The beginning of the end: BMW drops minivan bomb

BMW board member Michael Ganal has told a Frankfurt newspaper that the spinning props might be stuck on a minivan's hood after 2006. Ganal said a capacious minivan would come "as soon as markets are ready for a BMW-specific solution." Of course, Ganal said it in German, so it sounded much more gruff and serious, and continued by announcing that work on the project is already underway. Current and former BMW chairmen haven't been enthusiastic about what the minivan image could do to BMW, but if we think back a few years to the advent of the X5, the primary reaction was "Aaaaaaggggghhh!!!! BMW can't build an SUV, they're the Ultimate Driving Machine!!!"