[m630]

Originally Posted by Doctor///M

https://carbuzz.com/news/bmw-trolls-...een-gets-owned

Couldn't agree more.

Best line, repeated: quoting AVH "The BMW Concept 4 embodies the aesthetic essence of the BMW brand. It combines perfect proportions with a clear and precise design."

Perfect proportions and precise design, yah thats the ticket!!!

Someone please hire an expert optometrist for the bmw design team!!!

[Hegge]

Originally Posted by m630

Best line, repeated: quoting AVH "The BMW Concept 4 embodies the aesthetic essence of the BMW brand. It combines perfect proportions with a clear and precise design."

Perfect proportions and precise design, yah thats the ticket!!!

Someone please hire an expert optometrist for the bmw design team!!!

Agreed 1000%. What concerns me is that sedan and especially coupes are losing popularity to SUVs and crossovers. I hardly see other coupes. To release a new sedan (M3) and new coupe (M4) in 2021 with a hideous and terrible grille does not seem like a good idea. The new M3/M4 competition will be around $80K, so it needs to at least look good due to the cost and the fact that sedan/coupe sales are steadily decreasing. Maybe the X3M will have more sales than the new M3 with the awful grille.

[535i MSport]

Originally Posted by GFK007

Massive grille is clearly coming. It's seems naive to assume its going to be changed at this point.
...

Guys, I have just realised that maybe we are getting over excited over something that might actually work better when we can see the whole picture.

If you read the news item on the X6 M50i and see how ugly its butt is, it provides some balance against our beloved grille reactions, when we haven't seen it properly yet.

This back end has to be the worst styling mess up BMW have done in recent time.

https://g05.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...8&postcount=33

[Sedan_Clan]

Originally Posted by 535i MSport

If you read the news item on the X6 M50i and see how ugly its butt is, it provides some balance against our beloved grille reactions, when we haven't seen it properly yet.

This back end has to be the worst styling mess up BMW have done in recent time.

Damn! That body colored diffuser is back.

[juanmad]

is that a grille with wheels??

[pbar]

Originally Posted by 535i MSport

If you read the news item on the X6 M50i and see how ugly its butt is, it provides some balance against our beloved grille reactions, when we haven't seen it properly yet.

This back end has to be the worst styling mess up BMW have done in recent time.

My god, that is truly dreadful.

[solstice]

Originally Posted by 535i MSport

If you read the news item on the X6 M50i and see how ugly its butt is, it provides some balance against our beloved grille reactions, when we haven't seen it properly yet.

This back end has to be the worst styling mess up BMW have done in recent time.

The X6 has IMO always been controversial and made for those who want to make a brash statement and aren’t afraid to be looked at.

The new one is no exception. It’s brash with awkward lines and quite a “Christmas tree” of lights and gaudy functions. However From the comments to this video it looks to hit the mark for it’s target audience.

[pbar]

Originally Posted by solstice

The X6 has IMO always been controversial and made for those who want to make a brash statement and aren’t afraid to be looked at.

Luckily I don't think many people would want to look at the back end of that more than once.

Mommy, my eyes hurt!

[e90335e36m3]

First time a license plate (European version) will look better on a car because it will provide some lines to break up the massive grille.

I feel terrible for all the US guys whose states require front plates. A tiny plate floating in an endless sea of darkness. Just horrible.

[535i MSport]

Originally Posted by Sedan_Clan

Damn! That body colored diffuser is back.

Oh shit... the leaked G80 rear end photo might be accurate then.

[TodmordenLad]

Originally Posted by Doctor///M

https://carbuzz.com/news/bmw-trolls-...een-gets-owned

Couldn't agree more.

"BMW has been renowned for sophisticated styling from its inception as a car company, and it's starting to look like the company has run out of ideas".
Harsh words, but given the brashness of the latest oversized grilles, justifiable imo.

[Sedan_Clan]

Originally Posted by TodmordenLad

"BMW has been renowned for sophisticated styling from its inception as a car company, and it's starting to look like the company has run out of ideas".
Harsh words, but given the brashness of the latest oversized grilles, justifiable imo.

Ehhhhh, not so fast. BMW has been criticized multiple times for stale designs, "same sausage different length" syndrome, among other things......so his wording is romanticizing a history that isn't entirely accurate. Historically critics claimed that BMW ran out of ideas 15 or more years ago.

[Drj161]

Originally Posted by 535i MSport

If you read the news item on the X6 M50i and see how ugly its butt is, it provides some balance against our beloved grille reactions, when we haven't seen it properly yet.

This back end has to be the worst styling mess up BMW have done in recent time.

This is truly on of the ugliest rear ends of any car period. g05+6 exterior just doesn't work for me

[Artemis]

Originally Posted by TodmordenLad

"BMW has been renowned for sophisticated styling from its inception as a car company, and it's starting to look like the company has run out of ideas".
Harsh words, but given the brashness of the latest oversized grilles, justifiable imo.

Digging a little deeper in the origin of BMW's new design language of 'grillefication'.

On the 7 Series, it was apparently "a calculated risk".

BMW defends 7 Series grille
Polarising BMW 7 Series grille was a calculated risk, design boss confirms
Michael Taylor - June 26, 2019 - source: here
BMW said it expected a massive backlash to its dominating, graceless 7 Series grille long before it brought it to market. Admitting he had “noticed” and “been hurt” by the criticism of the enormous grille – which has sparked countless memes on the internet and social media – BMW design chief Adrian van Hooydonk says he understands why both buyers and the design community had been shocked. “It’s more a 7 Series discussion than anything else and the backlash is more or less the same as we expected,” the Dutch designer said. “The X7 was launched at the same time and that’s why it’s thrown into that discussion, but the X7 grille is proportional to the size of the vehicle. All the cars in that segment are typically quite big.”
In his defence, van Hooydonk insisted the car struck an awkward note because of the original design brief and because of different customer priorities around the world. The flagship limousine launched this year with most discussions surrounding its grille rather than any technical innovations it might have had. “The briefing we got was to make sure people understood the difference [between the 7 and the 5 Series] and notice it. When we launched the car [the 7 Series] it was quite smaller. The feedback we got on that was that people couldn’t see enough difference to the predecessor. On the 7, I understand that people can be shocked. I notice the criticism. I think in a way it’s inevitable. My objective is to do something that everybody likes but it’s not always possible.”
The strongest criticism of the car came from Europe, which, though important, isn’t among the top two biggest markets for the big limousine. “The 7 has always been the hardest to bring the expectations of the entire world into one shape. The customers are very, very different in China, the US, the Middle East and in Europe,” he said. “In Europe people don’t want to get noticed. They don’t like being asked what they paid for a car and they like things in black like a stealth mode. The rest of the world is the opposite. We tried to give the Europeans what they want as well but the strongest market for the 7 is not Europe.”
He also explained that this confrontational style of design might not be necessary anymore, though not through any new processes or ideas at BMW. “For the next generation 7 our job will become slightly easier. It’s usually only in the 7 that these tastes are diverging so much. But the customer profiles will be less different in five or 10 years. People’s tastes are converging.” But the beleaguered BMW design boss has had the last laugh on the 7 Series. It’s selling far better than the pre-facelift model did. “The production has ramped up since the facelift. They’re very happy people at the factory because we’re producing more cars now than before the facelift.”

BMW design boss defends radical styling direction
Adrian van Hooydonk reaffirms commitment to expressive design, as embodied by recent 4 Series Coupe concept
Lawrence Allan - 10 October 2019 - source: here
BMW’s design boss has again defended the brand’s controversial new styling direction, continued in earnest by the recently revealed Concept 4 Series Coupé.
After it was unwrapped at the Frankfurt motor show, Adrian van Hooydonk was asked about the polarising views of BMW’s recent design debuts. He told Autocar: “I’m not a psychologist but I know BMW is a brand that not only has customers, it has fans. They know our entire design history and have strong opinions on that. I don’t think that’s a bad thing, it means we have really connected with these people on an emotional level. Okay, I know that there might be some discussion with fans because they’ve grown to love what you’ve just done and you’re changing it already.” “As a company, you have to keep moving,” he continued. “The minute you start standing still, you become an easy target. The market is very competitive now, more than ever. But the hardest thing to do is make changes while you are successful. If you are no longer successful, people will immediately start saying you need to make changes, but then you are in panic mode.”
Describing the 4 Series specifically, van Hooydonk said: “It is a sporty coupé, and by definition it has to have a very expressive design, and you see that all around the car, not just the front. But there are not that many lines or elements – it’s not a complex design. We want to do this for all our cars: we want to have fewer elements, then each element you use plays a bigger role.”
Van Hooydonk did acknowledge, however, that it was the recent facelift of the 7 Series flagship that was the most visually distinctive – and there’s a good reason for that. “It was part of the brief,” he said. “People liked the car, but they said by and large it looks quite similar to the previous one, so why should they buy the new one ? Now everyone has noticed and production has ramped up considerably.”

[nublu2u]

Ways to reduce ugliness of future bmw's look to be limited to buying dark grey or black with the comp package to avoid a chrome grille and body coloured rear diffuser.

Going ugly (sorry, distinctive and premium) is not a good way to differentiate the brand, and the press will be vicious when it comes out - but that'll weed out the non-believers for you.

BMW won't care to much, their sales are shifting to X series SUV's, which are already outselling a pretty new 3 series in the US already, and they can make more money from those cars anyway.

[pbar]

Originally Posted by Artemis

Digging a little deeper in the origin of BMW's new design language of 'grillefication'.

That's all well and good, but I personally prefer my cars not to look like they have been involved in a rear-end collision when I pick them up from the dealer.

I sort of liked the 4 concept from several angles, but the production photos look like a cheapened, plasticky compromise imho. The back end of the red G80 M3 is just a confused mess. The X6M is simply awful (looks like it has *3* huge bumpers at top middle and bottom, plus a cheap after-market diffuser)

Obviously you could call this 'consistent' design language ... in that they will all be instantly recognizable as BMWs. But is that a good thing any more?

On top of this, we have to put up with the 7-yearly "you can't buy an M3/4 but we aren't going to tell you when the new one will be available and it may or may not be a mess". I change my M cars every 3 years - and want to replace my M4 Comp in the next few months. BMW are almost forcing me to go to their competitors. Why would I want to wait another (maybe) 18 months for a car that I'm really not excited about any more?

Leaks and teasers ought to make me *more* excited about the car. Unfortunately, this is the opposite.

[JTO24]

I am not 100% sold on the 7 LCI grill but I think the big grill works great on the X7. The truck has a ton of presence on the road. I think the 7 needs the top of the grill to be lowered by like .5-1" for it to look better.

[testing02hwr]

Lease is ending soon and was on the fence to get the M340i or wait for the M3. Glad the M3 leaked because I'd be pissed if I wasted all my time waiting for this ugly grill. Are they trying to appeal to the Eastern market by making it look like a Rolls Royce?

[MFNATIK]

The problem isn't larger grilles, really. The problem is they are disproportionate. The X7 grille actually fits it's enormous size. The 7's it a bit too big. The 8 is proportionate so it looks good. Same with the new 3er. The 4 concept and M3/4 leaks, yikes, way out of line. Van Hooydonk is breaking one of the most basic rules of design, and that's maintaining balance. The imbalance in the grille size destroys the overall lines of the car and distracts. How could he miss this point when he worked on the design of the E46? That design was consertive, yet balanced, so much that it's considered a modern classic.

[enigma99a]

Originally Posted by TodmordenLad

"BMW has been renowned for sophisticated styling from its inception as a car company, and it's starting to look like the company has run out of ideas".
Harsh words, but given the brashness of the latest oversized grilles, justifiable imo.

Maybe BMW should've held onto Karim Habib. I think the F80 is beautiful

[seis-speed]

People do know, we have not seen the entire car, correct?
A single shot of one aspect of the car is not enough to make a decision, in fact, seeing in person, in various colors, is the only way to definitively form an opinion on a design change this far off-script, IMO.

[dezzracer]

Originally Posted by seis-speed

People do know, we have not seen the entire car, correct?
A single shot of one aspect of the car is not enough to make a decision, in fact, seeing in person, in various colors, is the only way to definitively form an opinion on a design change this far off-script, IMO.

Agreed. Plus I'm one of the few thats betting G80 will NOT have the large grill seen in a few of the alleged leaked photos. If they roll that super large trapezoid grill out I'm sure someone will come back in a year and beat me over the head with it.