http://forums.prospero.com/fdcvehicles/mes...ssages/?msg=117

This is the poll from the Forbes' E60 article. Click the link about and you will see the poll result. As of now, 50% of people think it looks great. :lol:

And interestingly, 16% of people think it's nice, but that it doesn't look like a BMW. Someone on another forum made an argument that while E60 looks good, if you took the roundels off of it and showed it to someone, they might not be able to say it's a BMW as quickly as with previous 5's (or at all). I had never thought of it like that before. It definitely is a greater departure in terms of styling. I think I was more "accepting" than some when I first saw clear pictures of E60. I had no idea what it would look like; I had seen the early sketches, but you know how those are always only a remote representation by an artist's pen. When I first saw it, I was immediately struck by the small wheels most test cars had. Even 18" wheels look small compared to how 18's look on E39. When I look back on all the 5's, I see common features to all of them (like the beltline crease), some of which are gone in E60. However, to me, E28 to E34 and E34 to E39 were just as big of changes overall. Of course, though I personally like the distinctive styling, the styling is secondary to me. I have always been singularly impressed with how well any BMW I've driven has handled...even base, non-sport models. The perfect example is my old E34 535...it's got almost 300K on it now, but when I take it to the dealer occasionally to have things taken care of, sometimes they're out of "good" loaners, and I'll get a rental car. They were all "new" cars, like brand new - some with only a few hundred miles - Hondas, Fords, and other various things. They felt cheap, shoddy, underpowered, and fragile. Getting back into an almost 15-year old BMW felt so much better, so much more solid. THAT is what always drew me back to the 5.

In terms of looking at pictures, a lot of the E60 pictures taken are closeups, very close to the car. Either from the front or from the back, or focus to a specific item like the headlights or the taillights. When you take a picture that close with a digital camera, the image can be distorted more than usual due to the barrel effect of the small lens on these digital cameras. And when it is that close, the perspective of the object is also changed. E.g., the kidneys could be especially big, or the head lights are too dominating. So it is very hard to judge the car from these pictures. And you might natually think it looks weird and therefore looks bad. On the other hand, some far away shots of E60 look more "normal", as in what you would actually see when you see the car in person, a wider view of the car.

In any case, I like the look of E60. It is different, and that's why I like it. some of the newer designs like the Nissan Murano or the new Z car, or Chrysler's Crossfire or Pacifica, are trying to be different and look different, but they actually don't look very good to me. E60 is different. And IMHO, it has class.

Yes, I'll be very curious to see it in person. Most others who have seen it in person stress that no pictures do it justice, and that the pictures don't give you a feel for the car at all. We shall see. I'm more curious to see what the interior "feels" like; especially compared to E39. I do like the E39 cockpit, but I definitely like all the gadgetry coming on E60. I'm definitely going for the Navigation Professional with the big screen, LOGIC7, the works!

I was at this *auto show in motion* event this past weekend sponsored by GM and they had like 7 autocross tracks set up around Nassau Collesium in Long Island. To make a long story short, they had a ton of cars, mostly theirs and a few *competitor* cars that you were able to drive around these small tracks. The lines for the Cadillacs were no more than 5 to 10 minutes long. The lines for the Bimmers and Benzes were over an hour long. People actually waited over an hour to drive a 325 or 525 for 40 seconds.

You can put a horse collar between the headlights of a BMW and people will still be intrigued with it because it's such a sweet car. The E60, regardless of looks, will be the most well-balanced car in the world. It'll be fast, efficient, quiet, comfortable and luxurious. It will appeal equally to the enthusiast as it will the executive.
But that's my opinion.

I agree with you, some people have a problem with cars
that look different. The E class to me looks like just a modified C class and
people don't have a problem paying for it over $50K. Why they like it?
Because it doesn?t look much different.
Doesn't mean it's a bad thing but not for that much money.

The E60 is definately growing on me. I can't wiat to see it first hand. At the moment I haven't heard of anyone who has seen it for real not saying that it looks better in person. let's hope they're right!!!

I've seen the car 2 weeks ago in real. (Belgium-in public)

As mentioned before, it looks far better in real.
There's indeed a difference between pics and in real.
As you can walk around the car, the 'surfacing flame' (or how the call it?)-concept becomes great, an impressing car_

David

50% like it? That also means 50% don't like it! It also depends on the answers to choose from. Out of five answers three were stongly against the new 5 series, one was non committal (but stated that it didn't look like a BMW) and one was for for it. So no bias there then!

I quite like it, but I reserve judgement until I see it in the metal. The interior is also very important as that is what you have to live with.