[Steve325xi]

Whoa, did not expect to see the f30 in camo so soon.

There's a lot that can be gleaned from these photos. Clearly this is an evolution of the e90, not a wholesale design change. But I bet it takes a bunch of cues from the new 5 and 7 (thinking hood lines and side profile) while retaining the e90's basic dimensions -- although the f30 will be a touch larger.

Too soon to say whether it will be a good looking car though. Still too much camo. I don't like the e90 one bit. I've got my fingers crossed with this one.

[E90 Skye]

meh i dont like the downward sloping trunk. always thought that was better on bigger longer cars... and the stance looks too horizontal to me... similar to the new a4 that is out.
Personally I like the flat trunk/semi-lipped look of the e90s.
I'm sure in time it'll be a great car and i'll be in love again.

and yes... please do not allow those lights to make it to production, instead of stolen off an is250 they look stolen off a C300. (same with the trunk slope)

edit: i said "lights" lol, i meant mirrors... bahahahaha.... man what was i thinking... but seriously, don't the mirrors look like c300 reps?? haha

[cjava]

Originally Posted by E90 Skye

and yes... please do not allow those lights to make it to production, instead of stolen off an is250 they look stolen off a C300. (same with the trunk slope)

They're just placeholder light bulbs sticking out of plastic cladding..

[remmib]

Hm, hard to tell how this will look in the end, but the rear and roof line kinda looks like the e90.

[bmrm396]

looks sic i cant wait - now i wish my lease wasnt coming up next yr ha this crap always happens to me ...

[Mahhvinn]

Damn already!? I can't wait to see more an what changes will done.

[longtran]

damn, already...

[-=Hot|Ice=-]

If I don't see LED Corona Rings when we see more of this thing, we are going to have problems.

[Cabinetman]

Originally Posted by jrougeux

What?!? The most expensive thing you can do is constantly create new models. The cost of design, engineering, and developing the tooling to create a new car is extremely expensive. If you only amortize these costs over a few years, that's not a great strategy for profit margin.

Now if you can sell more cars by updating the design more frequently, and those incremental sales are enough to surpass the development costs, then that's another story.

I read in a British car rag that BMW is pushing the new 3 series out a year ahead of their previous plan due to the fact they are losing market share against the more recently refreshed competition.

[-=Hot|Ice=-]

The Mirrors actually look good on the car.

[Mii]

Short overhang both front and rear. Good profile with shark nose, near straight rear door edge, very compact F10 look. This could turn out to be the most anticipated 3er since E46!

Not sure on the disguised glass portion near C-pillar, it's not hofmeister kink.

[manilae90]

Originally Posted by Cabinetman

I read in a British car rag that BMW is pushing the new 3 series out a year ahead of their previous plan due to the fact they are losing market share against the more recently refreshed competition.

Yup heard the same thing from a BMW employee in Asia. The C class is unexpectedly eating a big chunk of their market share pushing the new 3 series launch a year early

[italy430]

after reading some of the comments, to clear up some stuff, this is what BMW does with their test cars.... the round tail lights are standard camo and won't be the final lights, same goes for the front (most likely for this model it'll be the L shape for the rear and somewhat similar lights as the 5 and 7 in the front). the body paneling is plastic, added on, which somewhat increases the bulkiness and doesn't show the true molding and design creases of the final model (as time goes you'll eventually see it being slowly stripped to just camo tape and then right before release usually a couple models will be captured with just the BMW emblems covered). the reflector tape, like was previously stated, is also just part of the testing and won't be production. one of the photos is a close up of the rear and shows somewhat aggressive and flared wheel arches... those are body molding panels and the actual car will be narrower and more sculpted than what is pictured.

the only things i think you can take away from these photos are the overall shape of the car and proportions. the position of the wheels. brakes. one model will have the dual tailpipes.

now my personal opinions about the car.... it will look good! it'll be the same design language as the new 5 and 7 (i think that's obvious tho). the mirrors i think look fine, they could be smaller but i don't think they're as ugly as some ppl say. i have a feeling this model will be lighter and yet slightly bigger than the current E9x, giving more interior room. and like stated in the post, it'll have a lot of new exciting technology. new manufacturing processes will be especially present in this model, taking advantage of the new press forming technology to create strong and lightweight materials instead of using expensive exotic materials. interior quality will improve. it will now become apparent that BMW is focusing on building greener, lighter and more efficient vehicles with this new 3 series as well as the upcoming 1 series being the showcase vehicles. it's well known that there is a range of new, efficient engines that will be added to the 3 and 1 series.

someone also mentioned that the E46 was 7-8 years and remarked that they thought the E9x life span was too short. the E46 was actually 6 years, 1999 to 2005, the E9x life span is 2006-2012, which is also 6 years.

EDIT: im hearing rumors in this post as well from other ppl that they're pushing out the F30 a year earlier because of the new competitions models. don't know for sure but i wouldn't be surprised. i just hope they really put the needed time into making this model well and not rush an early release with problems. that would be very bad. that new C class is a very nice and appealing car. and the new E class is as well, however with the new 5 coming out, i think that E is definitely gonna get a run for it's money!

[IMG]

And information about the power plants? Tell me there will be an option outside of the 4cylinder.

[MCMLXXXIX]

Originally Posted by 1º

damn already?

i know! so soon

the proportions look good tho

[noro]

It's a test mule people, the proportions are not even close to the real deal.

Question, is the car really due in 2012 or is it due as a 2012 model late 2011 anyone know?

[AriGold]

I dont like the read.

[italy430]

Originally Posted by noro

It's a test mule people, the proportions are not even close to the real deal.

Question, is the car really due in 2012 or is it due as a 2012 model late 2011 anyone know?

yes, proportions are close to the real deal. the overall shape of the car and position of wheels and all that relates to the proportions of the vehicle. the actual sculpting and design creases and little features aren't because they're covered in bulky plastic that does its best to hide the little features.

[jrougeux]

Originally Posted by manilae90

Yup heard the same thing from a BMW employee in Asia. The C class is unexpectedly eating a big chunk of their market share pushing the new 3 series launch a year early

Ah ha.. so there you go.

[bmwzimmer]

Originally Posted by Cabinetman

I read in a British car rag that BMW is pushing the new 3 series out a year ahead of their previous plan due to the fact they are losing market share against the more recently refreshed competition.

Well if you thought the reliability issues with the current E9X is bad, wait until they rush this to market!!!!

[Bagelfast]

Damn i just ordered my LCI! haha..

wasnt expecting this at all. hope it wont be out in another 2 years.lol

[Steve325xi]

Originally Posted by manilae90

Yup heard the same thing from a BMW employee in Asia. The C class is unexpectedly eating a big chunk of their market share pushing the new 3 series launch a year early

I've heard from people very high inside BMW NA that even they don't like the e90. What I was told is the interior dimensions suffered from the exterior styling. So it wouldn't surprise me to see the f30 launch come early.