E60ROCKS

+1000

xenonrider

the looks may grow on certain people.. personally, I don't hate it but I don't like it either. like you said, it's "blah-ed"..

kinda like dating an ugly chick and hope that she will start looking pretty (or at least not so ugly) after a few weeks/month. i'd rather just date the hot chick

the bigger issue for me is the weight gain and the less-responsive handing. the driving experience is what turned me on to a BMW. if the fun is no longer there, then i'd rather buy a car that has less issues.... why date a high-maintenance chick if she is fugly and not fun to be with...

i'm sure i just offended all the female members of this board

bip78.. good to see another amethyst gray on board

Munich77

I took a look at my first F10s on the dealer lot - a new 535 i and 550 i. As much as I wanted to like the new F10, my initial impression was that I was kind of underwhelmed. The similarity between 5 series and 7 series is obvious. Coming from the E60, the looks of the F10 just don't excite me. The E60 was quite unique and has nice aggressive look to it (especially the sports package). The new one is very conservatively styled. I think I will get used to the look of it eventually but I will always love the E60 styling. On the way back home I saw a nice E60 550i with the M-sports package - so much nicer.

I do think that the F10 is an awesome vehicle and if I needed a luxury sports sedan the F10 would be the one I would buy. However, thankfully, I do not need a new car right now.

MitchBMW

I thought the F10 was wack at first too, but if you do what I did and use this as your wallpaper for a while I bet you change your mind...
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Ha, Ha..... are you kidding me? That's like hearing a really bad song on the radio, the more you listen to it, the better it sounds... If it's ugly, it's ugly. Period!

MitchBMW

+ 1

JohnC

I'm not a fan either. I always liked the E60 and never understood the bashing that Bangle took. I also need to mention that I was always an Audi guy. We went to the dealer to buy a CPO Audi and they had special financing on the CPO BMW's. We took the E60 for a ride and fell in love. I still have a soft spot for Audis, but was highly disappointed by the F10 in the latest Car and Driver comparison. It is like Audi and BMW traded steering systems. My 2002 A6 is way too light and no feedback. On another subject. I don't understand the bashing the original idrive got. Mine is a 2006, and I find it simple as hell. I just started scrolling right through it without having to look at the manual. Are other systems that incredible, or are most journalists complete idiots.

Diamond

Just to clarify mis-information-no e60 has electronic power steering. It is all hydralic with a powersteering pump powered by the engine. The active steering which is an option is electric in the sense it automaticlaly changers the turning ratio but the power steering is not affected.

The F10 and many new cars use electronic signals to power steer the car-no more mechanical link to a pump that needs to be driven by an engine.

I have not drove one of these so cant comment on the handling but I do think its smart to save reciprocating mass and takes the load off the engine. Just like when you drive with the A/C on-you notice a difference. BMW has been addressing this in terms of electric water pump, oil pump that is use dependent, the alternator with brake regeneration that is not driven by the engine belt when moving and now electric steering.

All this is probably could for an extra 25 horsepower on any given engine if you compare to the same engine with all this stuff belt driven.

Glad to see so many people have those feelins about the e60

I think the best point made is that the car is unlikely to grow on me since it is not the fact I dont like it because its "too out there" or too different-its the fact it is not different enough and it looks just like a toyota/lexus/hyndai. Its sad that really the only cars that stand out at this point are Audi's and even Mercs' While I dont like mercs styling-they are different and so is an audi. The new bimmers simply dont stand out-one cant really argue this point as that was bmw's goal-to make it more conservative for the masses-which is fine but a real loss for us.

This really is the end of bmw for the enthusiasts-no more NA engines, even in the M cars, conservative styling-I mean that was the only reason to buy a BMW-cool styling with a great handling car. Now with so much weight, conservative designs and turbo only engines-there is no reason to buy a bimmer. You might as well spend half the cash adn get 100 timse more options and buy a toyota/chev or whatever.

jrbmwenthusiast

I never thought I would hear this!

Well, I guess you never know what you've got until it's gone. Ha Ha Ha!!!

BMW gave the world the new 5 series that the market wanted. Unfortunately, it looks like every other car maker's mid-size sedan?a clone of a E60. The styling isn't innovative or unique enough to stimulate great interest because the current new car luxury market won't accept truly innovative design. These are conservative non-stimulating times. Check out the financial markets. (Anyone on board for Obama?s economic stimulating Green Revolution? Not yet?? I didn?t think so.)

In an alternate universe filled with well monied artsy enthusiasts, Chris Bangle would have consulted with Jeff Koons in 2005 and designed a radical GINA looking F10 that would have turned the automotive world on its head. In this market driven world of the formerly middle class, you get what you collectively ask for.

Petes550i

I just find it so ironic! Seriously though, Bangle lovers are still the minority. Even though the E60 is considered by many to be "the benchmark," it took a long time (and a lot of tinkering) for that to happen and most in the automotive world (and most BMW enthusiasts I would say) are very glad he is gone. He may have been right in the end with the E60 but he was so very WRONG with what he did with the previous-gen 7 series, 6 series and the Z3 so he's no genius.

I agree that right now, esp. with the economy, the luxury car market is not in a position to take big risks. It seems consumers are more comfortable with things that are proven and well-known. It makes sense with what BMW did with the F10. It looks like a member of the BMW family and people will easily recognize that. However it's not a "dull" car by any means. It's a handsome, proven design that highlights some of the best attributes of BMW sedans in the past while at the same time, creating a more modern look. I've been getting a TON of compliments everywhere I go with this car and I'm not surprised that a lot of them mention the fact that it doesn't look like the Bangle E60.

BMW could have taken a big risk and went for some outrageous, muscle-car/futuristic-Japanese look to satisfy what 1% of those that like that sort of thing. No way. Acura did that recently with the TL and it killed them in sales (and I just came from a TL).

swajames

It might surprise you to hear that the prior 7 series was actually designed by the current head of design, Adrian van Hooydonk... Since we're on the topic, the E60 was also designed by a different designer, Davide Arcangelli, who sadly is no longer with us. Bangle being the guy at the top of the tree always got the blame or credit, but the work wasn't always his.