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Future Vehicles Good, Bad or Ugly - Current and Future styling trends of BMW
728 messages, Last post on May 30, 2007 at 9:05 PM
You are in the Future Vehicles Forum. Your Host is kirstie_h
and its gonna have aerodinamical values equal to a box  autoblogger: youre right, seems very agressive, and less banglism, amen to that 
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I think those are unbelievably frightening. If that's the 3, even if they bring the touring here with a decent plant, it's off my list. Maybe they should hire Christian Koenigsegg away from his own company for some real design... |
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Hi all- Well, I just traded in a 2003 330xi for the 2004 545, and it was certainly not an easy decision to make. I hated the new 5 design when it came out (like many, many others here), but I have to admit that it has grown on me. I'm sure that's largely due to the fact that I own one, but it's also due to the fact that it's an absolute blast to drive. Don't know why some people think the interior has a cheap feel; IMHO it's just as high quality as my 330's was if not more so. Obviously the look of the interior is debatable, but I somehow doubt BMW spent less money on the materials than they did in the previous 5 (a good friend has the older body style and I don't think the interior of his feels or looks like it's made of better materials). I guess I just agree with those here that are saying that the new body style will take time to get used to, but that people WILL get used to it and probably even like it eventually. Nearly everytime a incredibly popular car gets a full re-design loyalists have a hard time with it. I'm not saying it isn't somewhat justified in this case, but I would say it's rare for loyalists to rave about a re-design of a car they love. But BMW absolutely has to stay on the cutting edge to design and technology which means they can't stay with the same body styles forever. Maybe the new 5 isn't for everyone, but it's a great car to drive, and I think I could train my black lab to use the iDrive. I'll tell you one thing though, like it or hate it, people certainly find it interesting to look at. I actually feel uncomfortable with how much people look at it sometimes!
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Replying to: rich545 (Jul 20, 2004 10:37 am) The exterior is a different story altogether. The problem with E60 is that it is not just the loyalists but regular 9-5 Office Folks, the 9-8 Silicon Valley nerds, most car mags, and most consumer mag who find the design discomforting. Two colleagues of mine refused to consider the E60 after looking at the redesign; they did not even want to go the dealer to take a test drive. A new model after 7 years should have prompted a large number of sales as the pent-up demand was released. The improving economy should have helped (the bonuses were pretty good last year). However, the E60 has not sold well. A new design will typically grow on people once they get used to it. However, there is something fundamentally screwed up with the design of this car which puts people off. For me it is the slanty lights which look completely out of place with the overall body style. The new 7 series also raised question marks. However it has gradually grown on people, since it did not lack harmony in the design; just newness and iDrive. However, E60 draws strong negative vibes, not just neutral vibes. There is so much that the Roundel/Props/Driving Experience can do to diffuse the visceral repulsion the E60's body style triggers. It will require retuning of most people's sense of harmony and balance to get used to.
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Replying to: vsaxena (Jul 20, 2004 12:07 pm) |
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Replying to: vsaxena (Jul 20, 2004 12:07 pm) http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2004/06/02/198203.html
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Replying to: rich545 (Jul 20, 2004 1:17 pm) I am not a person with strong dislikes; I pretty much find something good in anything. However, I have tried my best to get to like the styling of the E60. Whenever I see an E60 on the road I hover around it; whenever I see one around the parking lot I circle around it. The car simply lacks harmony. It must be a great car to drive, especially with the new active suspension which makes the curves easier on the passengers. However, the exterior styling just not cut it. Car and Driver, self-acknowledged Bimmer fanatics have to say the following about the new 5ers; You can't miss the new 5-series. (We just wish we didn't miss the old one so much.) http://www.caranddriver.com/article.asp?section_id=3&article_- id=7573&page_number=1 The sales figure for the new model year should have been out of the roof. After all it was a complete redesign after almost 7 years and coming at a time when the economy had finally turned the corner and people higher up in the ranks had a good year. 2003 model year, with the Iraq war and all was not really setting the high water mark either. On an year to date comparison, 18,568 E39s were sold last year vs 19,070 E60s this year; in May to May comparison the E39 actually outsold the E60 (4491 vs 4336). So even with weak comparisons, the car is not exactly a block-buster, barely keeping pace with the sales of a 7 year old model in an economy in the dumps. Also keep in mind that a lot of folks who leased their 5ers during the boom period of 2000-2001 would have been looking to upgrade the cars in this model year. There was a lot of pent up demand for people waiting for the new 5 series. Unfortunately, a lot of these buyers are looking elsewhere or are trying to get a low mileage E39 (just look at the resale values of the 2003 E39s). I envy you since you are driving a car with one of the best driving experiences. However, this cars styling will be a tough sell; and will remain so for in the future. I fully expect BMW to tweak the styling in the 2006 model year. I think the angled lights will be the one feature that will be strongly diminished. |
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| true the new 5 handles even better than the old 5, though not by much. of course im talking about the one w/o SP. dont know why but i still hate the active steering, it gives me a hard time trying to communicate with the car whenever im driving it, particularly at lower speeds. | |
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Replying to: vsaxena (Jul 20, 2004 2:01 pm) BMW tried a radical new design direction that has failed. I assume they felt the need to attempt this because the E39-type designs were so widely mimicked by a number of other manufacturers that they were looking passe. But a good design is a good design. When I look at a 3/4 rear view of the E60 just below and behind the rear window and see all of those conflicting lines and angles it's like someone scratching on a blackboard - it just grates. Surely a better approach would have been to have taken an evolutionary, rather than revolutionary approach, much in the way that Aston Martin, MB, Jaguar etc have taken. Aspects of all of these brands are widely copied yet they stick with a fundamental design philosophy that retains a strong sense of continuity.
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Replying to: karmikan (Jul 20, 2004 10:09 pm)
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