BMW E46, E90 "Chris Bangle" BMW's? And an E39 argument :-P

[graan13]

I think much along the lines of a what a few people have said - in my view the e46 has been the most "timeless" of designs but it can look very dated now if its not a clean example - strange that... but for sure like most BM's they look 10x's better in MS guise. Having had e46, e39, e90, e60 I think that also the e39 is by far the best built - no hands down! Again though, they look very different in MS guise and very aggressive. The e90 I thought was just "plain" and even mine in MS guise was sort of non descript to me (sorry if I offend any e90ers). The e60 - a very strange car. Its in my view not at all pretty in normal guise but is very different in MS guise (both of mine have been MS versions) and also the colour on this car makes it either look great or shabby. I had a white one initially which looked good and now have a titanium silver which also looks good. The other colour that does the car favours is carbon black (very very dark blue metallic for those who don't know - including 2nd hand dealers that say its black!) . However, this colour seems to end up with people that wash the car with sand paper or never wash it at all so most of them appear to be wrecks The other colour that suits, is I think sterling grey, need correction on this but its the colour that Sash's car is.
The e60 MS versions to me have aged very well and do not look out of place on the roads today with the current trends of swoopy headlights, angles, curves etc considering that their design is now over 10 year on. I stand up for the e60 boys here :rollsmile:

 

[ASH]

I have a theory about the second generation one series. I think it was deliberately styled oddly at the front, in order not to affect E90/3series sales at the time. Remember when it was launched the E90 was in run-out phase with the F30 some time away.

If it was styled fantastically, being a bigger more upmarket car, it may have swayed alot of 3series customers into a one series also before the F30 arrived.

Just a theory.......:skit:

I think Chris would have done better on this One:

 

[nirvash]

Loved the e46, specially in facelift. E46 facelift Ci is still and will always remain a beaut. Bmw just has a way with 2 doors. E46 also for me just had a better build quality then the e90 , but damn I still love my e90 more then I did my E46.... I'm lucky enough to still have an e46 parked in the yard ready to be used, and it's still a joy to drive.

i agree wholeheartedly,

e46 facelift ci is to me still one of the classiest, nicest looking bmws in my opinion, absolutely,
i always think of selling my 330i for one, but having driven a few 325ci's and owning a 323ci i can't step away from the m54b30 back to an m54b25, such a world of difference....

maybe one day though...

also can't make up my mind between e46 fl ci or e92... though i think ci wins,

also toyed with the idea of doing a 325ci to 330i conversion, engine, brakes etc...
but then again if you going through the effort of changing the motor, why not go more interesting....
but for a daily it works

if the 330ci coupe was sold here there is no doubt at all that thats what i would be driving everyday, definitely.

why oh why

 

[thisISmyothercar]

I have a theory about the second generation one series. I think it was deliberately styled oddly at the front, in order not to affect E90/3series sales at the time. Remember when it was launched the E90 was in run-out phase with the F30 some time away.

If it was styled fantastically, being a bigger more upmarket car, it may have swayed alot of 3series customers into a one series also before the F30 arrived.

Just a theory.......:skit:

I think Chris would have done better on this One:

Ah I think there might be something to your theory! The new 1 series went proper upmarket, technologically it was certainly ahead of the outgoing E90 3 series. Your last run of any given model is usually your most profitable too, you wouldn't want a new smaller model to take away from that.

So with the F30 out they were free to improve the design with the LCI?

 

[ASH]

I'm also a fan of the 3series coupes. I've owned both the E46ci and the E92, both where pre-lci versions however the E92 was M-Sport.

Both were styled fantastically. However I prefer the E92 due to the marked difference between it and the sedan, whereas the E46 coupe looked alot similar
to the sedan.

Here's my E46 ci, The Hellrot Basterd, sadly perished in an accident, no fault
of mine. I hated the bootfin, and it was drilled into the bootlid, by the previous owner. I think this colour was very rare & I hardly see any in this colour these
days.

The only gripe I had with the E46 coupe was the side line didn't meet
up properly with the split line of the tailight, whereas on the sedan it matched
up perfectly and on the E92 it wasn't an issue. Also the rear tailight arrangement
on the E92 was much more neater than the E46 coupe, I wasnt a fan of the butterflied arrangement on the pre-lci coupe but the lci coupe tidied up the
cluster

Here's some comparisons:-

Both cars still amazing in their own way..............

Loved the e46, specially in facelift. E46 facelift Ci is still and will always remain a beaut. Bmw just has a way with 2 doors. E46 also for me just had a better build quality then the e90 , but damn I still love my e90 more then I did my E46.... I'm lucky enough to still have an e46 parked in the yard ready to be used, and it's still a joy to drive.

i agree wholeheartedly,

e46 facelift ci is to me still one of the classiest, nicest looking bmws in my opinion, absolutely,
i always think of selling my 330i for one, but having driven a few 325ci's and owning a 323ci i can't step away from the m54b30 back to an m54b25, such a world of difference....

maybe one day though...

also can't make up my mind between e46 fl ci or e92... though i think ci wins,

also toyed with the idea of doing a 325ci to 330i conversion, engine, brakes etc...
but then again if you going through the effort of changing the motor, why not go more interesting....
but for a daily it works

if the 330ci coupe was sold here there is no doubt at all that thats what i would be driving everyday, definitely.

why oh why

 

[ASH]

Maybe a debate thread on the best BMW coupe should be created?

 

[thisISmyothercar]

Maybe a debate thread on the best BMW coupe should be created?

Now THAT would be a far less one-sided debate

 

[GPGrobler]

Just some pics of BMW's I took in the hotel's car park today:

Sweet ///M235i
http://www.bmwfanatics.co.za/uploads/user/24430/beautiful
2_6608226294.jpg

My poor eyes:

:roflol:

Old but still Good:

Nice fresh 320i Sport: