Bangle hasn't been the stylist for some time now. He's not even in charge of BMW styling anymore. I think the guy takes more pounding than is fair. I like the Z4, and the original version of the new 7(the recent reskin is really ugly though). BMW's board approved crap like the 5 series, 1 series, and the bland new 3.

07 is looking to be a bad year for Benz

I never considered a MB until they began offering manual transmissioned cars. I hope they will continue offering manual transmissions for the 2008 C-class cars

zoom zoom zoom

Unfair??? I have nothing more to say.... LMAO!

http://www.strictlyeta.net/pictures/bangle.html


Tom
The new three is ugly as sin.

Edit- the original post... bigger pics.
http://bimmer.roadfly.org/bmw/forums...2417083-1.html

tommy, ricky is just being a PITA. Sure to a car enthusist every car is subtly different, yet to the vast majority they all look the same. I was browsing this thread and had to scroll up just to notice that the 2 pics weren't of the same car.

I've mistaken MBs for Mazdas in the dark approaching from the rear. All cars are really boring lately, aftermarket will be important for my next purchase too, personalizing cars willl be a huge market if cars continue to be this boring.

I saw the new 3-series on the lot and I liked them. There's only 2 things I didn't like, yet both I understand:

1. The 'tall' styling. Its a new direction with all cars considering that cars with a taller truck have a better areo profile and offer more luggage space. Styling suffers, yet you get more space and better performance and mileage as a trade-off.

2. The price. The new 3-series seems expensive especially considering I didn't see a 325 on the lot, has BMW discontinued the lower engine models?

I saw lots of 1-series in Mexico and like it. Reminds me of a cross between the new Mazda 3 and old Protoge. If it performs like a BMW then it'd make a perfect 'beater' car with 4drs and a wagon-like hatch/truck.

I guess someone forgot to check BMW's website up north or doesn't believe the site because the information wasn't confirmed by their own eyes. :v

How can anyone be a fan of Lexus design? That's like saying you find cardboard box design sexually stimulating, and oatmeal is your favorite color.

May I please have an extra helping of bland please?

Who's Tommy? Not me

That's the point...differences are subtle. When I'm paying $35K plus, and in this instance $45K+, my car better look a lot more than just subtly different than it's main competitor. Yawn.

Honda has been biting off MB in the rear design...look at the accords taillights, for instance. But other car-makers are going the opposite way. Just sad, and like you said, boring.

new 3 is a better car if you can get past the styling.

I am a douche bag speaks again.

There was no 325 on the lot, and after checking their site there's no more 320, so some lower models have been discontinued at least here.

The dealer here has no new 325s on the lot, yet 10+ 330s. That makes no sense.

My view is the same though I did not bother to test drive it yet.
The Hong Kong version does not have iDrive and we cannot order it as an option at this moment. A fully loaded 330i will cost us 70K-74K here , I think we deserve to select any options we want. This is the long time thing I am really mad with the local BMW dealer here. It is not a big deal to have an iDrive , but I think if it is something new on the 7 and 5 , why we can't have them on the 3. It is freaking rediculus.
Nevertheless, I am still tempted to exchange my 04 Accord 2.4 and 02 Z3 2.2 with a 330i, just a matter of timing.
This time, I want a white color 330i for sure.

wow. Yuppies in HK must make a lot of money that's like $30k more than the price in the US

I'm from Taiwan where the standards of living is about the same as in HK. An average employee gets paid less than the average emp in U.S. because of the cost of living is slightly lower than in the U.S., but cars/transportations, etc are taxed heavily and cost twice as much as in the U.S.

so if you live in HK or Taiwan and can drive a car like C55 like cnt, you've got to be a little wealthy.

Hey, Franw, good to see someone is from Taiwan also, but I think you can consider yourself rich if you even drive a Benz or BMW in Taiwan, lol the price of C240 can buy a C55 here but yet there are still wayyyyyy toooooo many BMW and Benz especially the S-class and 7 Series on the road, lol

Droooooooool........must wait for M...but def hard to resist

There is a 320i, guess it ain't coming to Canada.

So when are the 3-series coupes due to be replaced?

I never noticed 'til now how much the Bimmer face looks like a pig's snout.

Damn the one with the BBS wheels looks pimp!

those are some good pictures, thanks LorinserCClass. the more i see this car the more it looks like a mini 5 series.

the pic with the LM it reminds me of the civic from that angle of the rear.

the 5 looks a lot better than the 3. IMO

I was about one inch away from buying a 330i a few weeks ago. I had driven both the steptronic and manual versions of the car. The handling is "alright", but it was much better than the crap that Infiniti calls a "suspension". The car rolled way too much for my liking. The new engines are nice, but reminded me a little too much of the reasons I don't like my current car (1995 Acura NSX). They have a true VTEC feel to them (low torque, rev-happy). They are smooth as hell though. Wow, consindering how much I wanted one, I really am having a hard time finding great things to say.

I didn't buy the car for two reasons:
1. Transmissions: The engine is too low on torque for an automatic and the stick of the manual car feels like a baseball bat on a rubber hinge *yuck*!

2. Cost: Since I decided that SMG would be the only way to go, that necessitated adding iDrive to my already pricey options list. (Premium, Sport, Active Steering, etc...) All in all, the car was up to about $46k!

That cost is what made me stop looking. That's the base price of an S4 Audi! I turned my sights skyward. For about $7k more I got an '05 C55 fully loaded with 5k miles. I saved about $7k on a new C55 AND I don't have to worry about the break in period.

(My 1995 Berlina Black NSX-T will be for sale at Autodynamics in Houston in a couple months if anyone is interested.)

as an audiophile, the new 3 doesn't interest me because:

1. the cd changer is in the trunk (vs in the glovebox as in mb cars)
2. if you want to use an iPod, you have to get a car without navigation and cd changer (source: http://ipodyourbmw.com/)

You're nuts.