Oil level safety shutoff?

[mh60sardog]

I recently bought a "new" 2001 X5 3.0 with 65000 miles on it. As I was driving home today, out of nowhere the car just shut off! I was able to coast into a parking light and popped the hood. I checked the oil dipstick and noticed that the oil was a little low. Over the lower "bulb" but at the very bottom of the middle section. I was just a block away from my local Pep Boys so I decided to walk over and get some more oil. I was talking to the guy behind the counter and he said that some European cars have safety feature that will shut the car off to avoid engine damage. Has anyone ever heard of this before? I got back to my car and added 1 quart of oil, which put it back at a good level and started the car. It started fine, but the Service Engine Soon light came on. It drove fine to my house (about 10 miles) and I parked it to wait until the service department opened. I bought the car from a very reputable BMW dealership three weeks ago, and so I hope that they would have done any services that would have been due. Has anybody ever heard of something like this before?