BMW intros new technology with 2008 5 series door panel
It isn't just the outside of the 5-series that's been breathed upon for '08. Inside, new ground was broken by BMW and OEM Johnson Controls to create two color door panels using a single sheet of material. Typically, door panels that have multiple colors have multiple pieces. That adds weight and expense to the final assembly, not to mention all the eventual squeaks and rattles. The new 5 series door panels use a single backing panel, and a two color film is applied. It's not a trifle to get everything to line up – as the film is applied, it stretches. Tolerances where the two colors converge are tightly monitored and adjusted on the fly by trick new machinery developed by BMW and Johnson Controls in the automated process. We're sure it won't lead to cheaper 5 series Bimmers, but anything that can help keep weight and complexity down is welcome – especially for us poor saps who buy these things used and find out exactly what gets loose.
[Source: The Auto Channel]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Rick Lyon 12:50PM (5/10/2007)
Welcome BMW, to the world of every other car on the road with a single piece dual texture door panel.
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Driver 1:09PM (5/10/2007)
The BMW interior quality is becoming very questionable!
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Hamud 1:11PM (5/10/2007)
#1 Give an example of a car with one piece two tone door panel. I'm asking cause I don't really know one like this.
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blitzkrieg79 1:19PM (5/10/2007)
#1, give me another example of a car manufacturer which uses a one piece two tone door panel because nothing pops in to my empty head. Anyway, thats what sets BMW apart from most other manufacturers, it's the little things, little details, they look everywhere to cut a little weight of a car. Weight has become an issue for the entire automotive industry because of the strict safety regulations. Auto manufacturers will have to find ways to battle against it, every little piece counts.
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Shrapnel 1:25PM (5/10/2007)
Driver - your comments are moronic at best. BMW interior quality is very good and has been for a long time - with the E36 being a glaring exception. Have you ever been in a BMW? Surely you have not taken one apart...otherwise your comment would not exist.
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beanspants 1:26PM (5/10/2007)
hey, they took out that random support bar crossing the arm rest where a normal person can actually reach the window controls without contorting their body! BMW is learning!
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ClutchCargo 1:41PM (5/10/2007)
how about a close up of where the two colors meet?
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collian 1:45PM (5/10/2007)
If your ground-breaking, technological, cost-cutting innovation that sets you apart from the rest is a one-piece door panel, you should hide ur head in the sand.
Pls this is not news worthy.
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ch02ce 1:59PM (5/10/2007)
Well good thing this is a blog and not a news site.
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Big Mike Wood 2:03PM (5/10/2007)
So how much weight is this this saving exactly? Serious question.
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Matt 2:10PM (5/10/2007)
Well my E39 M5 had a really nice interior, and even 5 years later it still smelled new. However...just because it was nice does NOT mean it didn't have squeaks and rattles. I avoided RR Tracks like the plague.
Personally, I think they should have invested more money into making the door panels attractive rather than one-piece. They're certainly not pretty.
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John 2:40PM (5/10/2007)
Ford has a lower-tech approach where they would actually paint the plastic to create a two-toned dash or door panel. This can be seen in the Fusion and Edge.
I also agree that the materials and switchgear on the E60 5-Series and E90 3-Series is not as good as the ones used on the previous generation
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dave0mary 3:04PM (5/10/2007)
... not to mention that the E60 doors are somewhat harder to close than most. The angled grab bar was too close to the fulcrum (hinge). I see the handle is moved back a bit now. I felt BMW was giving up practicality for style when the first new 04's came out. I wonder how many times people closed the doors 'twice'?
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Tom Design 11:09PM (5/12/2007)
This picture isn't doing any justice to the high tech door we're supposed to be finding newsy/blog worthy. The upper cream section looks wavy like the some glue was randomly applied. The bin looks like hard edged garbage can plastic.
The wood looks very nice?
Come on, make your cars high performance using less fuel if you want to catch up with the current trends. Does this door panel improve the mpg?
Otherwise, Fuggedabot da silly one panel news/blog flash.
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fizzandpop 5:27PM (5/10/2007)
This is about as interesting as "Quiet Steel (TM)"
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Hung2 5:04PM (5/10/2007)
Nice evolution BMW and the quality of the new 08 5 Series is far better than before. I will have to take a closer look now. I know that I've had a closer look at the sticker price - that certainly didn't remain the same. The 528 is priced where the 530 used to be and the 535 is now priced where the 545/550 used to be. And the 550? The "nicely" decked out versions are pushing $72k. That's what single fashioned door panels will buy you these days.
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John Metcalf 5:09PM (5/10/2007)
What about the fake(?) wood trim? Is it also a graphic film?
I'll be more impressed when I hear that BMW (or any other manufacturer) has started to create door panels that don't off-gas, and are easily recyclable. If they are already doing this and I don't know about it (which is quite possible), my hat would be off to them.
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Timsvtgen1 5:17PM (5/10/2007)
Maybe they should make the whole car out of a single piece of plastic.
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Richard 9:11PM (5/10/2007)
This HAD to be developed because I am sure the worker absenteeism in Munich is a bit on the overbearing side and, if no one is around to work, how would you assemble a two-piece door panel?
But BMW needs to do everything they can to get the quality up. My pal's 540 is on it's 3rd A/C compressor, it's 3rd sunroof (do you believe that 2 have actually fallen out), a second set of vapor barriers and a second steering column...and the car has about 27k miles on it!
It neither out performs, nor out styles my turbo Subbie GT, but it drinks a bit more high-test and visits the doctor more often.
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Uncle Jed 11:04PM (5/10/2007)
Agree with beanspants (#6)
Thank god... I was tired of using my right hand to reach ACROSS my body to use the window, lock and mirror controls (that's easier than trying to do it with your left hand, which has to bend and twist in ways that, I'm sure, can't be doing my aging body any good). Whoever designed the old power switch control panel was sadistic.
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