Previous quote from ken aisin (used several times):

"These days, it seems like the only thing good about BMW is the name BMW."

For once, tell me something you like about what BMW does now so I can take your comment a little bit more seriously. 335i? 335d? M3? You didn't even like the Concept CS...and a lot of anti-BMW fanboys liked it!

Anyway, the new Z4 is better looking than before but really doesn't do anything for me. Coupes like these never do. We'll see about the Z4M.

↓↑report

To be fair, there are good things from BMW, but certainly not enough to outweigh the bads.

To be honest with you, I actually owned the E34 540i and the E39 M5. One major reason I dislike the new BMWs is the new look. Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. But ever since Bangle took over, I think BMW has lost many of the beholders.

CS concept: Thanks for bringing up the CS. If Autoblog has a poll on the looks of the CS concept, I bet the majority would say it's ugly. The CS concept is plain hideous, and I'm glad BMW is not building it. Those enlarged kidneys are awful, and we're seeing these awful enlarged kidneys on the new 7 and the X1. The new 7 and X1 look as if they have taken a sucker punch right in the nose.

M1 concept: Those wheels.............

1-series: It's too small for me, and I would never be in the market for a car this small. So I won't judge it, and I won't comment on it.

3-series: The E90 coupe and M3 are the only good looking cars from BMW since Bangle took over. But the sedan is not good looking however. The sedan's got those cheap tail lights that make the car look cheap. The E90 interior is not for me either. The E46 interior still has the best looking interior of all 3s in my opinion. The new M3 is a huge blast to drive though, definitely living up to the slogan "the ultimate driving machine".

5-series: As a previous 5 owner, the E60's hideous look turned me away from BMW. It is the car that turned me away from BMW as a brand. I did test drive it though, but the i-Drive.... ok, I could be an old grandfather, but I'm as technologically advanced as my grandchildren. Spending time with electronic gadgets is one of my hobbies, and I even built my own desktop computer. But I have to say, the i-Drive is a complete waste of engineering resources.

6-series: The current 6 series is probably the ugliest BMW coupe ever produced. I don't even want to waste my time commenting on it.

7-series: It looks much better after the facelift. However, the 2009 one is hideous. Read my comment about the new 7's enlarged kidneys.

Z and X: Cars that BMW should have never built in the first place.

Reliability: BMW "reliability" was never really an issue for me until I bought the 03 Acura NSX. The NSX taught me the new meaning of reliability. I wouldn't have sold it if I have no tendinitis in my left knee.

There you have it. I'm not a fanboy or a hater. It's mainly BMW's ugly looks that turned me away, especially the E60.

Speaking of the NSX, the new Acura design has turned me away just like the way BMW did with the E60. No matter how much I love my NSX, I'll never buy another Acura until they start to look better. You see, I'm not just targeting BMW, I'm only targeting manufacturers that make ugly cars.

↓↑report

I agree with the above posting. BMWs used to mean business but turned into luxury cruisers. His praise for the M3 is reflective of its transformation into basically the old M5. The 1 series would make a far superior 5 door hatch than the current coupe, and the rest of the models have continued their upward bloat. Just look at the X models to see continued ugliness and the 6 series is what something that Chrysler would have produced.

The E30 was the pinnacle of BMW as far as I am concerned. Small, agile, with decent interior room. Form following function.

↓↑report

@ken_aisin

Okay I get that BMW shouldn't have made any SUV's (or whatever they want to call them), but how can you say that about the Z? I mean I have had 4 Z's now and I'll take what ever you want to say about the looks but the old 3's were little torque monsters and were probably one of the funnest cars I have ever driven. The new M has lost some of that low end power but I still like going out and spraying the highways in it. They may be ugly, but you are horribly wrong. The Z is everything the new BMW stands for and for that matter everything that I care about as a car enthusiast.

↓↑report

I can't say I'm a fanboy, but Ken is spot on with the interiors comment. I did the ultimate drive a couple months ago, and when the day was over I took a 2004 M3 out to see how far they'd come.

The answer? They'd taken a giant step back.

I did this before they admitted to the turbo lag problem, but the 335 coupe I drove left me cold. It was fast enough, but it was nothing more than a decently fast car. And the interior? Let's just say the convex surfaces facing the driver no matter which way he turns is not the most welcoming environment. Horrible, even.

The M3, on the other hand, was perfectly civilized when treated nice, but had an alter ego that would make the Hulk cower. Moreover, the interior was designed for the driver, not for some art exhibit. I hate to use the fighter-jet analogy, because it wasn't really like that, but everything was right where it was supposed to be (and coming from someone with little E46 seat time). It just felt right.

I've read a half-dozen articles saying the 335 is close to the E46 M3, and I can only assume it was A) pre-lag versions, 2) on a numbers only basis, and D) took none of the interior aesthtics into account either. The driving dynamics were night and day. Both within the M3 itself, and between the M3 and 335.

(Full disclosure: After that full day of driving, I fell in love, and am saving my pennies for an E46 competition package M3)

But I digress. The interiors were as stark a contrast as the dynamics. In my opinion, BMW's new interior theme is the worst laid-out interior theme in luxurydom (nice materials, but poor layout - layout theme, since it's common across the portfolio).

I can't comment too much on the MBs, since I haven't spent too much time in them. Ditto the Lexi. I've seen pictures, though, and they're definitely not worse than BMW's.

Though there's nothing great (at all) about them, the new A4 and A5 are adequate, and better than BMW's. Same with Inifiniti. All are reaching to be better than the E46, and not quite pulling it off. But when BMW takes a big step backwards, it really helps.

By far the best interior today (at least from the driver's perspective) is in the new CTS. Caddy hands everyone their ass when you're sitting in the driver's seat. Yes, the car has other shortcomings, but it is hands down the best interior in any car today (including used).

↓↑report

eyesore is an understatement. the z3 was such a great design.
bring back some more of the bubbly.

↓↑report

Eh, the car may not be much to look at but I'm more interested in the BMW Invisible wall the guy in the jeans and long sleeve shirt is leaning on!

↓↑report

He's not leaning on anything invisible. It's caused by the camera's lens distortion.

↓↑report

Ken, it's not lens distortion, he's just quickly walking around the object to his left.

↓↑report

It's not camera distortion. He's obviously falling over because he's been decapitated. :)

BTW, that car is ugly and those wheels are decidedly unsporty looking.

↓↑report

Ken obviously doesn't know what humor is.

↓↑report

But... you *did* comment.

↓↑report

Oh I'll comment. The Z is hideous. It always has been hideous. I can not understand how a company such as BMW can make something as beautiful as a 750 or 850 and turn around with a hideous piece of crap like this.

↓↑report