BMW
confirmed
the
news
to
automotive
website
Edmunds
releasing
a
statement,
“This
measure
is
a
result
of
the
industry-wide
supply
chain
issues
which
are
affecting
automotive
manufacturing
worldwide
and
causing
limitations
on
the
availability
of
some
features
or
options.”
However,
the
removal
of
the
touchscreen
does
come
with
a
rebate.
Cars
produced
without
the
touchscreen
display
will
feature
the
‘6UY’
code
on
their
Monroney
labels
(window
sticker)
in
the
United
States
and
customers
buying
these
vehicles
will
get
a
$500
credit
towards
their
cars.
Owners
of
the
6UY
coded
cars,
despite
the
lack
of
the
touchscreen,
will
also
be
able
to
access
connected
car
tech
like
Android
Auto
and
Apple
Car
Play.
Owners
can
access
these
connected
car
systems
and
others
with
either
voice
commands
or
BMW’s
trusty
i-Drive
system.
Yup,
you’ll
either
have
to
use
your
voice
and
shout
at
your
BMW
car
instead
of
nudging
it
or
you
can
use
that
old
school
system
of
nudging
a
dial
or
clicking
buttons
to
get
the
work
done
once
again.
Thoughts
On
BMW’s
Decision
To
Skip
Touchscreens
The
automotive
industry
has
been
on
the
wrong
end
of
the
stick
for
a
few
years
now
thanks
to
the
coronavirus
pandemic
and
the
now
extremely
irritating
chip
shortage.
While
the
pandemic
did
shut
down
work
for
a
while,
it
would
seem
that
the
chip
crisis
is
what
could
really
disable
vehicle
production
as
there
does
not
seem
to
be
a
proper
fix
to
deal
with
the
lack
of
microchips.
10
years
ago
this
would
not
have
been
a
problem,
but
now
with
every
car,
including
the
smallest
of
hatchbacks
to
the
biggest
of
SUVs
sporting
the
tech,
getting
the
world
to
go
back
to
interfaces
that
made
sense
before
will
be
a
tough
challenge
for
any
carmaker
let
alone
luxury
carmakers
like
BMW.
There
is
still
hope
as
the
voice
activation
systems
on
the
new
BMWs
are
still
around.
But
talking
to
your
car
is
a
sure-shot
way
of
confusing
the
cops
looking
out
for
idiots
on
their
phones.
Training
oneself
away
from
the
infotainment
screen
on
a
car
has
been
a
hard
task
due
to
the
fact
that
the
infernal
things
seem
to
get
larger
and
more
immersive
every
time
we
see
a
new
one.
Hopefully,
some
BMW
owners
will
soon
be
able
to
get
back
to
driving
as
dealing
with
carmaker’s
i-Drive
system
will
hopefully
put
them
off
the
damn
display
it
controls.
However,
there
is
one
other
thing
to
consider.
If
you’re
going
to
buy
a
BMW,
especially
the
ones
without
a
touchscreen,
and
your
car
costs
the
same
as
a
house
or
large
apartment,
is
that
teeny
tiny
rebate
really
going
to
offset
the
fact
that
you
have
to
work
harder
to
get
a
‘feature’ working
properly
on
your
‘luxury’
vehicle,
a
car
or
SUV
that
is
supposed
to
keep
you
relaxed.