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

[AdiS]

The E60 seems to have aged the best, I think it is a stunning car nowadays. :clapper: For all the flack it seems to get, it is the most boss of all the 5 series designs IMHO.

Let me be the first to vehemently disagree with you.

I also don't understand the harsh criticism that the E60 gets. The E65 for sure, but the E60 is a lot more restrained. In M-sport guise, I think that to this day, it is an elegant, sporty, and modern design.

Having said that, I am still ultimately the biggest fan of the E39/E46 design style.

 

[ChefDJ]

I suppose the E90 and E60 get strong criticism because it was like *BAM the normal BMW design is changing. Suddenly the L-shaped rear lights were no more, sharper curves, odd shaped headlights compared to the much loved standard and so forth.

Can you imagine what would happen the day BMW decides to get rid of the kidney grills?

 

[ChefDJ]

And the E65 is mostly hated, but I find that even the pre-lci has a sense of presence that it demands, that no other car does. It says "look at me, I am here now, I look weird because I am special and I don't care what you think, now get out the way peasant". Like a fat ugly King...

The lci E65 looks tons better, especially the rear, and even the E65 haters will agree.

Queue E38-was-the-best-7-ever comments :rollsmile:

 

[Sankekur]

The E60 seems to have aged the best, I think it is a stunning car nowadays. :clapper: For all the flack it seems to get, it is the most boss of all the 5 series designs IMHO.

Let me be the first to vehemently disagree with you.

I also don't understand the harsh criticism that the E60 gets. The E65 for sure, but the E60 is a lot more restrained. In M-sport guise, I think that to this day, it is an elegant, sporty, and modern design.

Having said that, I am still ultimately the biggest fan of the E39/E46 design style.

Personally in M5 guise I would term the look of the e60 as acceptable (the V10 also has something to do with this). But in standard guise there is just to much ugliness in terms of styling cues and just the overall "un-BMW'ness" of its looks makes it a car that I can't get myself like.

 

[ASH]

I agree its a more acceptable design than the E65. I used to also be intrigued by its design when it first came out.

But over the years, I feel the E60 design was trying too hard to draw attention, with alot of lines, scoops, surfacing, sculpturing going on. Cars that are timeless tend have a simplistic design rather than complex cues. The M5 pic Adis posted shows how busy the design was, with the M5 having pumped up arches, bigger rims and bumpers and a more aggressive stance. The normal ones aren't really
memorable.

I also think the E46 design has aged better than the E90, look at Karthik's sign, amazing. The E92, on there other hand was totally different design language to the E90, the biggest issue I had with the pre-lci E90 was the Korean influenced rear end and at the front the grille became set into the the bumper with a slant instead of being upright or having a shark slant.

The E60 seems to have aged the best, I think it is a stunning car nowadays. :clapper: For all the flack it seems to get, it is the most boss of all the 5 series designs IMHO.

Let me be the first to vehemently disagree with you.

I also don't understand the harsh criticism that the E60 gets. The E65 for sure, but the E60 is a lot more restrained. In M-sport guise, I think that to this day, it is an elegant, sporty, and modern design.

Having said that, I am still ultimately the biggest fan of the E39/E46 design style.

 

[herr bmw]

e90 enough said.

now lets have another thread with lots of arguments,seems to the normal way on this forum

 

[ASH]

Actually no..........:rollsmile:

Look more closely at the detail on the polo with the new 1 series. The shape of the tail lights, hatch tailgate, the points where the lines change direction, the space about the tail light running below the rear glass, etc etc etc..........:rollsmile:

Look at the pre-lci 1series rear and the polo.

Is that is not a direct copy with subtle changes? It is too remarkably similar.

Can't agree more, but I wonder who designed the poor new 1 Series, looks like a VW/Audi with BMW decals, the Golf rear end is a dead giveaway :roflol:

now that you mention it !

---

Here's some really cool info on BMW design and designers over the years.

Enjoy......:coolShake:

BMW Designers

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errrrrrr actually..

Is that is not a direct copy with subtle changes? It is too remarkably similar. :rollsmile:

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[kilotango]

i remember reading about Chris Bangle being involved with the E46, but as an assistant for the sedan model only.

once he became chief, then the fugly started. the e90 is still one of the worst looking bmw's in my opinion

 

[AadZO]

the biggest issue I had with the pre-lci E90 was the Korean influenced rear end and at the front the grille became set into the the bumper with a slant instead of being upright or having a shark slant.

This is exactly how I, who never owned a bmw up to that point, felt - however, it did look much much better in MSport trim, but still not "right"
When the LCI came out, I just KNEW that if I ever wanted a bmw, THIS was it ! To me, up to that point, the best looking 3 series ever. The changes made a drastic improvement in my opinion
And the F30 in MSport trim is even better. Prior to the the E90 LCI, I never really saw the appeal enough to want to own a bmw other than the really special "dream" stuff like old school M5's, M Coupe, E36 M3 Coupe, etc

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I must also mention that I felt that way PRIOR to joining this forum, as since then, I have seen numerous PRE-LCI E90's on here that are drool worthy !
:clapper:

 

[GPGrobler]

Look at the pre-lci 1series rear and the polo.

Is that is not a direct copy with subtle changes? It is too remarkably similar.

Can't agree more, but I wonder who designed the poor new 1 Series, looks like a VW/Audi with BMW decals, the Golf rear end is a dead giveaway :roflol:

now that you mention it !

---

Here's some really cool info on BMW design and designers over the years.

Enjoy......:coolShake:

BMW Designers

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Ash,

Thank you for this, I made the mistake of comparing the 1-Series to the Golof, but as we all can see it looks more like the Poslow from the rear.

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Can you imagine what would happen the day BMW decides to get rid of the kidney grills?

Now THAT is a scary thought!!! :shakehead:

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I like, a lot:

 

[nirvash]

ive been wanting a discussion/argument like this for a while, :rollsmile:

my opinion (one that i highly regard:rollsmile is that the e46, e39, e38 series of cars are the best ageing bmw's to date,
their design is subtle, elegant and sleek, yet upon closer inspection, you find bold details and lines that set these cars apart, and give them a very distinctive sporting personality that no other sedans in my opinion can match.
and then the coupe for instance the e46 ci's and m3's are to me the best looking 4/5 seater sedan style coupes ever...
i love the soft forms and shape highlighted by distinctive B lines and window configuration/profiles,
they are cars that looked great in their time and have just aged better in my opinion,

the e46, i cant say enough here, dynamic, athletic and sporty with a german understated refinement,

the e39, the boss, the ultimate 5er, bold and sleek, with euro muscle car looks but done in such an executive, sophisticated way, definitely my favourite 5 series,

the way both these cars drive, 5 series - best all rounder ever, 3 series - best sporty small sedan

i love them, really do, they are elegant and timeless


e60 and e90 and e65 are not bad by any means, they have just taken a very different approach, a new avenue,

the e92 however i find is a very attractive car in its lines, form and proportions, a very very close second to the e46 ci's in my opinion,

i do also very much like the e30's and e34's but these are a much more classic look, not the modern classic of the e46/39

i feel like i could go on and on sorry...
i like them all in ending, just some more then the rest

e46 M3 for friday and saturday, e39 M5 for sunday long trip, monday to tuesday e92 335i, wednesday to thursday e46 330i
thanks my dream:rollsmile:

 

[FiRi@Rennzport]

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.

 

[WyKiD]

Ultimately styling preferences are subjective and just comes down to what floats your boat...

Though you do find that clean, uncluttered and non fussy styling tends to age better and become a future classic. Imo the E38/39/46 epitomise this principle, hence their timeless appeal.

I am not a fan of the fussy bangle designed cars, which have aged very quickly.

The F range of cars are pretty decent but perhaps a tad overstyled and have lost some of BMW's teutonic appeal.

By contrast, Mercedes Benz look to be cleaning up their styling and returning to their original design philosophy. I am loving the clean styling of the current C class and think it might just be a more timeless design than the current 3...:fencelook:

 

[ChefDJ]

No no no the new Mercs are just plain ugly with that tiny booty of theirs. They all look like praying mantis bugs :mmm:

 

[WyKiD]

No no no the new Mercs are just plain ugly with that tiny booty of theirs. They all look like praying mantis bugs :mmm:

Lets pick this up in a couple of years....:roflol:

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What you on about Willis, plenty there....:rollsmile:

 

[ChefDJ]

Sies look at that butt. It's like the hot girl you were eyeing at the bar was facing you and then she turned to face the barman and you see she's got no ass...

 

[WyKiD]

See the similarities...:biglol:

 

[GPGrobler]

ive been wanting a discussion/argument like this for a while, :rollsmile:

my opinion (one that i highly regard:rollsmile is that the e46, e39, e38 series of cars are the best ageing bmw's to date,
their design is subtle, elegant and sleek, yet upon closer inspection, you find bold details and lines that set these cars apart, and give them a very distinctive sporting personality that no other sedans in my opinion can match.
and then the coupe for instance the e46 ci's and m3's are to me the best looking 4/5 seater sedan style coupes ever...
i love the soft forms and shape highlighted by distinctive B lines and window configuration/profiles,
they are cars that looked great in their time and have just aged better in my opinion,

the e46, i cant say enough here, dynamic, athletic and sporty with a german understated refinement,

the e39, the boss, the ultimate 5er, bold and sleek, with euro muscle car looks but done in such an executive, sophisticated way, definitely my favourite 5 series,

the way both these cars drive, 5 series - best all rounder ever, 3 series - best sporty small sedan

i love them, really do, they are elegant and timeless


e60 and e90 and e65 are not bad by any means, they have just taken a very different approach, a new avenue,

the e92 however i find is a very attractive car in its lines, form and proportions, a very very close second to the e46 ci's in my opinion,

i do also very much like the e30's and e34's but these are a much more classic look, not the modern classic of the e46/39

i feel like i could go on and on sorry...
i like them all in ending, just some more then the rest

e46 M3 for friday and saturday, e39 M5 for sunday long trip, monday to tuesday e92 335i, wednesday to thursday e46 330i
thanks my dream:rollsmile:

I like the way you think, to me the E46 sedan is the perfect "sleeper" car :clapper:

 

[Pho3niX90]

I agree the E46 is the best aging car. However it is starting to lose it's appeal slowly on the road.

When I bought The e63 M6 I absolutely hated the design, it has always been the most disgusting design of any car. I purely bought it for what it was and because of the engine. After a while I started to find the design actually pleasing to the eyes. I Still think the front bumper should have had a more aggressive design with more hard lines than the current soft lines. But that is easily changeable.

As for the E65. Also was a bad design for me (front mostly), but also came to love it. Prior to the E65 was a E53 and A E38 740. Now the Older 7 series looks like the bonnet was closed to hard and smashed it in.

 

[GPGrobler]

I think Chris would have done better on this One: