[ksfrogman]

Originally Posted by visor

I know what you mean.

If the face and butt are not attractive, there is no way I would want to get inside to rev the engine and to play with the climax control dials.

[BellasBmw]

One of my fav features of the E90 is the front. I love the way it looks. It gives off the impression that its sneaky,confident, and sexy.

Right after looking at the alfa pic,I looked at the e90 pic it looked somewhat dated in comparison.

To me, it's painful to look at the Audi a4.

[Hornet]

Nah, the A4 isn't that bad. It looks great with the right color, same goes with the E90 too.

Click

Originally Posted by Hornet

Nah, the A4 isn't that bad. It looks great with the right color, same goes with the E90 too.

Click

Point taken.

[scottz5]

I like a mean face on a car

[ben1364]

If appearance were of all importance to me, I would have bought a Pontiac and saved some money. <g> With a few exceptions, BMW was not known for styling until Bangle and company came along with the gee whiz look. <g>

[smellygas]

Originally Posted by govtec

the eyes are too slanted and nose too flat.

Good to know there aren't any racists here. Oh whoops. Spoke too soon. Got one here.

SmellyGas

[BKsBimmer]

[QUOTE=visor]Just wondering, how important is the "face" of the car to you?
And to a lesser extent, the "butt" of the car.

Having seen the Alfa Romeo 159 on the BMW designer thread, I really appreciate how European (especially Italian) designers sweat over the features of the "face" of the car. Mean, aggressive, confident, with proportionally pleasing eyes, nose, and mouth. See below:


I'm not a big fan of the "face" of the Alfa 159. The overly elongated snout, beedy eyes and small mouth are not aggressive, confident or pleasing to my eye. There are some angles of the car I can appreciate, however I also think they stole the rear styling from Mazda.

On the other hand I like the

[icedragon]

Originally Posted by visor

Just wondering, how important is the "face" of the car to you?
And to a lesser extent, the "butt" of the car.

So, what do you guys and gals think?
I should say that the driving experience is very important to me,... but the styling of the face and butt is a very close second for me, because I feel that the car should be and is an extension of myself on the road.

Well, I thought I was the only weird one that sees "faces" on cars. I really like the E90 face, aggressive eyes and double-kidney grille which looks like nostrils.

On a side note, does anyone else see animals in cars? I think BMWs resembles sharks with their aggressive eyes, big nostrils, and fin antenna. I also think Porsches resemble tropical frogs, with the round eyes that protrude from the low hood, just like how frog eyes protrude from the frog's head.

[ACZakka325i]

Originally Posted by JamieA

When the design for the B6 was signed off they hadn't yet poached Walter de'Silva from Alfa (he came onboard in 2002) who came up with their new "Shield" grille, and also Alfa's current, more modest, shield grille. The grille in itself harks back to their Auto Union days, so is hardly far from the family DNA.

my thoughts exactly, although im not sure how much i do like it

[Ed_330i]

hell yea, especially the older 911s look like frogs.

[ksfrogman]

Attached is a photo of my dad and his Alfa Romeo in the 1950s. You can see how the front end of the B9 Tribeca looks similar.

Originally Posted by BKsBimmer

I'm not a big fan of the "face" of the Alfa 159. The overly elongated snout, beedy eyes and small mouth are not aggressive, confident or pleasing to my eye. There are some angles of the car I can appreciate, however I also think they stole the rear styling from Mazda.

I know what you're saying .Some think BMW stole the rear styling from Nissan(Sentra).

[ChrisPA]

Originally Posted by visor

Just my opinion, but I have seen it in person and on the street.
I very much prefer the 2001-2005 A4 face than the updated one.

I agree, and would even say that the current A4 looks very - dare I say it - wimpy. I have a 2000 A4 which I still like the looks of, and have driven the new model and seen it in person many times. The front has a weird drooping angle to the lights towards the grill that is anything but muscular (IMO); however, it's the body shape that is what really disappoints me - its looks tiny and anemic. In S-line form though, it does look much better... too bad you have to get every option package they offer before you can order the S-line... (which itself is overpriced).

As far as the new front grill, I love it on the A6 (which also has a great body shape overall). Too bad the A6 can't be had with a manual..

In comparison, the new 3 series front end looks great...

Originally Posted by ksfrogman

Attached is a photo of my dad and his Alfa Romeo in the 1950s. You can see how the front end of the B9 Tribeca looks similar.

You have a cool dad.On a side note,He doesn't seem very happy on that picture.Maybe he was worried about the clanking noise coming from the driveshaft area? uh .I kid,I kid.

[ksfrogman]

Originally Posted by quincy

You have a cool dad.On a side note,He doesn't seem very happy on that picture.Maybe he was worried about the clanking noise coming from the driveshaft area? uh .I kid,I kid.

Dad's a real funny guy. He's always joking around, but he rarely smiles in photos for some strange reason. Mom and I used to meet him at the lake near his work to feed the ducks. On the way home, I'd ride with dad and he'd always race mom home in his Alfa. He later joked, "that Alfa handled incredibly, but I could out accelerate it in my Ford Super Econovan."

Several years later, he was driving home on the Harbor Fwy (110), and one of his tie rods broke. He spun several times but luckily was saved by a fence that finally brought him to a stop. He then gave the car away. Darn.

[JamieA]

Originally Posted by BKsBimmer

...I'm not a big fan of the "face" of the Alfa 159. The overly elongated snout, beedy eyes and small mouth are not aggressive, confident or pleasing to my eye. There are some angles of the car I can appreciate, however I also think they stole the rear styling from Mazda...

I agree with you, I am not a fan of the fifty thousand lights on the front look, and the front looks like it has been pinched in.

Originally Posted by quincy

Right after looking at the alfa pic,I looked at the e90 pic it looked somewhat dated in comparison.

I am not so sure. The E90 looks bang up to date to me. The Alfa with it's multiple separate lights looks like BMW lights of the 70s, and that dates it to me. The E90 has the BMW multiple light look but integrated into a single glasshouse, and makes effective use of the angel eyes to allude to this past heritage.

This is just IMO, because as with all things in design, it is in the eye of the beholder.

[JamieA]

Originally Posted by ksfrogman

Attached is a photo of my dad and his Alfa Romeo in the 1950s. You can see how the front end of the B9 Tribeca looks similar.

Did you get your love of cars from your dad? That is where I got mine. He always had hot muscle cars, I remember the sound vibrating up in the back seat when I was a kid and it was thrilling to go anywhere because dad is such a great driver.

My grandmother though, claimed she needed a hand full of valium in order to get into the car with him

[JamieA]

Originally Posted by ChrisPA

I agree, and would even say that the current A4 looks very - dare I say it - wimpy. I have a 2000 A4 which I still like the looks of, and have driven the new model and seen it in person many times. The front has a weird drooping angle to the lights towards the grill that is anything but muscular (IMO); however, it's the body shape that is what really disappoints me - its looks tiny and anemic. In S-line form though, it does look much better... too bad you have to get every option package they offer before you can order the S-line... (which itself is overpriced).

As far as the new front grill, I love it on the A6 (which also has a great body shape overall). Too bad the A6 can't be had with a manual..

In comparison, the new 3 series front end looks great...

I hear what you are saying. I think the grille makes the front look aggressive, but the eyes are a huge let down. If only it looked more like the Nuvolari concept like it should have, but there is only so far that you can go with a refresh.

Apparently the B8 looks just like the Nuvolari, concept pics look really hot, so the B7 is just a stepping stone...

Originally Posted by JamieA

I am not so sure. The E90 looks bang up to date to me. The Alfa with it's multiple separate lights looks like BMW lights of the 70s, and that dates it to me. The E90 has the BMW multiple light look but integrated into a single glasshouse, and makes effective use of the angel eyes to allude to this past heritage.

This is just IMO, because as with all things in design, it is in the eye of the beholder.

Point taken.