LexFather

From Top Gear, June 2004 issue

"Our new design was wrong." - BMW Boss's Shock Admission

You knew it, we knew it, anyone with any taste new it - BMW's 7-series is horrible. Now it seems BMW knows it too.

BMW has finally admitted what everyone in the car world has long known: the current 7-series is a disaster. In an interview with American business magazine Fortune, Helmut Panke, BMW's chairman, said: "I admit the intensity of the public debate over our new design (which began with the 7-series) did suprise me. There are still too many articles focusing on 'I wish this car looked different blah, blah, blah.' The 7-series was a combination of completely new technology with new design direction. The key point is that we should never make big steps in strategic directions without preparing our customers."

Panke is the first BMW executive to publicly acknowlege what many Munich insiders have privately been saying about the 7-series - that BMW made a big mistake in launching Chris Bangle's new design direction and the complex i-Drive system at the same time in the most conservative sector of the market with no explanation.

Panke's comments have been greeted with relief in Munich. "It's a weight off everyone's shoulders," one insider said. "Panke has finally said what we all knew but could not say - that we tried to do too much, too soon with the 7-series and we did it in the wrong market. We were too far ahead of the audience and lost a lot of goodwill. It was a real own goal that has overshadowed the launch of the very good cars that have followed the 7-Series."

Panke's admission is part of a new PR approach by BMW. As sales of the Z4, the new 5-series and the 6-series rise, BMW execs are admitting past failings. At a recent private dinner in Spain, one senionr BMW board member told jounalists that BMW had done "an absolutely lousy job" of explaining the firm's new design and its minimalist cabin controls.

Even Chris Bangle himself has admitted making mistakes - although not when it comes to design. At a recent lecture at the Design Museum in London, he said: "Did we move in the right direction with design? Yes. Could we have done more to explain what we were doing and why? Yes."

Privately, Bangle believes that the BMW board were too slow to wake up to the scale of his design changes. They failed to explain his new modernist style and when it became clear that customers loved the 7-Series' performance but hated the looks and i-Drive, they acted too slowly to address the concerns.

The top-of-the-range 7-Series was launched two years ago. In spite of the chorus of criticism it attracted and sluggish sales - in particular in BMW's core German market - BMW insisted customers would learn to love it. However, last year executives rushed through a facelift designed to smooth the car's sharp edges, reduce its bulky profile and soften the clunky bootlid.

The new 7-Series will be unveiled later this year. BMW hopes its launch will mark the end of one of the most awkward chapters in the company's history."

<VENOM>

Does this mean the 05 model will have the new front end

-J-P-L-

It's about time.

The problem is, is that it's not only the 7 but almost the whole
new lineup. They need to bring in a new design direction for
the whole company real soon. This direction needs to simply
be an evolution of the pre-Bangle Bimmers. They just need to
continually refine and update what they had in the late '90's instead
of reinventing it.

Gojirra99

Yeah, actually I think the 7 isn't that bad, I don't like the eyelids and the trunk lid, but the overall shape is fine, it's not an ugly car. The new 5 is worse, and the Z4 is horrendously hideous.

Ice350

iTrader: (1)

I agree with sexysc, I don't think the 7 looks bad. In fact I'll go one better, I actually like it. I was getting tired of cars beginning to look all the same. No one can say the 7 looks like another car. Period. It may have some sections of it that remind you of another car but every car does. I haven't driven one and have no opinions on the i-drive but if true what's being said...that would be my only problem with it. Trying to navigate a computer while driving can't be too much fun. You'll probably have to stop or slow down to make selections but you'll look good when you finally get where you're going.

LexFather

It does not matter if Helmut Panke admits that the E65/E66 design is based on recycled banana seats from 70's Schwinns. The current batch of E65s and E66s is going to have ZERO resale value once they are at the end of a 6 year/100k mile CPO warranty thanks to unfixable electonics and software issues. From what I hear from my local dealership, the E60s and E63s will be in the same boat. If the E90 is built using the same disposable electronics and network hardware, BMW AG should just convert to Ikea furniture production using compressed dryer lint.

OMG, I almost sharted when I read this...
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=61808

rominl

iTrader: (4)

weird, somehow i believe i read this same article here on CL early this week, but now the thread is gone?

SDuquette

I still think they're hot

Cadd

Some of you say you actually like the 7.....I bet you didn't feel this way when it first came out 2 years ago. I guess it grew on us.

I'm sure if we see enough 5 on the street, it'll look fine. I'm sure we'll get used to it 2 years down the road.

Same thing with the Accords. When it first came out, it was aweful, but since they're around now, we got used to it.

I personally think the 7 looks OK. But if you asked me that question 2 years ago, I would have said it look like crap.

LexFather

Maybe b/c so many of us LOVED the previous models?
Even so proportions are wrong. What these new designers simply don't understand is what looks good on a computer model many times does not look good in person.
Then they only pretty much kept the circlulor lights and the hoffmeister kink in the car. Everything else is different. The grill's shape looks like it melted in the sun. The bumper cutouts for the headlights=cheap. They lost the signature BMW crease in the sides. They lost the lower bumper surround as well. The trunk is cheap looking and ungainly.
I-drive, it ridiculous. HOW ON EARTH could the ultimate driving machine have something that totally takes you away from the driving experience? The interior is very modern, like a living room, not a car.

The funny thing is, no one likes the I-drive, it is pretty hated but b/c BMW uses it and everyone copies BMW many times, the A8 has it, the new RL will have it and I am sure it will only spread.

-J-P-L-

Fortunately, we can count on Lexus to keep things as ergonomic and intuitive
as possible. They have no plans on ever introducing an i-Drive like system.
Lexus is about making the driver as comfortable as possible and creating a
user friendly atmosphere that makes the driver's life easier, not harder.

Of course, we may have thought the same of BMW (about driving focus), but
they've completely killed that philosophy.

4double0

iTrader: (1)

I like the new 7series, it took a while to grow on me, but after seeing a few hooked up I'm considering buying one. Just my 2cents

Ice350

iTrader: (1)

Especially the one's with the 22 inch Collectizone wheels with 5 inch lip. That car looks hottt!.

Gojirra99

The new 7 series did grow on me a little, but I never really dislikeit too much when I first saw it.

The new 5 & especially the Z4 actually look worse the more I see them.

The 6 series is the only bimmer I have some interest in right now, & hopefully the next 3 won't disappoint.

STIG

i agree. Z4 looks uglier and uglier.

i love M6 tho