I can't agree with this at all. There are so many details in the current line up that are absolutely unharmonious and even poorly resolved.

Oh hell another "design" thread. What will become a classic and what won't....what a silly argument. Fact is most cars of today are too mass produced and don't look the part to become a true "classic". Classic meaning a car beloved 20+ years from now, timelessly beautiful, and is still able to present itself as something special no matter what year it is now.

I can only give some examples from Mercedes. In the last 20+ years I'd say only the R129 SL, C126 Coupe, W124 Coupe and previous C215 CL are or will become "classics". Particularly the R129 SL.

With BMW I'd say the 80's 6-Series, and possibly the 90's 8-Series.

IMO the jury is still way out on anything current in either Mercedes' or BMW's lineup.


M

I do think the Maybach will become a classic ....and although it is quite plain, it was a very carefully thought out design.

I am a BMW fan - that said: Merc design is like " I Wanna be like Mike! " they copy BMW design. For example the S-class, the interior mimics that of the 7 series BMW as well as the bootlid. Merc also copied the i-Drive & dash screen and if you see the facelift S-class for 2010 and the facelifted SL - COME ON!! - the headlights with their Double Lights and Dark background SCREAMS BMW. Audi design are a bit sombre and clinical - but out of respect - Audi does it their way at least! And like desigh of the R8 and S5. BMW design are on top. I was a Merc fanatic.... WAS!

Maybe some things look similar, but they're not copying...

Wrong. Nonsense. Other than the interior layout the S-Class hasn't copied anything from BMW.

The bootlid design for the S-Class was previewed on the Maybach Concept back in 1997, a good 5 years before the 2002 BMW 7-Series. Mercedes produced a concept with a central controller back in the mid-nineties, again long before BMW. BMW just beat Mercedes to production with the concept.

Acuras and other cars have the same headlight treatment years before BMW, so again incorrect.


M

^^ Exactly.

The Maybach Concept, end of 1996, previewed the bootlid of Maybach and S-Class and likely inspired Bangle, who presented his 'Bangle butt" in the Z9 Gran Turismo in 1999. MB, 3 years before.

The MB Vario Concept in 1996, and F-I don't remember the number, the year after, both showed a central knob for the main functions in the car, connected to a high-mounted central display. BMW showed the iDrive project in the Z9 Gran Turismo, 1999. Again, 3 years after MB.

We already had a thread about that. MB did take a lot of inspiration from the e65 for the W221 interior, that can't be denied. For the rest it's BS and biased. The rear of the S-Class is pure MB, inspired by the Maybach, and if one inspired the other it's MB with the Maybach Concept and not BMW with the Z9.

And if you think that MB managed to develop the COMAND III in 2 or 3 years after having bought and copied an e65, all that with a bullet-proof reliability compared to their "model"...

MB was thinking about iDrive before BMW, but it was not ready in 1998 for the W220 and was not allowed to debut in another car than the S-Class.

and how do we know when bmw started to think about I-drive?
This who was first is just a fanboy talk.

Yeah it is labeled that now since we now know BMW didn't have a revelation with Idrive. Totally matterless and untraceable as to who "talked" about it first, all we can go by is who showed the concept first, that being Mercedes-Benz. BMW gets credit for putting it into production first.

M

BTW it is quite untrue to think that some carmakers have a revelation and then another comes and copy it (well, bar Lexus of course). It is not rare that a technology becomes available at one day, and several carmakers work on it separately.
Then of course, one relase it first and everybody thinks the others just copied it...

It is often MB first because they have the biggest R&D budget and work a lot on innovations, but now BMW has increased its focus on innovation and of course they now innovate too.

Furthermore, some innovations also come from the supplier alone now, without too much involvment of the carmaker bar the integration in the car...