I’m sure I don’t need to tell you the significance of smell as a factor affecting the in-car experience. Most top-tier automakers spend hundreds of thousands of dollars in research to perfect car perfumes and technologies around it to augment other amenities and offer the most comfortable and enjoyable experience inside the cabin. However, BMW wants to take things to a whole new level. According to a report by CarBuzz, the German manufacturer is working on an exterior fragrance dispenser system and has filed for a patent for it with the German Patent and Trademark Office (DPMA). Yes, you read that right; it’s car perfume for not the cabin but the outside of the vehicle. Now, how cool is that!
According to the patent application, the fragrance dispensers will be hidden behind the BMW roundels on the front and rear of the car. Let me try to explain how it’ll work. It will be triggered when the keyless entry system detects the owner approaching the car, which will immediately hoist the iconic BMW emblem and reveal what should be the nozzle of the fragrance dispenser. The roundel will be able to move vertically and horizontally, spraying the perfume in different directions and enveloping the car in a pleasant scent. A similar kind of system is used by many cars in their headlight washer units.
You might be wondering if the feature would really amount to something useful or if will it be another one of those senseless gimmicks. In my opinion, it’s an incredible car greeting feature; a lot more useful and effective than the puddle lamps that project the manufacturers’ emblems on the ground. Being engulfed in a delightful scent even before stepping inside the cabin might tremendously improve the car experience. There are various studies that show the sense of smell has a deeper and long-lasting impact than vision; which means this feature could prove to be more effective than exterior car design in creating a more pleasant experience. Well, the topic is definitely debatable but I’ll surely want this feature on the newer BMWs to distract me from the company’s new highly-controversial in-your-face design language.
(All images courtesy BMW)
