IEDEI

BMW = Boring Me….oh never mind.

I like Chris Bangle.  His designs ‘sunk in’ after a while, which to me is a sign of someone who properly pushed the envelope.  I loved the BMW Z4 Coupe and i love the BMW 1-series, both designed by Mr. Bangle.  I know that he is still involved with BMW occasionally, and is also running his own company at the moment; but what i’m amazed by is just how boring the current BMW design themes have become.  Seriously…..how many versions of your E92 3-series can you make?  now you’ve made a larger one, and now you’ve made a super-larger one!  I honestly get confused when i see these on the road; sometimes i think the 5-series is a 3-series, sometimes i think the 5-series is a 7-series—-only the size prevents me from calling a 7 a 3 and vice versa…..the design is boring, they are utterly charmless….but most of all, they are COMPLETELY devoid of any challenge, art, or sense of passion.  BMW is a bored company, and it’s showing.  No wonder they’ve stretched out that last Bangle-era design (1-series) for another go as the 1-Series M Coupe—-which should be out soon….for a price of around…..$45-50k as far as i can guess.

I used to think the E60 5-series was a real ugly bastard when it first came out—-but the design grew on me, and i don’t even think it looks awkward anymore…i actually think it looks good….much better than the generic ‘new’ 5-series that just came out…