Three words: holy. freaking. crap.

    Most automakers build a few concept cars every year, creating something unique when compared to their regular line of production cars. But that one blip of innovation is almost always completely unrelated to the cars they put up for sale; the only shared element being the badge of the automaker. For me, concepts have always created a confusing dichotomy between the innovative and the mundane; while others were getting excited about the concept cars, I never saw the point. Any innovation displayed in the concept seemed hollow, because the unique concepts only served to illustrate how truly boring, dull, and uninspired the production line truly is. I didn’t see the point in getting excited over a concept when, time and again, most automakers have proven that those outlandish concepts never bridge the gap from concept to production. So why bother? By the time the auto shows are over and done with, I’m always left wondering, why can’t automakers invest that inspiration in the cars they sell, rather than just showing off design skills that they never use?

    BMW is different. Their concept cars are rare, very few and far between, because rather than using them as a means of generating hollow excitement, they are in every aspect true concepts. Every concept car they create is directly related to one specific theme within their construction line. Although some of the shapes and lines may seem exaggerated or outlandish, somehow nearly every aspect of a concept car will be applied to the construction cars. Nothing is wasted, no amount of inspiration is chucked in the bin after the auto show is over. When they build a concept car it’s not about attention, it’s about truly testing viable concepts to then be applied to the cars we average people will be driving within the next few years.

    I respect that so much more than the bizarre and ridiculous concepts we see every year from the other major automotive companies. For BMW it’s not just about garnering attention, it’s about testing true business models and creative ideas. When a concept is delivered by BMW, any excitement you feel from the design and innovation will be found again in upcoming production cars.

    That is why the BMW GINA is so exciting. When BMW goes to the effort to actually build a concept, your excitement isn’t for naught, because you know BMW has every intention of putting these concepts into action. Some day in the near future, their production line will mirror the vast majority of what we see in the GINA.

    For me, this is one of the most exciting concept cars I’ve ever seen. And that says a lot, since I’ve been excited for the past several years by the development of the Hydrogen 7. From a beautifully complete engineering point of view, the Hydrogen 7 is endlessly inspiring and incredibly significant; it has the potential to revolutionize the entire driving experience. Out on the roads right now are a select number of fully operational hydrogen-powered vehicles – BMW 7-series running solely on the power of hydrogen. Not a hybrid, not a mix; pure hydrogen. While other automakers are still trying to get ethanol to work, despite the warnings of agricultural experts, BMW already has a working automobile that has no dependence whatsoever on oil. Most people don’t notice and a lot of other automakers are sincerely hoping we won’t notice, because the majority of them are decades behind what BMW has already accomplished. While everyone else was twiddling their thumbs, BMW saw ahead and began working on their hydrogen concepts decades ago. Now, just when we need it most, their concepts have become a reality.

    As exciting as the Hydrogen 7 is, the GINA is exhilarating in its own way. This is unlike anything anyone has ever imagined. Not even Hollywood and all of its bizarre futuristic concepts its come up with for sci-fi blockbusters have ever come close to this. Yet right here, right now, BMW has created a car with a skin made of fabric. While others would dismiss a fabric-covered car from any other automaker, from BMW it makes sense. Never has BMW ever sacrificed safety for a bit of innovative fluff.

    Take for instance the different approaches to the creation of a convertible. Any other automaker knows that the public assumes all convertibles won’t be as safe as a sedan. Because of this, most automakers don’t bother using up their resources to improve the safety standards of their sports cars. They get complacent because they’re fine resting on their laurels, feeding into the expectations of the public rather than encouraging innovation.

    Compare that to the BMW approach to the Z4, a soft-top two-seater convertible. If someone were to look at that car without any knowledge of the engineering that went into it, I’m sure they’d assume that it – by nature of being a convertible – would be a “death trap.” BMW didn’t have to buck that assumption, but they did anyway. The Z4 is so structurally sound, so resilient, and so beautifully thorough in its design, that it’s regularly ranked as the safest convertible on the market today. Some elements of the car that seem to be purely aesthetic are, in fact, part of the safety features worked into the car. There are roll-bars built into an arch behind the headrest and into the windshield; there are vast solid new steel reinforcements woven around the engine.

    The best testament to the safety of any car isn’t just in the government or insurance crash tests, but in true real-life events where accidents never follow such basic and precise impacts as in laboratory tests. For the Z4, the best example of its safety comes from the very first Z4 that was ever totaled. A woman was driving her brand new Z4 through the hills of Northern California when she came to a sharp curve in the road. As she approached the curve, a semi-truck was coming from the opposite direction. It swerved into her lane, causing her to veer off the road into a slick of mud. She corrected the car beautifully, but unfortunately just as she had gotten back onto the road, the curve swept away and she ran out of road. The car sailed over the cliff at the side of the road and fell 150 feet. It rolled three times, only stopping when it was caught – upside down – by a tree.

    By all accounts, if she had been in any other convertible, she would have been dead. Especially considering the fact that the convertible top was down when this happened. Any other car and she most likely would have been decapitated.

    But she was in a BMW Z4. She walked away from that accident with only a few minor cuts and bruises. In the magazine where this story was published, there were pictures of the car being pulled out of the tree and placed back on the road. The car was completely mangled, so twisted and bent. But what saved this woman’s life was the cabin, which looked entirely whole and untouched. The engine didn’t crash through to the cabin, the headrests were still in place, and she was kept safe inside. The roll-bars and steel reinforcements did their job and saved her life.

    For me, that’s what BMW is all about. Time and again BMW could give the public cars that only meet their expectations, that never exceed their assumptions of what safety means. Instead they choose to surpass trends and expectations in every way they can. In my opinion, that’s what makes a car company great. They acknowledge their responsibilities to the public, they adhere to principles of safety and innovation not because they’re forced to, but because they want to.

    That’s the corporate and creative environment at BMW. That’s what makes the GINA so exciting. While anyone would expect a car with a body of fabric to be flimsy, I know not to expect anything less than perfection from BMW. They won’t rest on potentially low expectations and neither should we. In this day and age, when science, engineering, and design are constantly evolving and improving, there’s no reason for us to assume cars should be unsafe and uninspired. If we expected more from the rest of the pack, other automakers would raise their standards just as BMW has.

    Maybe then we could truly get excited about all concept cars. Maybe then we’d be presented with production cars that are safer, more efficient, and truly viable for our daily lives and for the environment. If we expected more, we’d get more. It’s all up to us.