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Good, Bad or Ugly - Current and Future styling trends of BMW

729 messages,  Last post on May 30, 2007 at 10:05 PM

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What is this discussion about? BMW 3 Series, BMW 5 Series, BMW 7 Series

Messages Page 33 of 74

#317 of 729 New 545 owner by rich545

Jul 20, 2004 (11:37 am)

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!

#318 of 729 Re: New 545 owner [rich545] by vsaxena

Jul 20, 2004 (1:07 pm)

Replying to: rich545 (Jul 20, 2004 11:37 am)
Congratulations on the 5er. Once you are inside the car, I am sure the experience is worth the money. Make sure you take the scenic route to work.
 
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.

#319 of 729 Re: New 545 owner [vsaxena] by rich545

Jul 20, 2004 (2:10 pm)

Replying to: vsaxena (Jul 20, 2004 1:07 pm)
I guess I have to disagree, to some degree. Firstly, loyalists to a particular car design can have any occupation. What I mean is people (like myself) that loved the old 5 design. I remember lots more than just neutral reaction to the 7 as well. In fact, I don't know anyone that liked it all when it was first released. As far as harmony and balance go, they are completely subjective. Again, I didn't like the design at all when I first saw and for a good while after it, and it did grow on me. To tell you the truth, everyone I've shown it to thinks it's a great looking car and they are surprised that they feel that way. Maybe it's seeing the car up close and from different angles that matters. I also don't think the reviews from car mags were that bad at all even about the looks. Here's Car and Driver's: http://www.caranddriver.com/article.asp?section_id=3&article_id=8011. Most seem to say that the syling might not be to a particular individual's taste, but that's about it. Isn't retuning people's sense of balance and harmony what a car company should try to do if it chooses to lead the way rather than to follow the pack anyway?

#320 of 729 Re: New 545 owner [vsaxena] by rich545

Jul 20, 2004 (2:17 pm)

Replying to: vsaxena (Jul 20, 2004 1:07 pm)
Sorry, forgot one thing. The sales figures for the new 5 aren't bad. In fact, if I'm reading the chart in the attached article correctly it looks like they've sold more 545's this year than 540's last year:
 
http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2004/06/02/198203.html

#321 of 729 Re: New 545 owner [rich545] by vsaxena

Jul 20, 2004 (3:01 pm)

Replying to: rich545 (Jul 20, 2004 2:17 pm)
I do agree that likes and dislikes are very subjective. However there is almost a universal consensus that this car is went a bit too far.
 
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.

#322 of 729 vsaxena by m4d_cow

Jul 20, 2004 (10:03 pm)

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.

#323 of 729 Re: New 545 owner [vsaxena] by karmikan

Jul 20, 2004 (11:09 pm)

Replying to: vsaxena (Jul 20, 2004 3:01 pm)
Eloquently said vsaxena. It's a bit of an escape route to suggest that negative views of the new BMW design philosophy come from E39 owners who don't like change. The view that is shared by most media sources (C&D, MT, R&T, Autoweek, Motorweek et al) is that you need to overcome the design flaws and drive the thing to appreciate its virtues. A design should compliment, not detract from the driving/ownership experience.
 
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.

#324 of 729 Re: New 545 owner [karmikan] by rich545

Jul 21, 2004 (6:56 am)

Replying to: karmikan (Jul 20, 2004 11:09 pm)
One thing I disagree with is that you said that the design route BMW has taken has failed. What are you basing that on? The dislike some people have for the cars? As the chart that I posted indicates, though sales have not been through the roof, they were ahead of the old 5 year-to-date in May. One additional thing I wanted to point out to vsaxena is that to expect a huge jump in sales in a down economy (I also disagree with the suggestion that the economy is doing better; in fact the market is flat at best) when you're talking about a car that costs over $60K. Only about 5% of the population can even afford one (if that) so it's not like we're talking about the release of a new Honda Accord for $25K here. I realize that the old 5 out sold the new one for May, but the really relevent numbers from a sales perspective are year end. In fact vsaxena read tha chart wrong. The number where the old 5 out sold the new one for May was the overall 5 sales (525, 530, 545 and station wagons). The new 530 and 545 both out sold the old 5 (1783 vs 1773 for the 530 and 909 vs 518 for the 545 vs 540). Also keep in mind that the station wagon is not released yet so the old 5's overall figures include that. Bottom line is that year-to-date as of May the new 5 had out sold the old one 18,996 to 16,894 for the 525, 530, and 545 (vs. 540). So as of May this year they had sold 2,102 more of the new 5's than the old body style last year. At the price of these cars calling that a failure makes no business sense. And we don't even have the figures for summer sales which I'd bet are even higher for the new 5. Once you include the year end sales this year I'd bet the new 5 will have sold at quite a bit more than last year's model. So though I agree that some people don't love them, that's not being reflected in sales at all.

#325 of 729 Re: New 545 owner [rich545] by rich545

Jul 21, 2004 (7:20 am)

Replying to: rich545 (Jul 21, 2004 6:56 am)
Just for simplicity's sake here's an interesting way to look at this from a sales prespective. The 2,102 more new 5 series cars they sold probably represents about an $105,050,000.00 (I used and average price of $50,000) increase in gross sales over 2003 5's. And that's only as of May! I realize that isn't real accounting, but it certainly shows that BMW isn't crying about the new designs. Think about that for the entire year. I bet they'll end up selling about 5000 more new 5's this year than last. Using the $50,000 average price that I used above that's an increase in sales of $250M for 2004. Keep in mind also that January through May are probably the slowest sales months, and that they had and still have very limited stock of the new 5's (trust me, it was really hard to find the 545 I wanted). I know, get a life rather than posting all of these figures! I just think that it's important to separate personal feelings from business facts. Sure BMW would love to have everyone the owns an old 5 come back for a new one, but realistically as long as sales are meeting their projections (which none of us knows for sure) they really don't care.

#326 of 729 Impact of New Design: Sales Data E60 Not A Huge Hit by riez

Jul 21, 2004 (8:12 am)

Using the sales figures from the October 2004 issue of Bimmer magazine, covering YTD thru May:
 
E60 525i sedan= 7081
E39 525i sedan= 6699
 
This is a small increase of only 382 units or only 5.7% increase.
 
E60 530i sedan= 8124
E39 530i sedan= 8082
 
This is an even smaller increase of only 42 units or a miniscule .5% increase.
 
E60 545i sedan= 3773
E39 540i sedan= 2113
 
This is a substantial 1660 unit increase or a huge 79% increase.
 
The totals:
 
E60 sedan= 18996
E39 sedan= 16894
 
This is an increase of 2101 units or 12.4%.
 
BUT... Keep in mind that the E39 came out in CY1996 as a MY1997. So the E39 sales data from CY2003 comes at the end of its lifecycle. The E60 sales data comes at the start of its lifecycle, when it is making the biggest "splash" in the market and minds of consumers.
 
Would be interesting to see the following:
 
- What were BMW's internal sales projections?
- How much did BMW spend on research and development of the E60 and what incremental increase in costs to put it into production?
- What are the E60's marketing costs?
- Is BMW using incentives to move E60s?
- How much did it cost BMW per unit to produce E39 and E60? Does the E60 cost more to produce per unit?

Messages Page 33 of 74

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