lawns of the Terra Nova and Sterling Motors BMW hottest new model was ready for its close-up on Friday last.

Once again, Jamaican aficionados of the BMW marque saw a model launched on our shores before our counterparts in North America. The I-series comes to Jamaica, ushering in a new era for the compact class, its manufacturers understandably claim.

The curious, the serious and all others in between gathered to get visual conformation of those claims and to kick the run-flat tyres (standard, along a tyre defect indicator).

They also were treated to a typically engaging testimonial from first-class raconteur and bon vivant, Sterling General Manager Dennis Wheatley. Wheatley recounted his part in a 28-car testing line that wended its way from Denmark across a Scandinavian causeway and into Sweden and the BMW Proving Grounds. There, he continued, the I-Series proved its mettle against a number of major European competitors such as Vauxhall and Alfa Romeo.

He was preceded by Anthony Bell, of corporate parent Lascelles/Wray & Nephew, who gave his own sight-only testimonial of the car, and Marketing Manager Wayne Miller, who further primed the audience with descriptions before the grand unveiling.

Among the standard and [optional] available features he outlined were two-stage brake lights, park distance control, constant monitoring indication of when worn parts should be replaced, the company's now famous iDrive control concept*, sports seats with pneumatic backrest width, a starter button as opposed to the traditional turnkey ignition, keyless easy access*, Bluetooth mobile phone interface* with hands-free kit and operation via multi-function steering wheel.*

Appetites suitably whetted, the supermodel, sporting a quartz gray metallic finish, made her entrance. The audience lost no time in stepping inside to absorb that heady new-car aroma, grip the multi-function steering wheel and run their hands over the other controls as well as the -optional- leather upholstery.