What is BMW doing?

Seriously, what the devil are they doing with the faces on these cars? This is the “down-road graphic” solution?

It is one thing to make terrible tasteless designs (looking at you Lexus) it is another to have one of the best back catalogs in automotive design history with a singular iconic look and feel… And then decide to make these designs. … and I’m not saying they won’t sell, just that they could make something tasteful, beautiful, and timeless that also sells. The feeling I get from the whole line up is that it is incredibly goache.

Look at this digital gauge cluster? Lord of The Rings reference? Why is the IR sensor not flush mounted to the display surface like everything on every smart phone?


The interior feels rather banal. It is was a Corolla I’d say great work.

The back end would be incredibly nice for a Lexus, but walks away from BMW icons.

Ugh. I empathize with how hard it is to be working with such an iconic brand. But I think designers at other brands would probably kill to have such a strong toolbox filled with DNA elements and examples of the right and wrong ways to play with them… they need one of those design language systems :slight_smile:

The wheel looks upside down.
Designer: “here’s the new 3-series base wheel”
Marketing #1: “we need to be able to promote the paddle shifters”
Marketing #2 (who’s niece is a first-year design student): “if you turn the spokes upside down you can see the paddles”
Designer (jumps on the N’Ring straightaway while M-B is testing the new C-class)
Capture.JPG


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.”