“Redesign shows mercy on everybody’s favorite car”
That’s the cover headline on April’s Car & Driver featuring the new BMW 3 series. This is the most succinct and damning indictment of Chris Bangle’s “flame surface” styling (starting with the current 7 series) that I have seen.
While back-handing BMW’s recent design direction, C/D is also expressing the relief that all of us feel now that we know BMW isn’t going to fuck up the 3 series. If the 7 series is ugly and the 5 series looks like a 5-year-old Pontiac, it’s not the end of the world for BMW. But the 3 series is BMW’s bread and butter; to mess it up would probably sink the company.
I think it’s no accident that the front of the new 3 series bears a strong resemblence to the 6 series, which is BMW’s first “flame surfaced” car that is actually beautiful.
Tags: BMW