Design review BMW 7-series: ‘ode to social trend of anger and aggression’

Axel Enthoven, a great industrial designer in all possible interpretations of that definition, was senior lecturer at Design Academy Eindhoven during the author’s student days. When he was introduced, he bellowed at design students: “You can argue about taste!”

Acquired taste and car design

He meant learning, knowing and understanding the form of meaningful design. That introduction is as complex and confrontational as drinking the first beer for a child who for years regarded Fristy-with-a-straw as an extraordinarily appetizing treat. We often only learn to appreciate and understand alcohol with age, aided by culture and upbringing that can vary by gender, age and geographic location. The English call it beautiful acquired taste. Acquired taste, enjoyed only after substantial exposure to the subject. Considering car design works the same way.

Car Design Basics

Car design as a theory is also a new language. One that one has to learn to read and interpret, just like the sculpture that is a car. Like appreciating Trappist beer, that skill only arises after rehearsal. We recently illustrated a number of basic principles of that car design language in the video series triptych.

The proportions, surfacing and jewelery of a car must be tested against the spectrum of shapes and the brand history in question: what do we see, why do we see it and has it been done correctly in context? It concerns the assessment of the strategy, concept and implementation of the relevant car design language. Using this multi-faceted approach, a discussion about automotive design outgrows conversation.

The new BMW 7-seriesThen the much-discussed new 7-series. Another visually challenging BMW after the 8, 3 and 4 series. One that is, at the very least, miles away from the classic ideals of beauty of balanced proportions and slender body finesse that we have come to appreciate from many previous 7 Series. We also see unpleasant proportions in the new Z4, iX and even 3 and 4 series. The general lack of grace and the presence of abject ugliness are evidently aspects that should be regarded as the new BMW status quo. Once the most athletic and dynamic of all luxury sedans, the 7 Series now features a massive body that almost resembles a heavily armored vehicle. Even the Hofmeister kink (the forward corner near the base of the rear window) associated with all the important BMWs of the rich brand past, was thrown in the garbage as unsuspectingly as unscrupulously. Is the blue and white roundel coming soon?

Pronounced statement

It is clear that the new 7-series is a strong statement. However, the high volume of the meaningless message is unnecessary and irrelevant, moreover, as a curious ode to the current social tendency of anger and aggression.

The new BMW 7-series has a giant fold-out monitor in the back.

Inside we find displays on the dashboard and even, poorly integrated, in the rear door panels. The really huge fold-out monitor for the rear seat passengers is theatrically lowered from the headliner and is a curious eye-catcher. Was a bigger, wider screen ever installed in the back of a car? The whole suggests that it is not the comfort of the user but the Instagramable-ness of the car was a priority. look at me!

We do not see any real novelties. A contrast with the times of Chris Bangle, who introduced the i-Drive, among other things: the human-machine interface innovation, the user environment of interaction between people and machine. Instead of 100 buttons on the dashboard, a round mouse button on the center console, linked to a screen in the dashboard. Naturally, the i-Drive was reviled: after all, it was highly innovative and not perfect enough for entrenched press figures and older customers. Twenty years later, many luxury barges have an extensive infotainment system on board with in fact a further developed variant of the BMW novelty.

Large screens are scientifically proven ergonomically disastrous.

Sparkle of ingenuity: crystal ornamental trip!

Isn’t there a glimmer of the ingenuity we once knew BMW from? Well, the interactive crystal trim over the dashboard is quite interesting. It is an original attempt to develop the touchscreen into a more decorative, integrated and moreover haptic part of the interior. The ever-growing flat-square touchscreens are often put as tumors on well-considered and precisely modeled dashboard shapes and are scientifically proven ergonomically disastrous replacements for physical buttons.

How the BMW Interaction Bar works can only be determined in practice, but as an attempt to discover a new facet of human-machine interface To achieve this, it is infinitely more inventive than the banal cocktail of obtrusive “ambient lighting” and drunken Hyperscreens that we find at competitor Mercedes-Benz, once the star of ergonomic solutions. You can argue about taste!