I've been trying to care less since seeing this on Worldcarfans........ turns out no matter how hard i try i really couldn't care less. BMW lost their mojo a while back imo #2011bmw5series
Bangle design didn't make sense of the 5-series rear, but the E60 headlamp area is sublime. The way the horizontal hood slice forms the eyebrow and the LEDs set into it, the way the headlamp edge cuts across to flow into the hood edge crease... It's stunning in 2D and liquid perfection in the flesh.
Everyone else just slaps a two-foot long headlamp assembly in the corner of the car and puts weird shavings and creases in it. Mercedes shamelessly copied the 5-series hood slice with the C-class headlamps but completely cocked it up.
Europeans spent quite a long time and effort to make their bumpers look like they belonged on the car. Once they become a welcome design element, the EU says they kill pedestrians and makes them go away. Its just weird to have the front of a car look as soft as a pillow.
Also, I would like to formally ask BMW to stop giving their cars the automotive equivalent of HGH. More power is always welcome, but the Barry Bonds like growth is kind of a bummer. Model bloat has to stop at some point, right? #bmw5series
Of all the BangleBims, the 5-series is the one most in need of a stem-to-stern redo. The 1995 Fiver was a a handsome and sleek job. The 2003 was dumpy by comparison and looked like it belonged in a Pontiac showroom. Maybe, just maybe, the sleekness will be coming back. However, after seeing an X6 parked next to a current Lexus RX last night, I have my doubts. The RX is hardly the most graceful SUV around, but it looked downright petite and athletic compared to the towering and bulked-up X6. #bmw5series
@tonyola: Agreed on the dumpy comment, except I'll go farther: I'm not a fan of ANY of the current-gen Bimmer cars except for the 1-series. Too... blegh. The 3-series doesn't even stir my soul like it did with the last-gen, which I think was one of the most beautiful cars on the planet. #bmw5series
@tonyola: Really? I couldn't disagree more. The e34 and 39 were perfectly coherent, simple, and godawful boring. And they were a serious improvement over the fugly e28. Personally, I like the e60, but I can understand if others don't. But that's really the point; when a design has some personality, it has fans and detractors. I can't imagine anyone hating the e34 or 39, but I also can't understand how anyone gets excited about them. #bmw5series
@snapoversteer 'bout to get told: The ubiquity of the e39's at least is what makes them exciting as a sleeper, especially the wagons... I picked up a 540 6 speed, pulled all the badges and added 6 lbs of boost to compensate for the v8 weight. It is certainly an exciting car to drive. ITs pretty easy to work on myself and the relative openness of the bus systems in the e39's also allows plenty of tech hacking of the information and entertainment systems which is nerdy fun. I've had the car for 6 years now and getting in to drive it, even to work, makes me happy every day. I can't think of a car I would buy today to replace it. It certainly wouldn't be the current e60. #bmw5series
@schumonster: We're only talking styling, and you just admitted that it's a sleeper. I'm glad it's a super awesome performer, but its styling is boring as yard work. #bmw5series
@iantm: I know. Blasphemy. The first time my local shop gave me a 528e as a loaner, I considered wrecking it as a service to humanity. Cars really used to suck if that car was ever worth having. #bmw5series
@snapoversteer 'bout to get told: I'm with you on the E60. I think it's one of the few Bangle designs that's actually sorta handsome. But the E28, fugly? Surely you jest. Seriously, it's one of the best-looking cars of the '80's. (Uh, dim praise, I know... but hang on, stay with me.) Yeah, the deep front bumper gives it a bit of an overbite, but otherwise the proportions are to my eye just right. And an M5 with the air dam and blackout paint scheme has a taut, purposeful look that BMW has seldom pulled off since.
@snapoversteer 'bout to get told: Fair enough, to each his own. But the grainy circa-1983 Car and Driver photo, showing a 528e keeling over from the strain of Brock Yates' walrus-like mass, doesn't do the design justice. This is more flattering. #bmw5series
@Ray Wert: But Ray, it's quieter and safer. You know, for kids!
However, I will admit that, while I would never buy a BMW made after 1990, it will be welcome to see their cars be less brain-searingly ugly. #bmw5series
@Ray Wert: Oh stop the whining. The 5 series has stayed relatively the same in weight from the e34 to the e39 and e60... inspite of increases in power, safety, room and equipment. And massive increases in chassis rigidity and the accompanied ride comfort.
In fact, the 525i looks like it has gotten a tad lighter. That's over a span of 20 years and 3 generations. The M5 went up the most (but all of us love all of them)... and the 540/545 only went up by 50 lbs.
Now, the 5 series in general is too heavy for me (an e30 driver), but bashing on it for putting on weight is a little unfounded. If we're talking about the 3 series, then yes it has bloated unreasonably - I think it actually might be *heavier* than the 5-er #bmw5series
@laughing_guitarist: Ha! I'm not talking about the previous generation. Just wait until this new one comes out. You'll see what I'm talking about. #bmw5series
If I can ever find that pattern of contact paper I'm:
1.) Re-covering the shelves in my kitchen.
2.) Playing a cruel joke on my hippie friends.
3.) Making a fake M3 ala. Winding Road's Blue Devil.
The shape is nice, but it just looks "fatter" than the BMWs of old. I realise that they couldn't go back to that deadend of design, but I feel, from what I can see, this design is neither adventurous nor classically beautiful enough. Bangle may have polarised people, but he had a mojo. Here's hoping I'm wrong, and this is as sweet as the new Z4 (even though I prefer the old Z4's style, it was a madness of surfaces that might well be considered art).
11/12/09
11/11/09
There, I said it. Flame away. #2011bmw5series
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brand new. #2011bmw5series
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11/10/09
Everyone else just slaps a two-foot long headlamp assembly in the corner of the car and puts weird shavings and creases in it. Mercedes shamelessly copied the 5-series hood slice with the C-class headlamps but completely cocked it up.
11/10/09
@skierpage: Darn Gawker image glitches (and I bet it crops this one grrr)... #bmw5series
11/10/09
11/10/09
11/10/09
Also, I would like to formally ask BMW to stop giving their cars the automotive equivalent of HGH. More power is always welcome, but the Barry Bonds like growth is kind of a bummer. Model bloat has to stop at some point, right? #bmw5series
11/10/09
11/10/09
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11/10/09
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11/10/09
@staircar: No jest. I like the freakin' Cressida better. And the e28 M5 I love for what it is not how it looks. #bmw5series
11/10/09
@snapoversteer 'bout to get told: Fair enough, to each his own. But the grainy circa-1983 Car and Driver photo, showing a 528e keeling over from the strain of Brock Yates' walrus-like mass, doesn't do the design justice. This is more flattering. #bmw5series
11/10/09
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11/10/09
However, I will admit that, while I would never buy a BMW made after 1990, it will be welcome to see their cars be less brain-searingly ugly. #bmw5series
11/10/09
Some numbers below (all with a manual trans):
e34 525i: 3483 lbs
e34 540i: 3693 lbs
e34 M5: 3804 lbs
e39 525i: 3450 lbs
e39 540i: 3748 lbs
e39 M5: 4024 lbs
e60 525i: 3415 lbs
e60 545i: 3748 lbs (auto box)
e60 M5: 4012 lbs
In fact, the 525i looks like it has gotten a tad lighter. That's over a span of 20 years and 3 generations. The M5 went up the most (but all of us love all of them)... and the 540/545 only went up by 50 lbs.
Now, the 5 series in general is too heavy for me (an e30 driver), but bashing on it for putting on weight is a little unfounded. If we're talking about the 3 series, then yes it has bloated unreasonably - I think it actually might be *heavier* than the 5-er #bmw5series
11/10/09
10/14/09
1.) Re-covering the shelves in my kitchen.
2.) Playing a cruel joke on my hippie friends.
3.) Making a fake M3 ala. Winding Road's Blue Devil.
10/14/09
10/14/09