What is BMW doing?


Did BMW loose the rights to the Hofmeister kink?

The new lineup is really a mess. And not a hot one.

mo-i

Nope…

Makes me even more sure to keep my 1998 740iL seeing as how the brand looking like everything else will just make the classic “German” BMWs more valuable by comparison.

Seriously, are car designers all now that young that everything has to look like an aggressive robot toy of some kind?

R

hmmm…

Lexus: “no one can out do our gaudy, over designed front fascias!”
BMW: “hold my hefeweizen”

The only commentary I can add is I got to see the new 8 series (coupe and pre-production convertible) + X7 yesterday. In real life the 8 series is a very nice looking thing, and the X7 isn’t as bad as I expected for a huge box. The buck tooth grilles are ridiculous, but in proportions with how huge the SUV is they only feel like they could’ve shaved an inch off the height before they would’ve started to feel small. I suspect the mid-life kicker will shrink them again and it might look more resolved. Either way the so

If whatever good vibes they applied to the 8 series could trickle down that would be fantastic. But still makes you appreciate how good the current Mercedes Coupes look by comparison.

Its more offensive because the illustrator/art director never got the lesson about RESTRAINT with the highlights. Every hint of an edge on the front-most surfaces is blazing hot with highlights, making it even more gaudy. God that’s awful. And what a nightmare to wash.

I don’t even know where to start… the random chamfers on everything. Ports that go nowhere. Lines that aren’t connected to anything. Vertical vs. horizontal massing (vs. angles). The tiny wheels?

The BMW 8 looks half decent in pics. Will have to see in real life.

Saw the new X2 the other day. Don’t know what that’s supposed to be. For kids these days I guess? C pillar roundel supposed to connect to a 3.0CSi or something? Did they run out of paint or is something missing on the trim? Fog lights where they don’t actually help in fog? Because BMW has round lights lets stick some on?

Sidenote- I still can’t get over the model number/name changes that are so messed up. 3 series is a 4? 1 is a 2? There’s both a 6 coupe and sedan? There was a toy SUV that was a 1M (not the same as M1).

Nope.

R

Richard, this makes a bit more sense…

Ha!

It makes me want to print out some Pontiac logos and tape them to new BMWsI see parked on the street :slight_smile:

That’s really funny about the fogs.

Maybe in another view the kinked kidneys make sense, but the non-horizontal top of the kidneys makes the bucktooth even worse.

None of this front graphic garbage improves the aerodynamics one iota. If the industry is so invested in Electric/Hybrid/Alternative/Eco-efficiency let’s see it. At least Tesla is doing that part competently.

So I was at my local cars & coffee when I see a new BMW 3 series, I excitedly snap a pic so I can point out how much it looks like a Lexus… and then realize it actually was a Lexus…

Richard: Now what do you think of this?

I try not to think about that. Now I have nightmares. Thanks.

R

I find that completely offensive.

I’m getting a strong rodent vibe from that grille.

Maybe their new briefs just say, “make Richard vomit.”

In that case BMW is killing it!

I’m actually currently with a loaner car while the 740iL is in the shop (just a few random things). It’s a 2017 or 2018 320(i or xi). Geez. It makes me so depressed. Exterior styling is actually OK (nothing great, but before things got out of hand). Interior styling is OK. But overall feel and quality feels like I’m in a really cheap car (I was going to say Hyundai or Kia, but both of those look like they are making better BMWs than BMW lately. Never been in one though). Doors are light and not solid. All the buttons and trim is plasticky. Trunk feels like it’s made from paper. Engine even in “sport” mode is so weak and with so little pep and sounds like it’s a toy…

…super disappointed. Maybe I’m comparing apples to oranges here, but the last few old BMWs (87 535i, 98 740iL) felt miles ahead in solidity and being The Ultimate Driving Machine.

/sigh

R

For sure. It has a buck toothed thing going on. I saw an image floating around the internets a few months ago showing it side by side with a beaver.

I think we are in a very baroque period of car design. Perhaps fueled by the last gasp of ICE cars that don’t really have any innovation beyond more tech features and more styling surfaces. In the next decade as everything in that industry is reexamined from drivetrain to packaging to ownership I hope we will see a return to visual reason and some modicum tastefulness or restraint. It might be too much to hope for :slight_smile:

Well it would appear that the new 7 has leaked early.

There’s a few other shots, too, some with more aggressive trim and plastic bits for some reason.

In my opinion, this isn’t terrible. It’s not classic BMW, but it’s better than some of the others. I’ve seen a ton of the latest 650’s on the road lately and they just look oddly proportioned. This however, seems to at least be scaled properly.

Um. Nope. I’ll stick with my “old fashioned” 7 with proper size grille. Thanks.

R