The magazines are already doing their part to avoid mentioning flaws in the new 3-series, most notably the exterior flaws. The trademark horizontal door line used to be executed in a stately business-like fashion, but in the new car it looks like the edge of a surfboard. It actually looks pretty sloppy. The designers for just about every car including the current 3-series understand that the portions of the headlight and taillight that go around the edge of the car onto the side plane have to be balanced with each other. In the new car, the headlight part is sharp and jagged and extends quite a way into the side plane while the tailiight part is much less angular, even sort of weak, and barely enters the side plane. This is a total mismatch that no magazine has even mentioned. If I cover the front half of the car with my hand, the rear looks like it's from a $13,000 econobox such as the '92 Honda Civic or '88 Toyota Tercel. Real cheap looking. Directly from behind, it just looks weird and crappy. Those taillights are a real mistake. That integrated trunk spoiler with the concave undersurface is just a meaningless attempt to reinforce and justify the ill-conceived side plane horizontal door line. I'm too tired to complain about the interior, so I'll leave that for others.

 

People that view this thread that care:

 

Not too relevant or nice. Could a warning from a mod be coming your way?

 

Did I miss something?

 

I didn't know that the new 3 series had been released. Where did you see it? Personally, I think it looks pretty good, as all bangle designs do. Should look good in M form.

 

Not feeling it so far..I'd have to see one on the road I guess.

 

First pic looks like a Mazda3 with a BMW front grill.

 

Your pics look a little dated, the tail lights on the one look pretty weird. These are some better ones...

 

Dated?!.. the first one is from the NY auto show on display now. It's a 325i. Didn't have any rear pics.. so you're right about the second one. :p

 

I was just trying to find a polite way to say it's a bad picture, but I gave up and said dated.

 

Reactionary, are you an interior and/or exterior designer for a car company?

 

The rear end was a late design change as the look from the 7 and 5 series proved too controversial. I suspect that the "cheap looking econobox" design comes from trying to stay on budget and on schedule.

 

3 series discussion on this board is not relevant to Ike but discuss a WRX and he's all over it.....besides the 3 series doesn't have a big-*** wing so it doesn't rate.

 

Iv'e seen a black one on the road.Truthfully when i was comming head on towards it i did give it a second look because the front looked pretty good. I didnt get to give the back a good look.

 

I dont' really like any of the lights on it, and in general like the previous generation a lot more. It is better than the Bangled 7 series though. I like the 5

 

Oh calm down, it was a reference to one of Reactionary's old posts and was meant as a joke.

 

Maybe that's because they understand that styling is subjective and don't want to waste space shoving their opinions on exterior 'flaws' down people's throats like they're facts.

 

Maybe. But do you have an alternative hypothesis? Automobile magazine always has a car designer go point by point. I have the issue on the new 3-series. The designer analysis avoids mentioning anything subjective about the lights or the horizontal door line. Yet typically, they are all over every single detail in subjective language.

 

I was wondering the same thing. I was an automotive design major at Art Center (now doing concept designs for entertainment companies), and to have an opinion is one thing, but to critique a design when you have no kknowledge how to design yourself is pretty naive....All my car designer buddies actually like Bangle's stuff including the new 3-series.

I would never criticize Bach's or Led Zeppelin's music, because I'm not a musician. I however can "dislike" their music. I'm not going to tell Spielberg how he could have made Schindler's List better, because I'm not a director....there's a WHOLE lot more to car design than it looking good. Its a damn tough field.

 

Ask your car designer buddies about the mismatch of the headlight and taillight as they enter the side plane. Aesthetics is a little different from doing science. Design surrounds us every moment of our lives. It accesses us even if we're not consciously accessing it. We make aesthetic decisions every day of our lives when we pick the clothes we want to wear or buy. We are all amateur aestheticians. This is sort of like amateur astronomers, who clearly have a place in astronomy but have to battle.

Some things are subtle. Other things are not. Are you telling us that your car design buddies like Bangle's 5-series taillights?

 

Imagine that, someone that actually knows what they're talking about didn't bring up such a fatal 'flaw.'

Perhaps it isn't such a 'flaw' after all.

 

Not a fatal flaw but it's a flaw. That's my opinion. Bangle's been full of them. Lots of others think so as well, not just me.

This thread is my opinion. What's yours? This isn't the biggest or most serious area of intellectual competition. Intellectual discussion is fine but why make it into a competition?

 

I love bangles 5 series tail lights What's not too like? I sense you just don't like bangle so you pick apart all his designs. I love everything he does, the cars look more edgy and stand out from the sea of dreary designs currently on the market.

 

:D Yup. They like it and so do I....and no **** aesthetics is different from science...but they do merge. Its called INDUSTRIAL DESIGN...look it up. You might learn something. And don't talk to me about aesthetics...I've been studying and observing aesthetics since a kid. Hot chicks rule!

 

I like the back but not the front