German Car Zone

I agree with you E12 on that BMW does have a very interesting range of automobiles in their line up.

They are seem to have their own unique personality in design and drive. I
just love them for their individualistic appeal I guess.

I hated the 7 series when i saw pictures but i felt in love with when i saw it in motion and this is the case of all new BMWs (expet X3), however if it's true that BMW design gained new letters, it also lost some. All the power of this new design is located for me in the new language of proportions, much more than the surface treatment. Now the bimmers are much more impressive, but in the same time they lost some of their "BMW Spirit", i always liked old BMWs because they had minimalist design but weren't borring, they were terribly elegant and powerful. When you see one of them you directly understand why the designer added that line and why did he put that Form, it was just the right design (just look to 3.0 CS, 8series, 507, e32 and e38 7 series, e34 5 series). But with the new Bangle design, even now i don't understand some details, some lines. And one other thing: For me Old BMW interiors were the best IN THE WORLD, wich is really not the case with new ones.

Could you give an example perhaps?

My answer will probably be "why not?" though

I have always been impressed upon by the radical design of the 7 Series when it first came out and, honestly, I found it a befitting symbol to the generation of younger rich buyers who purchased the 7er - it exuded sophistication, style, presence, nonchalance to norms and an indifferent attitude towards what is deem 'normal'.

I find that very appealing.

Honestly, I have never understood why some people were making such a fuss about the new direction BMW was going... When the new 7 series came out, the 'Bangle-butt' immediately caught my eye, together with the more edgy, square-shouldered form of the car. IMO, it made the car look more robust, fast, modern and sophisticated at one time, in comparison to the old 7 series and the competition. But when I saw the front of the car in the first press pics, I wasn't really confident, because the press pics simply were horrible. They didn't succeed in catching the new design on paper/photo (they did a much better job with the new Z4 coupé for example), and moreover, the car had the orange blinkers, which accentuated the horizontal form of the front lights and made them look like eyebrows!

I remember seeing these press pictures first :



Compare these with f.e.:




The car looks so much better when the blinkers are clear. Although I like the facelifted version a lot, I think the more horizontal front lights and the Bangle-butt of the original E65 suited the car better.

I have never had the feeling Bangle made a mistake, but it's true that in the beginning it took some time to get used to this new design. The 5-series looks a bit 'oriental' from behind, the 1-series' front a bit surprised, etc., but overall I like these designs a lot. Bangle is the man

I dont know if i can forgive him for the extreme shock i recived when i saw this photo.. :


A truely tragic day for me..

Been a supporter of Bangle ever since I caught sight of the official E65 7er pics. Yes I will admit that press pic with the orange eyebrows wasn't the best angle or model to present, but the clear indicators give the car a whole new dimension.
That was the pics though .... real life, ... well, things only got better. One model after the other the designs got better. Some aspects took a little getting used to, for example, the front lights of the 7er, the wrap-around style rear lights of the 5er, the L-shape lights of the 3er ... but there was one thing which always made me love the new BMW's .... Aggression.
5er front lights, 3er front lights, Z4 concave/convex flame surfacing, X5 facelift looking 'beefy', the 7er and 6ers big butts, the 1er's long and sweeping wheelbase.... all this gave off a family stance of aggression and purpose.
Interiors... well, I really like the 'clean' look, especially when I'd compare the 7er's interior to that of the W220 S-class. All that mumbo-jumbo about I-Drive was put to rest when the MB and Audi implemented the same concept into their respective flagships.
He and his team ushered in a new design era.. and we see this now on every car brand, all the way from a Hyundai to a Mercedes... Bangle broke the conservative-design shackles ..and his dignity in not lashing back at the press saying "HA HA, I told you so!" was impressive. He simply believed in the direction he was leading BMW...and boy has it paid off handsomely.

Vote '1' for Bangle

I started adooring BMW when the new 5er Sedan came. So ive always liked him!

Ha! I vividly remember seeing that photo while waiting for a flight at LAX back in October 2001. I was sitting there with my then girlfriend saying "It's not right! This is outrageous!" I couldn't stop bitching and moaning about what a disaster the new 7er was.

I also vividly recall my wedding day in March 2002 when my father-in-law picked us up in a silver 7er. I was completely blown away.

I remember the looks on peoples' faces as we slowly drove through the inner city. It was the kind of bizarre reaction that you'd get out of few cars - people were amazed, shocked, appalled.

We parked the car next to a S500, and it dawned on me that there was something distinctly crazy and vibrant about the 7er that give it grotesque, and perhaps metaphysical appeal. Every every man, woman and child that came within eyeshot of the 7er had to check it out. People were in curious awe of the car like the apes and the monolith in Stanley Kubrick's 2001.

With the X5, the range-wide transition is finally complete (unless you want to count the 3er cabrio), and it's hard to argue that BMW isn't much, much more healthy for all slings and arrows.

Despite my misgivings about the 7er facelift - I think BMW now operates from a position of design credibility, as opposed to being patrons of the conservative status quo. No small feat, and an enviable position for any car company.