Cars We Drive!

[epb]



BBS-style wheels (like the CSL) work on a lot of cars. But that teardrop wheel just doesn't look good.

Thanks for your input, and impolyt-one's. I like them and will be keeping them for a bit, but I'd have to say reaction has been mixed and that's food for thought.

 

[impolyt_one]

I didn't see the first pic the first time around, but those CH's would look much better re-painted back to regular silver in Wurth or Einszett or something. Probably the best look for that car. The open area between the spokes, mild concave center, and fairly flat face design of the CH melds nicely with the Z3 design elements, they repeat the car's design elements somewhat - and they're of the same time period as well, I'm a fan of period-correct mods on cars.

 

[impolyt_one]

For example, another BMW with OEM wheels that just don't match - the car itself and the wheels themselves are both pretty cool, and are of successive generations - but German car design just leaps pretty far forward each generation since they take like 6-8 years to really refresh them.

Just doesn't look right, and it's kind of obvious.

 

[il ciclista]

Im kind of a newb when it comes to terms on bmw's (raised a vw guy..family owned a perf. vw shop etcetc) what is "bangle era" I've read some of you mentioning? I just got a 325i a month or so ago so much more lowered end power and smoother band than vw's for sure. ..(my 2nd 325i...the other was a e30 when i was in Europe..awesome ride)

 

[briancl]

Got rid of the STi last year and picked up this in January. Spent the summer at the track, although not as often as I'd like.



I'll try to get a better picture. This was taken when I picked it up from the seller.

Here is some video of me sliding around on a very damp track: [VIDEO][/VIDEO]. This was the first non-rainy session of the day, so I was feeling out the grip levels while showing my passenger my line.

 

[jet]

nice brian

 

[epb]



Im kind of a newb when it comes to terms on bmw's (raised a vw guy..family owned a perf. vw shop etcetc) what is "bangle era" I've read some of you mentioning?

Chris Bangle was the controversial head of BMW design for about 10 years, and moved BMW's design towards its current "flame surface" aesthetic. The first car released under his reign was the 2002 7-series, the last the 2006 3-series. HIs protege Adrian Van Hooydonk is the current head of design.

He's seen as controvesial because the old-school BMW enthusiasts hated the departure from the more conservative look the cars traditionally had (often referred to as "the same sausage in 3 diferent lengths"), but he achieved record sales (and they continue to rise) and moved their customer demographic to ~10 years younger.

In my opinion, both parties were right. The BMWs before are masterpieces of understated design, especially the E39 5-series and E38 7-series, but the company needed to move forward on the design front and the sales results speak for themselves. Even the debate is a positive - there was little to talk about as far as BMW design after the 8-series debuted. The Z3 coupe, while funky and interesting, doesn't reflect a design aesthetic, as it was simply cobbled together by engineers that wanted a Z3 that could be raced.

 

[norcaltransplant]



You clearly aren't familiar with the minimum $250k small-timer salary we have around these parts.

....

 

[A Y]

Bangle's term was 17 years: 1992 to 2009. The E46 and E39, widely considered to be two of the best-looking recent BMWs, were done under him. The E65 7 series was the first car of his new design language.

--Andre

 

[epb]



Bangle's term was 17 years: 1992 to 2009. The E46 and E39, widely considered to be two of the best-looking recent BMWs, were done under him. The E65 7 series was the first car of his new design language.

Bangle worked for BMW design that long, true, but when people refer to Bangle-era cars (as the other poster was asking) they're talking about the E65 forward when his design philosophy was in control of the entire model range. I've never heard anyone call an E46 or E39 a "Bangle" car. His detractors frequently don't acknowledge he worked on anything they liked.

 

[A Y]



Bangle worked for BMW design that long, true, but when people refer to Bangle-era cars (as the other poster was asking) they're talking about the E65 forward when his design philosophy was in control of the entire model range. I've never heard anyone call an E46 or E39 a "Bangle" car. His detractors frequently don't acknowledge he worked on anything they liked.

That's unfortunately true, because the guy really elevated design in the car industry. I still remember some videos BMW used to have where Bangle talked about the various features of an E46 with as much enthusiasm and energy as when he's going on about the flame-surfaced cars.

--Andre

 

[Texastyle]

Makes my wiener feel bigger

 

[foulard]

this is a picture of my daily drive. Same as mine but not my photo.[ATTACHMENT=762]3200gt.jpg (49k. jpg file)[/ATTACHMENT]

 

[il ciclista]

thanks for the replies. I enjoyed the 3 series up until the e46..I'm still not keen on the newest ones, maybe it'll grow on me? I just prefer the clean lines of the older ones to the more curvaceous new ones..the back on them are kind of hideous to me. As far as the z3 I loved my friend's Z3 coupe but not so fond on the soft tops. My other friend had a m5 (06) it was fast but just didn't appeal to me (or him) but now he's got an 8 series..the thing is pure sex. Okay enough rambling. Thank you for clearing that up.

 

[HRoi]

the E9x 3 series is not as pretty as the e46 for sure, which is a shame because the x35 tt versions really are brilliant cars