by "E90M3" (e90m3)
Published 01/15/2017 at 18:00
by "E90M3" (e90m3)
Published 01/15/2017 at 18:00
No Tags
STARS: 12
I’ll be honest, I wasn’t that big of a fan when they were new. I became a car guy shortly after the introduction of the E60, and BMW was what got me into cars, but I didn’t really like the E60. Think that’s changed, I was behind one turning out of my neighborhood last night and thought to myself, that’s aged really well.
"4muddyfeet - bare knuckle with an EZ30" (4muddyfeet)
01/15/2017 at 18:04, STARS: 1
I voiced this opinion to Schaefft and Car Guy - Twingo Tamer, and was unfairly lambasted for it. I’m glad someone else agrees with me!
"smobgirl" (smobgirl)
01/15/2017 at 18:07, STARS: 1
I can’t help but see giant nostrils and a dopey mouth on the white one.
"S65" (granthp)
01/15/2017 at 18:07, STARS: 1
I agree, we’re best friends now
"E90M3" (e90m3)
01/15/2017 at 18:08, STARS: 2
The Bangle era was very polarizing, I’ve really come to like most of the BMWs from that era even the LCI 6 series. However, I’m not really a fan of the pre-E90.
After the facelift though, I think they nailed it. The E90 is one of my favorite BMWs.
"E90M3" (e90m3)
01/15/2017 at 18:09, STARS: 0
It’s a mouth that likes to eat TPAs.
"CB" (jrcb)
01/15/2017 at 18:11, STARS: 1
In terms of that generation, the 3-series was the best looking, then the 5, then the 6, and finally the 7. Not counting the SUVs or the Z4 (because the M Coupe is amazing).
"E90M3" (e90m3)
01/15/2017 at 18:12, STARS: 0
I think you need an asterisk on the 3-series, saying LCI E90. Not really a fan of the pre-LCI styling.
"CB" (jrcb)
01/15/2017 at 18:13, STARS: 0
I still dig it the most out of the group, even with the uglier models.
"Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo" (thetomselleck)
01/15/2017 at 18:14, STARS: 5
I like the wagon
"Shoop" (shoopdawoop993)
01/15/2017 at 18:14, STARS: 1
I agree
"HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles" (hondasfordsvolvo)
01/15/2017 at 18:14, STARS: 1
I see a black wagon pretty offen. It really has grown on me. I hated them when they were new.
"Goggles Pizzano" (gogglespizzano)
01/15/2017 at 18:18, STARS: 4
I’ve mentioned before on Oppo that Chris Bangle was unjustifiably bashed by the media at the time. He introduced something new that not many knew how to take.
The whole industry then adopted his flame-surfacing (show me a car today that doesn’t have it). I believe this is why it’s aged so well.
"E90M3" (e90m3)
01/15/2017 at 18:18, STARS: 1
Much better than whatever this is.
"E90M3" (e90m3)
01/15/2017 at 18:20, STARS: 0
It’s probably because the whole industry adopted the flame surface, and we’ve grown accustom to it.
"Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo" (thetomselleck)
01/15/2017 at 18:20, STARS: 0
An X4 without a lift kit? Nonono, that’s not it...
"CB" (jrcb)
01/15/2017 at 18:22, STARS: 0
I never thought of it like that, and you’re not wrong.
"Goggles Pizzano" (gogglespizzano)
01/15/2017 at 18:22, STARS: 1
That’s what I’m sayin’. The man is a design mastermind!
"My X-type is too a real Jaguar" (TomSlick)
01/15/2017 at 18:24, STARS: 1
My father has a 335 GT he chose it for 2 reasons hauling capacity and the fact the wagons couldn’t be bought with a gas 6 cylinder. It is a pretty good car and much more fun than an SUV.
"E90M3" (e90m3)
01/15/2017 at 18:27, STARS: 0
I guess those are valid reasons. I don’t think BMW hasn’t sold a 3 series wagon here with the top of the range engine.
"My X-type is too a real Jaguar" (TomSlick)
01/15/2017 at 18:31, STARS: 0
They haven’t and that is probably why it died.
"BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather" (bugeyedacura)
01/15/2017 at 18:49, STARS: 0
The wagon is still very much alive. I have 2 2017 330i wagons sitting on my lot right now.
"LongbowMkII" (longbowmkii)
01/15/2017 at 18:52, STARS: 0
Still ugly.
Did they ever figure out how to paint the trunk lid on these? The early ones had terrible orange peel. And that’s being unfair to the orange.
"LongbowMkII" (longbowmkii)
01/15/2017 at 18:58, STARS: 1
Aren’t we constantly deriding modern cars as unnecessarily busy?
"My X-type is too a real Jaguar" (TomSlick)
01/15/2017 at 19:08, STARS: 0
I thought I read they’d killed the US market wagon. Oh well.
"My X-type is too a real Jaguar" (TomSlick)
01/15/2017 at 19:08, STARS: 0
I thought I read they’d killed the US market wagon. Oh well.
"BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather" (bugeyedacura)
01/15/2017 at 19:19, STARS: 0
For me it goes 6, 5, 3, then 7.
"itranthelasttimeiparkedit" (itranthelasttimeiparkedit)
01/15/2017 at 19:20, STARS: 0
This is for sale locally: http://austin.craigslist.org/cto/5957013607.html
Really tempting but my wife would probably kill me since I just sold my 550 hah
"Goggles Pizzano" (gogglespizzano)
01/15/2017 at 19:31, STARS: 0
Personally I’d rather see some busier designs than 90's Jelly beans. Even with its cool implied pop-ups I think the Mazda RX-Vision (Mazda RX-7 FD 2.0) went a little too far.
As for the predatory and angry design language flying around the industry though...don’t let the door hit you on the way out.
"G_Body_Man: Sponsored by the number 3" (gbodyman)
01/15/2017 at 20:10, STARS: 0
Other than the slightly weird mis-step with his pre-LCI 7-series, Chris Bangle was an unappreciated genius. He was great at taking a handful of character lines, and using them to maximum effect.
"E90M3" (e90m3)
01/15/2017 at 20:14, STARS: 0
I agree, that 7 series isn’t very good. I do like the LCI 7.
"CB" (jrcb)
01/15/2017 at 20:23, STARS: 0
Really? I think the 6 just has too much Bangle butt for its own good.
"G_Body_Man: Sponsored by the number 3" (gbodyman)
01/15/2017 at 22:20, STARS: 1
The LCI of that gen 7-series gave it the exterior to match the interior. Seriously, that was a pretty sweet place to be.
"Nauraushaun" (nauraushaun12)
01/16/2017 at 00:40, STARS: 1
I agree completely. It’s such a simple shape, far from the bullshit BMW and Merc are busting out these days. But it’s unique and elegant at the same time.
I also like V10s, making the E60 M5 absolutely perfect.
"BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires" (biturbo228)
01/16/2017 at 06:22, STARS: 1
I’ve got a bit of a theory that cars that were derided for being a bit bland, boring and/or unadventurous when new tend to age quite well.
If you go back and look at period reviews of the E28 5-series most reviews say that it’s a good car that looks a bit dated compared to the competition. However, which would you say looks better not, the E28 or the Opel Omega (which won the looks part of the comparo I was reading)?
"E90M3" (e90m3)
01/16/2017 at 10:00, STARS: 0
I would argue that the E60 was the opposite of bland and boring when it came out, up until then BMW styling had been pretty conservative.
It seems either the trend setter or the conservative design ages well.
"BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires" (biturbo228)
01/16/2017 at 10:09, STARS: 0
Possibly, although I remember when it came out thinking ‘huh, they’ve stuck a BMW front end on a Ford Scorpio...’.
Really didn’t like it in the slightest. Thought it looked like someone had designed the bare minimum dictionary definition of ‘a car’. No flair in the slightest.
Looking at it now, it’s definitely grown on me. Well proportioned and restrained is hard to come by these days...
"E90M3" (e90m3)
01/16/2017 at 10:17, STARS: 0
Regardless, it was very polarizing. I mean they went from this:
to this:
We can argue whether or not it was bland and boring, I’d still say it was a pretty big departure from traditional BMW design, which is why it was so polarizing.
"BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires" (biturbo228)
01/16/2017 at 10:33, STARS: 1
Very good point, it was a departure from previous BMW designs (whether I liked it or not!) ;)
We can also agree that it’s a design that’s matured well :)
"DanimalHouse" (thrillerwa09)
01/16/2017 at 11:33, STARS: 1
E39 + opposite lock = HNNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGG
I sort of miss mine :(
"E90M3" (e90m3)
01/16/2017 at 11:37, STARS: 0
What E39 did you have?
"DanimalHouse" (thrillerwa09)
01/16/2017 at 15:37, STARS: 0
I had a ‘00 540i with the M-Sport package and the M5 Style 65 wheels. It was really good fun, but got really expensive to maintain, at least for my budget at the time (only a year or so after college). So I sold it, drove my old ‘93 Explorer for a few more years, and now I’ve got a Mazda 5.
"E90M3" (e90m3)
01/16/2017 at 15:40, STARS: 1
I was set on an E39 M5 after college, but I then I decided I didn’t want to deal with maintaining a 10 year old car. I also drove around in my old explorer for a while, but it was a 1997.
"davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com" (davesaddiction)
01/16/2017 at 16:40, STARS: 0
I prefer the rear 3/4 view.
"E90M3" (e90m3)
01/16/2017 at 16:52, STARS: 2
You mean like this?
"davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com" (davesaddiction)
01/16/2017 at 16:59, STARS: 1
Yeah, I’m on board with the rear and the profile view, but the headlights are still a bit much for me.
"Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing." (granfury)
01/30/2017 at 20:40, STARS: 1
So I’m not the only one to go from a 5-series BMW to a Mazda5. Yup, maintenance on my 5er was killing me. The Mazda5 has been a paragon of reliability and I’m quite happy with the change.
I was tempted to put an M5 badge on the back of the Mazda5, because, well, it’s a shorter version of the name. Not to worry - I would never have done that on the BMW.
"DanimalHouse" (thrillerwa09)
01/30/2017 at 22:32, STARS: 1
Haha, YES! Mazdafriend!
I decided to put a Millennium Falcon sticker on ours :)
"Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing." (granfury)
01/30/2017 at 23:25, STARS: 0
Mine has an orange Oppo sticker and a black FSM (this is the bible belt, after all, so I keep it somewhat hidden...) There was a C&D ‘Save the Manuals’ sticker opposite the Oppo sticker, but it was peeling up at the edges and was reluctantly removed. Yes, I’m the one of the weird ones that DD’s a rare manual Mazda5.
"DanimalHouse" (thrillerwa09)
01/30/2017 at 23:28, STARS: 0
Ah man, I wish. Unfortunately, we got the auto, but I’ll say for a slushbox, it’s pretty darn good.
"Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing." (granfury)
01/30/2017 at 23:53, STARS: 0
One year only color (Copper Red Mica). Best car I’ve ever owned and I’ll never get rid of it. I test drove the auto and it was good, but nothing beats a good 6MT.