"I've been driving automatic and manual shift cars for over 46 years. I've been driving BMWs for 16 years. In addition, I own a classic sports car that has a manual shift. My wife who can also drive both manual and automatic, decided that at this point in her life she likes a little luxury and selected a BMW with what she thought was an automatic. But what she got was a shifter that wants to be both. It's confusing. I suppose I'm a lot older than you Andy. Good luck with your X6."

"BMW, Audi, and just about every other car manufacturer has adopted this very poorly designed shifter. BMW calls it their Steptronic shifter. It amazes me that this thing has been allowed to spread like it has to every car in the world. It's UI is just plain dangerous. My wife recently purchased a 2013 BMW X5. The test drive didn't really give us enough opportunity to understand just how the shifter worked. It wasn't until we started driving it regularly (she more than me) that we realized the underlying danger with it. Both of us nearly had accidents directly related to the shifter. Because the knob springs back to the upright position, you can't just glance at the gearshift and know what gear you're in. The dashboard indicator is hidden just enough that it requires you to search for it. When your life depends on getting the car into the correct gear and proceeding either forward or backward (as in a mid-street K-turn) quickly, you risk serious injury or death. In those situations, instinct tells you that if you want to move forward you push the knob forward. WRONG! If you want to go forward, you pull the knob backward. To go backward, you push the knob forward. It's completely counter-intuitive. And this all goes back to the fact that the knob always returns to the upright position, confusing the shit out of the driver. After her 4th near crash incident, (I had 4 incidents myself) my wife asked if we could sell the car. After finding a 2010 BMW X3 with a standard shifter (YEAH!) we sold our X5 at a loss of $7,000 (that really hurt, but it's better to have a happy and safe wife). Now I need a new car, but EVERY new car (American and foreign) I look at has that same shifter. !@#$%"