What Am I? Rollin’
It is Monday morning (somewhere), so time to blast away the Monday morning blues with another episode of DT’s start of the work week What Am I? challenge.
What am I? Comments below.
It is Monday morning (somewhere), so time to blast away the Monday morning blues with another episode of DT’s start of the work week What Am I? challenge.
What am I? Comments below.
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Clearly power window switches; and I'm pretty sure that is BMW's window icon next to a dreaded i-drive dial. As to what model and era of vehicle … that's about where my expertise ends. I'm going to guess a mid to late 2000's, maybe 5 series, probably 7 series.
Looks like what I have in my x5
Nah, I think that's a slightly different power window pic from BMW's. Similar, but different.
Doesn't really look like a set of BMW window switches–while the emblem design is similar to late 2000s BMW switches, it's not exactly the same. Plus, most BMWs with a similar design have the full set of window switches on the driver's door armrest, while these look like they're on the center console. If they're on the driver's armrest, then this would have to be a RHD car.
Keep up the guesses!
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E90
[image src=" bmwenthusiasts.co.uk/forum/download/file.php?id=5883"]
E90
[image src=" bmwenthusiasts.co.uk/forum/download/file.php?id=5883" width="112px"/]
image weirdness – and no, not an E90, apparently
ooh! – E60 – but I can't prove it
At first I thought maybe something British like Jag XF. But quick search dispelled that. Doesn't match any other common car maker I could think of and the curve on the upper right made it seem like perhaps it was a center mounted control. Not many cars have that configuration. Then I thought maybe it's some bespoke car marker. Not many of those, and not many that made 4 door cars. Modern brushed aluminum design told me it was a recent car. Googled Fisker Karma interior. Boom.
Zedo — you are correct. Nice job. It was a Fisker Karma I found on ebay, but now I can't find the actual listing.
-Vince
images.caricos.com/f/fisker/2012_fisker_karma/images/1280×960/2012_fisker_karma_58_1280x960.jpg
How do I insert images?
Looks like Zedo got it:
image src=" images.caricos.com/f/fisker/2012_fisker_karma/images/1024×768/2012_fisker_karma_58_1024x768.jpg" width="400px"/
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This comment has been removed by the author.
Karma Automotive
customerservice@karmaautomotive.com
Greetings –
I am associated with a car enthusiast website called Daily Turismo (dailyturismo.com) and writing to ask about a design detail on the Karma.
Our editor-in-chief challenges our readers and "staff" to a weekly car design quiz, on which I, as more-or-less the art director of the site, am fiercely competitive. Oh yes, some of my triumphs have been glorious…
This week ( dailyturismo.com/2016/11/what-am-i-rollin.html) he gave us the power window controls of the Karma, which some n00b named Zedo worked out while I was off doing important things.
However, I do admit to having spent a little time in real research on this one, and discovered something interesting. It seems most car manufacturers have their own distinct variation for the symbol found on the power window switch. For many it is a pictogram of a car window, while some have a simple shape such as an arrow or dash, and some are blank. Among the taxonomy of power window pictograms, there are a range of plain utilitarian to more stylized or embellished designs. Audi, for example, uses a particularly satisfying, rounded window shape that is both distinctive and evocative of their somewhat blobby cars, while GM opts for an overwrought yet pedantic shape, which also fits, right?
[image src=" i.imgur.com/ZxvZhFU.png" width="400px"/]
That brings us to Karma (and karma). My research reveals the pictogram appears to be the same as that used by BMW. Do you deny it! …sorry. But seriously, though, what I'd like to know, if you can tell me, is whether the power window switches on the original Karma are, in fact, out of the BMW bin, and if so, possibly the part number. Further, I'm trying to figure out which model that same window switch would have been used on, such as, oh… the E60?
Thank you in advance for possibly not crumpling up this email and tossing it in the trash. All seriousness aside, we love cars, we love the Karma, which is without a doubt one of the most beautiful designs ever to roll, and we look forward to the day, far in the future, when the magic of depreciation may make one reachable to Doctordel, who is probably the only one of our readers who could swing it.
With my best regards,
– KBZ
yes, actually sent
Nice e-mail, but actually the pictogram isn't the same…..it's a pic of a much more "raked" door, and is what clued me in that it wasn't a BMW switch. As for the switch shape, it sure looks like the same part.
@FTB – i swear i saw that exact swept window shape on an E60 part, couldn't grab the image, went looking for another one, couldn't find one, couldn't find the original one again
Hello Kaibeezy,
Thank you for your email to Karma. Your question is certainly an interesting one, which required a bit of digging on our part as well.
While I cannot go a far as to supply you with the exact part number, I can tell you, the answer to whether or not this switch is a BMW part is no….and maybe. All of our internal documents point to GM as the source for this part; but the real answer lies with a company called Global Tech Ventures.
Global Tech Ventures supplies window switches and various other parts to a multitude of auto manufacturers, including GM, and perhaps even BMW. Global Tech Ventures is the real “Great bin of switches”! So, it is entirely possible that GM sourced the switch from Global Tech Ventures, then outsourced it for use on the 2012 Karma. And by the same token BMW may have acquired a switch from that very same bin or even from a third party like GM.
We hope this information serves you on your quest for automotive glory. Please don’t hesitate to reach out with any further questions.
With best regards,
KARMA
Client Services
[image src=" i.imgur.com/01meYG1.png" width="150px"/]
KARMA AUTOMOTIVE LLC
1080 AIRWAY AVE. | COSTA MESA CA 92626
P (855) 56-KARMA
KARMAAUTOMOTIVE.COM
Dear Global Tech Ventures…