Height of bad taste or plain bonkers?

Funny you should say that, Joel, but I was thinking much the same thing last night. I walked past a BMW dealership, and was drawn to it by a particularly hideous piece of metal. This transpired to be the new 6-series coupé and I found it as ugly as the original was elegant. As for the others, they should really stop pretending with the Seven series and fit the gun turret as clearly originally intended, and the creases you mentioned in the Five series do look totally out of place. It would appear that, in an attempt to be avant-garde, BMW has badly lost the styling plot at the same time as Mercedes cars, traditionally boxes on wheels, are becoming more elegant.

 

IIRC the DAF site was bought by Volvo, who tarted up the final DAF creation and sold it as their 340 model. The plant was then used for the Mitsubishi Carisma/Volvo S/V 40 twins. When DaimlerChrysler bought Mitsubishi, it inherited the Dutch plant and will now use it to procuce the Smart ForFour and the forthcoming Mitsubishi Colt, which share a platform.

So, in a roundabout way, the Smart is the DAF of the new millennium.

 

Mercedes is losing the design plot big time, IMO. Some of their cars could be straight from Korea. I long for the days of the Bruno Sacco-designed W 124. The only current car I like is the E-class.

The Bangle-era BMWs have their strong and their weak points. I quite like the Z4. But even that demonstrates that Bangle can't do rear ends. All his cars are atrocious from the rear windscreen back.

The 6 series, if you look closely, is a near copy of the 911 shape, except it has a cake tray trunk lid fixed to its rear end.

 

And that's just the drivers...........................

Nah, shouldn't keep Beemer bashin', there are worse cars on the road. Me mate's got an Audi.......................now that is a fekkin' toliet on wheels!

 

But presumably lacking in the Variomatic transmission department.

What's a W124, Markus?

 

It's the E-class before last. Look here .

 

Oh poo - you're right! D'oh! Their trucks are supposed to be pretty good though?

Nope - never shagged in a car (or anywhere other than a bed); currently looking for a nympho with a car though, so hope springs eternal

BMW - Better Make Way

 

I like the Korean ones better!

 

Now it's funny you should say that. I was thinking of what the Euro (OK, the Brit) auto press would have made of any of these new Bimmers if the badge had been, say, Toyota...
The original S-Class was far and away the best. MBs are boxes on wheels, why deny it! The point is to do them with a modicum of elegance and discretion, and a great deal of practicality.

 

Yer don't know wot yer missin dude, ya ain't lived until you've chalked off a 69-er in a Fiat Panda............
Talkin' bout nympho's...............................try askin' Steve Toy, he seems ta know where they hang out,

BMW - Baldy Mancunians With attitude.

 

I couldn't agree more. Whilst Mercedes cars are now all the same anonymous jellymould shape at least BWM are pushing forward with interesting new ideas. As for Lexus, well, they just copy last years Mercedes (GS models) or BMW (IS models)

I have to say I even like the boot on the 7, 6 and 5 series now, even though I was dubious when they first came out.

About the 6 series you're right about the 911 shape. Take a picture of one, block off the bootlid and it's pure 911 from the middle of the car back.

Regardless of what a few people here think, most people think the 5 series is beautiful and it's selling like hot cakes which is in the end the important thing

Michael.

 

Aha, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, I guess, but if I could afford a car in that price bracket, I would do my best to avoid the 5-series BMW. But I can't, so they're safe from me!

 

Go wash your mouth!

 

Mercedes ugly?

Come off it..
This one is a beauty

 

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This is rather cool, too.

 

RdS - the SL is just about the only nice looking current Mercedes. The SLR on the other hand? :chunder:

It's proportions are all wrong (phallic doesn't even get close to what that nose is about!) and it's far too jeweled up with over the top details. Looks like a pimp's car to me

Michael.

 

Of course, the original 300SL gullwing (your pic above) is pure art, as is the original 300SLR racer. It's even worse that Mercedes have dared to use the hallowed SLR name for just a grotesque pimp-mobile as the current SLR

Michael.

 

I feldt that one was coming. Actually, I find myself liking a lot of pimpish cars...

I like low, front engined, powerful cars. I don't think it's a phallic thing, but there you are... Remeber the 1954 Stromlinien F1 Mercedes? That's pure beauty to me.

 

Sorry, RdS, to me it looks all out of proportion, like a dragster gone badly wrong.

 

The SLR is as Tones says it was