- BMW chief designer calls the new 3 Series "quite a big step."
- The key focus was on maintaining a "family appearance."
- BMW says the 3 Series is the "core" of the brand.
MUNICH, Germany — BMW's chief designer, Adrian van Hooydonk has defended accusations that the new 3 Series is too similar to the old model. "It is quite a big step forwards," he said, "but it remains identifiable as part of the BMW family. Even if you took the badge off, you'd know what it was."
Van Hooydonk said the 3 Series is, "the core of the brand," and had remained so for more than 20 years. The double-round headlamps are a key 3 Series signature but he claimed the styling, "has more precision and is more dynamic than ever before," pointing to the union of the headlamps with the kidney grille as evidence of a new aesthetic.
"All our cars are part of the BMW family," he said, "but like any family, each member must have their own strong character traits. The 1 Series is not so serious and 70 percent of its customers are new to the brand, so it can be more adventurous. The 3 Series has a different character."
The brief for the new 3 Series was delivered to different design teams within BMW. Four designs were chosen to proceed to the next stage and full-size clay models were shown to the BMW board. These four designs were reduced to a final two before the winner was chosen. "It took less than an hour for the board to decide on the final design," said van Hooydonk.
Inside Line says: BMW won't mess with a winning formula.
Add A Comment »
2fst says:
01:02 PM, 10/22/2011
Yeah, not sure about the looks yet but what does it matter, they are going to sell a gazillion of these... including many who will say now that it looks horrible! Ah, human nature... if only i had $100 for every person I know who bashed the Bangle cars and owns one now!
tzmzzy says:
11:09 AM, 10/19/2011
Car looks good from what I see.
pathos says:
05:07 AM, 10/19/2011
smallfield says:
04:00 AM, 10/19/2011
If it drives right I don't care that it looks like this. Hope BMW got the BMW part right.
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I agree that the number one priority is how it drives, but you're being a purist apologist if you don't care about the whole package. I assume you've never washed your car or had body work done, because you don't care about how a car looks. Lame.
pathos says:
05:00 AM, 10/19/2011
Evolutionary? Well, it does look amphibian-like.
smallfield says:
04:00 AM, 10/19/2011
If it drives right I don't care that it looks like this. Hope BMW got the BMW part right.
akitadog says:
11:21 AM, 10/18/2011
I just can't get past that droopy nose. That just kills it for me. Thank GOD that we finally have an American 3-series competitor coming to market in the ATS. I hope it isn't a let-down.
kosmo69 says:
07:20 AM, 10/18/2011
the hood is too long. and the front windows are too narrow w/ too much rake.
sdiego says:
07:18 AM, 10/18/2011
looks better than any MB
kain77 says:
06:01 AM, 10/18/2011
With a name like "van Hooydonk", perhaps he's defensive by nature.
julianb says:
09:22 PM, 10/17/2011
Where's Chris Bangle when you need em?!