[deshields]

BMW's recent name choices (name by customer clinics vs logic?) have definitely be questionable. I point specifically to the "Z4 sDrive35i" and "Z4 sDrive35is" or X3 xDrive, etc...

Those are some very longish names that don't encapsulate all the descriptors of what the car is when compared to the tried and true system (325i -- 3 series, 2.5liters. M3 = 3 series by the motorsport division).

Since the trend is to get weirder and weirder with the names, my guess would be that they name this car 135tii M. (And maybee why the car won't have some 'signature' M parts such as quad tailpipes and side gills)

That would be a complete shame on two levels, One) it makes less sense then "M1" assuming the car is indeed engineered by BMW M division. Two) You loose a whole lot of name recognition (read: sales) by moving to a new name. This is reminiscent of when Ford dropped the famed "Taurus" name and used new names like Ford Five Hundred, and in the process lost so many sales for what was essentially the same exact car. Now Ford is going to be spending the better part of 10 years to rebuilt the Taurus name back to where it was when they dropped it. At some point BMW will probably come around and decide to use the M1 moniker and have to start from scratch down the road :facepalm:

Committees and clinics are great, but they are only a tool and you have to go against them sometimes!

Heres to hoping BMW makes the right decision and goes with M1!