All Entries Tagged With: "NYIAS"
New York Auto Show >>> BMW CS Takes Us Back To The Classics
Photos for ADL by Kevin KusinaMy crew told me that BMW’s conference/reveal was the most straightforward at the show. Yours was busy interviewing GM’s G.M. for Cadillac – James Taylor (more on this later).
Chalk their Teutonic preference up to youthful, Roundel-badged bias?
Your call – but from what I saw (I was there for set up) the showcase was a great deal more tasteful than MB’s electoral punch and judy show >>>.
BMW has had to dial down the legacy of Chris Bangle’s flame. And while latest products like the X6 are still baring the torch scars, the latest CS Concept from last year’s Shanghai Show >>> shows that the Bavarians are starting to go back to the classics – a bit.
And while some may reference Aston Martin in the CS’ design language – particularly the Rapide – there’s actually a great deal of in-house influence going on here.
Recalling the classic 507 roadster which fed into the art behind the late 90′s retro themed Z8, classic Bimmer cues are very present in the wide-nostrilled grille and the twin headlamp clusters that feature dual projector beams encased under solitary lenses high on the fender line.
Sporting a low hood and (relatively) lean proportions that showcase sinewy surface tension also lead us to believe that BMW has the presence of mind to give the 8-Series line another try >>>. Though, we should recall that the E31 never really caught fire in sales.
The difference this time ’round is that the new 8 would take form in the contemporary four-door coupe sense that Benz pioneered with the (unfortunate) CLS.
And that is exciting. In a world of fat wedges and scalloped curves it’s hard for classicists to find enthusiasm in contemporary design.
So, with the CS debut in New York there stood both a glimmer of hope and tasteful display.
New York > Mercedes-Benz’s BlueTec Farce
Mercedes-Benz decided to go with an election theme for their press conference this year.
The ADL crew slipped away from back to back interviews with the General’s brass to take in what we would all later agree to be the worst staged event we would see at the show.
There’s something that’s just not funny about German corporate types reading – often with misplaced emphasis – half-assed jokes about U.S. political scandals from teleprompters.
Apparently, the solution to America’s electoral circus is to “vote” for an M-Class or GL-Class that comes with a re-branded diesel system that Daimler AG wants to foist upon the U.S. market in place of something new like hydrogen fuel cell or hybrid technology.
Alright, you could say, don’t take things so seriously. Have a sense of humor.
True. But there’s nothing funny or inherently creative about what we saw.
There was no dignity in watching the car company that once built the best cars in the world stoop to bad theater for cheap laughs at America’s expense.
So, sorry gents, you’re not getting our vote.
Photos by Kevin Kusina for ADL to follow ~
Yuck. Yuck. Vote for BlueTec this Fall!
Yes that’s right, Vote!
They should’ve just let the old 190D do all the talking.
