The New BMW 5-Series

[vbuskirk]

Do you like it? I voted yes. This is a drastic improvement, although I admit I am still somewhat disappointed. I expected a little more from those guys.

[Diaboliq]

No. What Chris Bangle did to BMW is irreversible I'm affraid -- he missed the design cocnept and every new BBmw merely tries to fix what he screwed..

I've always been a mercedes person myself.. My father was the first guy in the city to own a 190E when it was introduced, after that the first E190 evolution II in this parto of the Europe and almost every new model since. My heritage is a 1998 SL600 Brabus V12 with 505HP and I can barely think of any BMW from that time to compete with this car.. So I say this new 5er is merely a fixup of the old model which was ruined by Chris Bangle imo.

i don't like it for that reason but it is better than the old one.

[SCM64]

Looks like a Jag to me.

Generally a BMW fan but I too was underwhelmed with this. Too many creases on the side of the car also.

Surprisingly, Cadillac has hit my radar screen for later this year. They have a new CTS coupe coming out that looks hot.

[jimyritz]

Steven,

That was my first thought--when you look at the middle photo the hood looks Jag all the way....Mercedes is doing the same thing...The days of original looks are over...

Can you imagine? Volkswagen now owns controlling interest in Porsche....

Anyway...I still like it....

Those Jaguars from the 1970's were sweet.....

Mike

[userfriendly]

Saw this a while ago and thought it was an improvement over the previous 5 series. I have heard many times that some older models looked better or were more fun to drive because they had less weight and less technology. What I'd like to see is the lower weight versions come out like Porsche does with its GT3.

[Diaboliq]

The last "real mercedes" E-Class..
W124



The last "real 5er": E39





And my heritage...

[cali kid]

like mine but would have to see the new car up close, pics dont do much for me!!





This is a little something i had about 15 years ago..

[Diaboliq]

I LOVE vintage 911s.. Especially on those Fuchs rims

[ezcheese]

No. What Chris Bangle did to BMW is irreversible I'm affraid -- he missed the design cocnept and every new BBmw merely tries to fix what he screwed..

I've always been a mercedes person myself.. My father was the first guy in the city to own a 190E when it was introduced, after that the first E190 evolution II in this parto of the Europe and almost every new model since. My heritage is a 1998 SL600 Brabus V12 with 505HP and I can barely think of any BMW from that time to compete with this car.. So I say this new 5er is merely a fixup of the old model which was ruined by Chris Bangle imo.

i don't like it for that reason but it is better than the old one.

Right on the mark. Chris Bangle ruined the entire design language at BMW and everything going forward will be an attempt to recover. This model is way better than the previous version, so I voted yes because at least it's an improvement.

[vbuskirk]

EXHIBIT A: Bangle Butt

[vbuskirk]

EXHIBIT B: from wikipedia

The most controversial of his work was the E65 7 Series, a sharp contrast to the preceding E38 generation which was conservatively styled. Time magazine named it as one of the 50 Worst Cars of All Time for its rear end styling and iDrive functionality, nonetheless it became the best-selling 7 Series of all time.[6][7]
Motor Trend's article Interview: Chris Bangle, BMW's Design Chief says:
Love or loathe his work, Bangle's impact on auto design has been profound. No other designer, not even legendary GM design chief Harley Earl, has so rapidly become a part of the industry lexicon. To "bangle" a design is now an auto-industry verb for ruining it. Auto writers use "Bangle butt" to describe a tail with an extra layer of metal on the trunk (think new Mercedes S-Class). Bangle, some rivals will remind you, is only one letter away from "bungle."[1]

[Enskeri]

I am a big BMW fan and i am very disappointed with the new design! Like I said before, this is a bastard child of 3 and 7-series. Bangle is controversial but I have to say the e60 has grown on me, m5 in particularly. E60 look is somewhat aggressive and i like it, that new design is just too soft.
E60 isn't bad:

[Rambam]

While the E60 took some time to get use to, this I like instantly. Can`t wait to see it in real life, just wish I could afford one

[rousp]

I instantly like this one as well.

But I kind off don't see when I would actually buy it..

If I was going to get a low key luxury sedan / estate I would get a Audi A6.

This BMW is flared, tries to be handsome and good looking. Sort of a designers car. And if I wanted a flared, handsome and good looking sedan I would get one of these:


So yeah, It's good looking. But no, I probably wouldn't buy one. That is, if I could afford one.....

[vbuskirk]

1) That ^^^ is purty

2) If I wanted 'aggressive' I'd get a Mustang. It is supposed to be a friggin luxury-sedan for crying out loud.

[vbuskirk]

3) I have tried, and tried, and tried to like Mercedes, but I just can't seem to pull the trigger when I compare their maintenance history to BMW or to to Lexus (same with Porsche).

4) Now Audi, on the other hand ... that just might be my next car ...

[dukerules]

Looks good, but not as great as it should look. These guys have a lot of competition in the 5-series price bracket, and I'm afraid these are just not doing it for me. I feel the same way about the 335i, though, and I think I'm the only one who does.

[vbuskirk]

You're not the only one.

[Diaboliq]

3) I have tried, and tried, and tried to like Mercedes, but I just can't seem to pull the trigger when I compare their maintenance history to BMW or to to Lexus (same with Porsche).

I agree, older E-class models (W211) was a terribly mad emodel wit electronic glitches but I know these new models are almost perfect; talked to my buddy who wanted to burn his W211 few years ago, tried 530d and sold it in 2 months time and bought W212 -- he says he can't believe they actually made it 10x better than the old one - he gave up hope of loving a mercedes again and now he barely leaves 211.

[rousp]

1) That ^^^ is purty

2) If I wanted 'aggressive' I'd get a Mustang. It is supposed to be a friggin luxury-sedan for crying out loud.

3) I have tried, and tried, and tried to like Mercedes, but I just can't seem to pull the trigger when I compare their maintenance history to BMW or to to Lexus (same with Porsche).

4) Now Audi, on the other hand ... that just might be my next car ...

Purty = pretty? - is that american slang or something like that?

For me the Jaguar XF is a perfect combination.

Good looking, sporty, luxurious, elegant, relaxing.

I should say that I have never actually driven it thou. So I don't know if it's actually any good to drive.

The newer Audis I have tried are all good. But do try to get one with the s-line suspension. At least you should test drive one. But if you are looking for a smooth comfortable ride it isn't for you.

[pacifichrono]

I'm glad they muted the old taillight treatment - - it sucked!

[hazmatman]

I knew as soon as I saw someone looking for opinions on the new Bimmer, the "Bangle" word would come up.

He definitely did some controversial things to design at BMW. At first, while I did not find his work all-satisfying, I did find it refreshing. Like trying someone else's recipe for something you always loved...it still tasted OK & a little different, but something was a touch off...you just couldn't put your finger on it, and the more you ate it, the less you liked it...even though it was still a decently palatable meal.

For me, the X6 and even the new 5 series GT, epitomize the current BMW design crisis...I am strangely attracted to both cars and I am also distinctly repelled to the point I know I would never spend my $$$ to buy one.

Bangle's initial work didn't turn me off at first, but as it proliferated across all the series, it just seemed like an incurable disease. So, not unlike a serious trauma or burn, it will take several surgeries and successive recoveries for the Bimmer skin to reach t's former potential.

This could be MB's chance to seize a larger share of this market sector. MB's workmanship & quality control is supposed to be on the rise compared to the rather poor level they had dropped to over the past couple decades. I like the new E-series coupe (based on the low slung E sedan). VW also picked up on this design with their CC.

Who knows, the recent downturn in the global economy could end up being an incredible force on future designs...they could become unbelievably exceptional or more pedestrian. In any case, BMW will need some time to find it's new identity.

[vbuskirk]

Purty = pretty? - is that american slang or something like that?

Roger that.

pur·ty (pûrt)
adj. Regional
Variant of pretty.
Regional Note: Purty is probably the most common American example of metathesis, a linguistic process in which two adjacent sounds are reversed in order. Metathesis in English often involves the consonant r and a vowel, since the phonetic properties of r are so vowellike. For example, the word third used to be thrid, and bird, brid. By the same process, English pretty often came to be realized as purty in regional speech. Most such words stabilized because of the influence of printing and the resultant standardized spelling, but purty for pretty has survived in regional American dialects.

[rousp]

Purty = pretty? - is that american slang or something like that?

Roger that.

pur·ty (pûrt)
adj. Regional
Variant of pretty.
Regional Note: Purty is probably the most common American example of metathesis, a linguistic process in which two adjacent sounds are reversed in order. Metathesis in English often involves the consonant r and a vowel, since the phonetic properties of r are so vowellike. For example, the word third used to be thrid, and bird, brid. By the same process, English pretty often came to be realized as purty in regional speech. Most such words stabilized because of the influence of printing and the resultant standardized spelling, but purty for pretty has survived in regional American dialects.

Nice, learning something new every day!

[userfriendly]

Now that is a nice looking car.

I think edmunds did a comparison between the luxury midsize cars and the Jag won. Let me find it:

http://www.insideline.com/jaguar/xf/200 ... edans.html

The MB E550 won this round:

http://www.insideline.com/bmw/5-series/ ... emium.html