Bmw

Hi I have a question.

Do you think BMWs styling reflects the brand image and Why?

Please help is for my dissertation.

I think that one part of BMW's styling that reflects the brand is that they do not come close to following a trend. They come up with their own style and stick to it and improve it. They do not need to follow others they lead IMHO.

They do not need to follow others they lead IMHO.
:lol2: - BMW - lead! hilarious. Everything good (and some things not) they bought from others. The first BMW's were designs licensed from Austin, The Isetta was an Italian design, They bought out Glas (which gave them ideas for such things as "timing belts" instead of gears or chains!) They bought the British Mini and made a "new" one...

I've never seen BMW's as being especially different, though recently they became somewhat clunkier and ugly looking. Even the slab sided 1600 seemed to show more grace than most of BMW's current line up.

:lol2: - BMW - lead! hilarious. Everything good (and some things not) they bought from others. The first BMW's were designs licensed from Austin, The Isetta was an Italian design, They bought out Glas (which gave them ideas for such things as "timing belts" instead of gears or chains!) They bought the British Mini and made a "new" one...

I've never seen BMW's as being especially different, though recently they became somewhat clunkier and ugly looking. Even the slab sided 1600 seemed to show more grace than most of BMW's current line up.

I was not talking about anything other than the styling of the cars vs other manufactor's car styling. I myself like the style and looks of most of the newer BMW's. I am kinda undecided about the new M5 though. BUt I think that this (http://www.golgofa.ru/picture/NEW/3/M3/bmw_M3_2.jpg) is the best looking car they have made yet. IMHO
The new 330CI looks nice as well. Some think they look plain and think they look awesome. Its all opinion though.

Although I don't think that were really answering Westy's question, I want to respond to 2strokes statement that BMW doesn't lead and set trends.

1) The "sports sedan." BMW pretty much invented this entire concept. Before the BMW 2002, the only cars that were fun to drive were sports cars (Corvette, 911, etc...) and sedans were meant to be big and boring. The 2002 was "the first automobile on US soil to combine the practicality of a passenger vehicle, with the spirited driving characteristics of a sports car." Ever since the 2002 was built, every major luxury company has tried to imitate the BMW's sports sedan. The C-Class, A4, G35, CTS, etc. have all tried to followed the formula that has made the 3-series such a success. I would argue that the 3-series is one of the most origional cars ever invented because it created the idea of a semi-affordable, fun, sedan. The sports sedan is BMW's greatest contribution to the automotive industry.

2) The sub SL-Class "Luxury Roadster." Not as important as the sports sedan in my eyes, but none the less a major contribution to the automotive world was the Z3 roadster. Before the late-1995 debut of the BMW Z3, there was a massive gap between the recently released econo-roadster Miata and the SL-Class. This hole was filled by the BMW Z3 roadster, which combined the luxury aspect of the SL-class with a much lower price. This gave way to the Porsche Boxster, the Benz SLK, and I would also argue the Honda S2000 into this class.

3) The Factory Tuner. Not only did BMW create the idea of the sports-sedan, they also were the first to make them into even faster cars. BMW's M3, M5, and M6 did the same thing for the high performance sedan's that the 2002 did for sports sedans. This idea was later copied by M-Benz with AMG (which I believe was tuning cars before M, but wasn't distributed through Benz), Audi with its S4, S6, S8, RS6, etc... and Cadillac with the CTS-V, and the upcoming STS-V, and XLR-V.

4) Chris Bangle Styling. I wouldn't really call this an important contribution to automotive history, but none the less it is origional. Some like it, some don't, but its hard to say that it isn't origional.

I agree with whtteg, BMW does lead. Almost every car in the $30,000-$35,000 sedan class is trying to be the 3-series, and the $50,000ish cars including the E-Class, STS, and the A6 try to match the 5-series. 2stroke, you said the only good things that BMW has made they took from other companies. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't be caught dead in an Isetta, and the Mini is far from BMW's biggest accomplishment. They are little parts of BMW's incredible history of innovation.

I still don't see how BMW has contributed anything truly important to the automotive world.
There's nothing significanty different about BMW's, pretty much EVERY other German made car has shown more character, or contributed more to the automotive art!
DKW/Audi pioneered the use of front wheel drive, NSU invented the rotary engine, VW sold more of one model than any other manufacturer, Mercedes pioneered diesel engines in cars, Benz has been there from the beginning, and even porsche put their engine in the back, and while that may not be a major engineering feat, at least it sets them apart from the rest.
BMW seems strangely different from other German manufacturers in that they've never done anything startlingly innovative - they made cars, engine in the front, driving wheels in the rear, slab sided and plain (but graceful) in styling - they had horrible quality for a long time, so much so that they nearly went out of business - had it not been for the 2002. And what if they had gone out of business? I don't think it would have made a big difference in the automotive world one way or another.
The "sports sedan" wasn't a new idea, the British and French had been building pretty sporty sedans before WWII, so the 2002/1600 wasn't really all that important, except for the fact that it saved BMW so they could go on doing wht they do...
I would think that BMW's products in 20 years will be much the same as they are today. only they'll look slightly different (but that ugly grille, which has ruined the styling of several BMW's which would have been better off without it, will still be here) and perform slightly better, and of course still be over appreciated for some reason. But hey, if people will buy them, and even like them, they're at least doing something right. :)

I don't know about you, but I wouldn't be caught dead in an Isetta
You have no sense of humour! Come on man! - it's a mid engined BMW, it didn't set a trend, but it was deffinately the most "original" "car" to roll out of BMW's factory!