BMW 5-SERIES

If there was ever a car that deserved so much more than it was recognized for, it's this. The much talked about, and somehow much loathed, BMW 5-Series. Since its introduction in 2003, the current E60 5-Series has been subject to some of the most fierce and nasty criticism in modern automotive history. Much like the current 7-Series, which was released a year prior to the 5, the current generation of BMWs struck a cord in the conservative ranks of car design, with armchair critic after baboon motor journalist lining up to take pot shots over what they bark as being 'critical errors' and 'over-styled' themes and elements of a flawed design language. Trying to hard, contrived, cheap; you name it, it was said and is being said about the 5-Series. The horrible reality of it all is that when one has a little bit of design education, not to mention an open mind and a little bit of cultured taste, one can appreciate and wholeheartedly understand the bold, yet elegant, stance of the E60.

Admittedly the shape is pretty colour sensitive (lighter hues and metallic silvers are best), but then again what car isn't? Ferrari build cars in yellow these days, and my God they're ugly. Maserati take orders of Quattroportes in solid brown - an act that should be illegal. And 5-Series' can be built in ruby red or dark purple. Horrible colours that would destroy any car. So what's the biff? Just look at these pictures will you. View the 5-Series in a colour it was meant for and you can appreciate the complexity of it's shape. Silver is by far the best. At dawn or dusk, when the light hits the car from various angles, the crease lines, the shoulders, and the arches beautifully come to life. The aggressive headlights are fantastic, and give the nose a real lift over the sombre and unimaginative units on the previous saloon. The tail is another standout, with the jeweled rear lights a good evolution on the standard BMW look.

It's as unfortunate as it is predictable that so many people don't get the E60. What a great looking car actually looks like greatly differs from person to person, but what must be understood is what makes a great design, regardless of whether you like it aesthetically or not. It's doubtful that many people would call the Guggenheim in New York breathtakingly gorgeous, but we all acknowledge it for it's architectural brilliance. The Bangle 5-Series is comparable in many ways. It's not common, and it certainly isn't a simple form. But it is a masterpiece and an example in conviction of a challenging design. In it's element, in it's right colour, this is a landmark car, and should be a classic. Yet we've got many self-qualified idiots who, because they can't compute the design in their own little heads, write the car off completely. Forget anything about it being the best executive car dynamically, mechanically, and in build quality. Who cares, when you don't 'get' a design... Look at the caliber of people who have given the 5 a thumbs down. Clarkson - who thinks that anything German (and thus anything that will challenge the weakness of the British auto industry) is rubbish - is one. Wheels magazine is another. The very bunch who think that the 'it is so plain it could have been drawn by a 3-year-old' VE Commodore is beautiful. If you're narrow minded, or living in a world where new age, contemporary design is 'weird', then so be it.

BMW should be applauded for clothing a superb chassis in such a revolutionary design for this segment. Who cares if everyone doesn't get it. They don't need to. To be at the very pinnacle of design, you need to challenge. The E60 5-Series does, and for what it's worth I think it's stunning. If they water the next one down to please everyone, we'll get a compromise. Look what happened to the new 3-Series....