As a documented (on this website) hater of giant screens supplanting actual buttons in cars, you may think that I also dislike connected apps and smartphone functions. Why does a car need to talk to my iPhone? Smartphone as a key? There’s nothing wrong with the plain ole key fob.
But you’d be wrong – I am a huge fan of smartphone app connection. The My BMW app is rather good. It can tell me how much gasoline is left in the tank, where the M2 is currently parked, unlock or lock it, and how many miles in total it’s driven. Users can also schedule dealership service visits right on the app. Functional, practical, what’s not to like?
Don’t conflate the anti-screens, pro-button mafia (there are dozens of us!) with luddites trying to roll back the tide of technology. Innovations that are truly useful should be applauded. Tech such as the backup camera and ultrasonic parking sensors: I would hate to own another car without those features. Apple CarPlay on a full-colored LCD screen is immensely better than the double-din head-units of old. No one wants to print out MapQuest navigation routes before setting off on a new journey. Who even owns a printer?
Members of said mafia are simply against technology for technology’s sake. Having one central screen in the car to display and do everything isn’t about curating an excellent user experience. It’s plain and simple cost-cutting. Physical buttons and toggles costs more to design and engineer than iPad screens. Can a driver get used to such a system? Sure. The hundreds of thousands of Tesla owners are testament to that. But let’s not get it twisted: it’s the manufacturers shaping the experience, not the customer.
Smartphone app integration though? Love it. Kudos to BMW for not locking it behind a paywall after an introductory period (looking at you, Toyota). You just know the company wanted to. This is the same BMW that famously put heated seats behind a monthly subscription.
When is peak car? For me it’s the early to middle 2010s. My BMW M2 may be a 2021 model year, but the bones of the car date all the way back to 2014 with the F80 generation M3 introduction. (The M2 is essentially a two-door, short-wheel base version of that M3.) That era is peak car for me because it’s got just enough technology to be helpful (never giving up CarPlay if I can help it), but not overly encumbered with it to be annoying. If the infotainment screen in the M2 breaks down, I can still operate the car. Can the same be said of a Tesla Model Y?
There’s also the question of personal privacy when it comes to the sheer amount of software and computing power in modern cars. A car that you can lock/unlock remotely with a smartphone app is bound to be collecting your data. Whether or not the manufacturer sells that data off to a third party for an easy profit remains a mystery. How can we be sure? I bet GM, Honda, and Hyundai owners did not know about this until they read it on the news.
On the flip-side of the coin, how can I be so arrogant to think I am of anyone important? There’s nothing special about me. Nobody is going target me and steal my data specifically. The thieves will only get pennies in return.
I am okay with a certain level of data “sharing” (let’s call it) with a car if it is useful. The My BMW app is in that category. Who amongst us have never felt the sudden panic that comes with remembering whether you’ve locked your car or not? Modern car communication and Internet apps have completely eliminated that worry. I can use my iPhone to check, and lock the M2 if it’s indeed left open to the criminal elements. There is zero nostalgia here with the before times.
What I have turned off is the car’s GPS location. I don’t want BMW to know where my car is all the time. Though I am dubious of the effectiveness. The My BMW app communicates with the M2 using (presumably) WIFI signal – surely it doesn’t take much additional code to beam to a few more access points to have a triangulation on the car’s location. BMW can have all this information in the background, and I’d be none the wiser.
I do find value in tracking the location of the M2. That is where devices like the Apple AirTag comes in handy. Potential thieves be warned: there’s definitely a tracker placed inside my BMW. You should definitely find it and disable it before absconding with the rest of the car. You’re welcome.
Readers of other sections of this website will know I was sick for much of August. Therefore I hardly drove the M2 during the month. After the saga of almost selling the BMW in July, I am as committed as ever to this car. It is peak car, in my estimation. There’s no reason to go through the archaic American car-buying process of begging some asshole at a dealership to see you a vehicle at reasonable price. No thanks.
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Date acquired: October 2020
Total mileage: 22,462
Mileage this month: 227
Costs this month: $534.45 (license renewal)
MPG this month: 20.7