[zete]

Interesting long term review.

Unlike many, I don't think Bangle ruined BMW's design language. I don't think they had one before Bangle arrived. Before Bangle they had cars that were uber-conservative in style and that really had no exterior personality. I found them bland, uninspired. Bangle's designs, on the other hand, are very polarizing. To me that's a good thing. I still find the 5 and 7 in particular too slab sided and the Dame Edna glasses look to their fronts is rather hideous. However, at least it has some level of style. Of course the Z cars are mostly hideous, but that's another story.

I found the current 3 to be the most attractive of the designs. It just seems more cohesive.

Personally, I think the biggest problem with BMW -- or any of the German automakers -- is what appears to be a massive fear of doing anything innovative with their sedans. They're all boring in terms of design. The fear Porsche must have in never changing design language seems to pervade the German automakers. I hope that as BMW moves forward they'll actually try to make their cars more visually appealing. It's not as if people buy BMWs for the exterior styling, it's for driving dynamics. Therefore, you'd think BMW would be willing to be a bit more adventurous. In reality, that's what I had hoped when I heard Bangle was designing the cars.