Bangle Era finally ending at BMW with elegant M3 styling?

I must say, the new tail lamps of the 2012 BMW M3 are quite beautiful, and a vast improvement over previous models' designs. The "Bangle" era at BMW (named for chief designer Chris Bangle, who is now working in his own firm in Turin, Italy) was extremely controversial.

While the easy-to-spot swoopiness and curvaceous lines on BMWs alienated many traditionalists, one cannot argue that it was successful in raising the company's profile and standards of luxury during his 17-year tenure at BMW. Still, that polarization came at a price, and frankly, my view is that the brand suffered somewhat from it, in the same way other companies suffer when they go too far in the direction of experimentation and away from customer's tastes (the Ford Taurus of the mid-1990s comes to mind, as does the Pontiac Aztek and other follies.)

The new direction of the company, with less flare and more true, sophisticated style - as exhibited in the smart and handsome looking 3 Series - is the right direction for this company. Let's hope they can sustain it and expand upon it.

Range Rover's Gorgeous Evoque Coupe

Above is the launch film for the stunning Range Rover Evoque Coupe, set to debut later this year as a 2012 model. It is the smallest, lightest and most fuel efficient Range Rover ever produced.

The completely new model comes in a two-door coupe as well as a five-door version, which made its debut at the 2010 Los Angeles Auto Show last Nov. 17.

Both aim to "transform the premium compact SUV segment," says the international Land Rover site, landrover.com.

The curves and creases of this Range Rover model are undeniably sexy, though one could less charitably say that it looks like someone simply squeezed a previous Range Rover model between one's thumb and index finger. Still, both exterior and interior views seem to uphold the brand's high quality of luxury craftsmanship.

The one quibble one might have with the otherwise well executed design is with rear visibility. The slight rear window surely will give headaches to wealthy soccer moms backing out of the supermarket parking space. The same is true for certain Jeeps. We'll see if this(hopefully minor) problem prevents sales of this otherwise well-executed vehicle.

There's Something Horribly Wrong Over at Chrysler

It's pretty bad when the entire advertising and marketing campaign strategy for a car company's lineup of vehicles is based on the idea of keeping them in the shadows as much as possible.

That seems to be Chrysler's strategy, especially with its Sebring replacement, the 200, which debuted in a much-ballyhooed commercial during this year's Super Bowl. As you remember, rap star Eminem hyped the poorly photographed car traveling amongst the ruins of Detroit touting the benefits not so much of the car but of the city - which is about as prosperous today as is Kandahar or Benghazi.

The missing element was the car, which was filmed at night and in severe close-ups. At the time, I thought this was a "teaser" and that we'd get to see more of the car in future ads. Well, this ad was all we'd see, and shorter versions of it have been the sum total of what we've seen of the 200.

Good thing, it turns out. In one of our first blog posts here, we exposed the true and hideous nature of this car, which frankly looks worse than the Sebring, or at least just as cheap.

Surprisingly, though (or perhaps not, given the looks of the thing) the "shadow" campaign continues on the company's website, where it features the woefully small and pitiful four-car lineup for the "major" automaker photographed in shadows, making the black cars look dark and mysterious, but also strangely LESS elegant - and one assumes that's what the photographer was going for.

Even more oddly, in the "gallery" section for the 200 on the company's site, most of the photos are again in shadow, or in extreme close-up. It's incredibly difficult to get a handle on what the car looks like, or any of them, for that matter.

Is this deliberate? I think so. The four cars Chrysler is putting on the market in 2011 run from just over $19,000 for the 200 to just over $30,000 for the Town and Country minivan (rated one of the worst cars on the market by Consumer Reports last year.) All of them are shown in deep shadow and in solid black.

From a styling point of view, these are among the worst cars Chrysler has ever produced. They are bland, lack imagination and vision, and do not excite in the least. The new headlights on the 300, for example, are meant to be more elegant than the 2005 300, which was a rare hit for the company. Why mess with good, unless you're going to make it better?

I have a few questions for Chrysler:
What happened to your Glory Days? Chrysler has put more concept cars on the road than any other car company. To name just three: the PT Cruiser, the Pacifica, and the aforementioned Crossfire (which, despite that unfortunate name, outsold the Audi TT for a brief while in the mid-2000s.)

Where is your Vision? The Crossfire was a beautifully executed vehicle that took chances. So did the PT Cruiser, which sold millions. What happened to your mojo? It's sure not in the 200.

Where is your electric car? Chrysler was working on a secret weapon, the daringly styled ecoVoyager (see drawing below) which would have theoretically gotten 300 miles for each charge of its lithium-ion batteries, or even run on hydrogen (though we were promised this with the Chevy Volt, too, but never mind.) This was in 2008, when it hit the auto show circuit. Flash ahead to 2011, and Nissan literally cannot produce enough of its plug-in electric Leaf vehicles, nor can Toyota create enough Prius's to meet demand. Chrysler could have been the talk of the industry with this vehicle. But Chrysler blew it. Again.

New York International Auto Show: Mercedes, Nissan, Ford

The 2011 New York International Auto Show is underway, and there are a few stand-outs that merit comment.

There are, as usual for auto shows, a lot of pie-in-the-sky models that are simply "design studies" that are created to feature the ability of designers to do wild things.

There are, however, plenty of "do-able" models that conceivably show up on showroom floors in a few years - with some major, or even minor, adjustments, of course.

One of these is the Mercedes A-Class concept (below.) It's smaller size and European-approved high front end (to meet pedestrian-bumping standards. Seriously.) give it an aggressive and able stance. The headlamps, which look as if they are melting off the hood, are also aggressive, though are unlikely to make it to production in * precisely* that style. Oh, and it's unlikely Americans will get it. Europeans, and the Indian and Chinese markets have gotten a baby Benz for a decade or more now. For a bit of perspective on this photo, envision a car the size and shape of a VW Golf. Yes, it's a hatchback, but a gorgeous one.

The jaw-dropping Nissan ellure, below, can easily be seen as hitting the US market, since it has shades of current models within it already. The headlamps mimic what already exists in the Nissan Maxima and the front fascia is simply an exaggerated version of what appears on current models. The full-length, tinted-glass roof will likely not make it to production, especially if this is a future Maxima.

Ford's Vertrek is the company's concept for a sleeker, more energy-efficient SUV, and it looks like the1.6-liter EcoBoost engine may do the trick. In fact, the SUV even LOOKS thin, light and wiry enough to deliver great mileage. And in a market in which it looks as if gas is headed towards $5 per gallon, any appeal to energy efficiency will be welcomed.

Ford Unveils Handsome 2013 Taurus

Ford unveiled it's 2013 Taurus and Taurus SHO designs at the New York Auto show this week, and it looks like they've upped their game quite a bit, even over their current model, which is itself a vast improvement over past years.

"Attention to detail" is their mantra, and it looks like they've taken it to heart with this handsome car (and that it's not just a cheap slogan.)

Fine details abound on this car, as described in a video released by the company this past Tuesday. Just enough chrome, a new signature trapezoidal grille on a more aggressive hood, better and intricately detailed headlamps and tail lamps, nicer rear treatment (again with beautiful chrome work) and even a nice side vent with the Taurus name in chrome helps to elevate this, Ford's flagship sedan, to a new level of (gulp) luxury.

The high waistline, similar to, but imitative of, the Chrysler 300, help add to the aggressive, yet handsome, looks of this model.

Add to this all the neat gizmos under the hood - 2.0 EcoBoost engine, self-parking mechanisms, and more (click for Ford's page) - this will be a flagship indeed for the company, which has not had to struggle as much as its rivals because it has actually put some excellent models into the market in the past few years, and seems to be committed to continuing this tradition.

BMW Plans i-Series Electric Vehicles for 2014

BMW has announced a launch date for it's two "i" series electric vehicles, the i8 (above) and the i3 (photo below.) They will both be launched in 2013, with production starting in late 2014. In 2014, the company reportedly expects to sell 30,000 i3s. Prices are widely expected to be astronomical, due to their all-carbon fiber bodies.

The i3 is an all-electric "city car" which will generate 100kw of power and will use regenerative braking to recapture energy the same way other hybrids do.

Above, the BMW i3 "City Car"

The i8 is expected to be a long-range, plug-in electric vehicle, and also offered as a diesel/electric hybrid. Both it and the smaller i3 "City Car" will utilize carbon fiber bodies which will make for extremely light rides and a 92 MPH top speed for the i3.

The company launched a website for it's "i" sub-brand on April 1, 2011 at www.bmw-i-usa.com.

If either model comes to production in anything like these drawings, it will surely give premium electrics like Tesla two worthy competitors.

The motive for the launch is transparent, at least to Europeans, because they know (and the car companies there know) that they are rushing to approve electric and low-emissions vehicles to meet more stringent safety standards due to kick in by mid-decade. Hence, micro cars from Aston Martin and many, many electric "city cars" for cities, some of which are also incidentally considering banning ALL internal combustion vehicles within a decade.

The Insanely Beautiful 2013 Bugatti C16 Galibier

The 2013 Bugatti C16 Galibier was revealed earlier this year. It was named after an Alpine pass featured in the Tour de France and combines the styling cues of the Type 57 Atlantic coupe with the Galibier sedan name of the 1930s in a 4-door flagship that also has echoes of the legendary Bugatti Royale.

The nose of the insanely beautiful Galibier sports a large horse collar grille, a Bugatti signature, along with a pronounced fore/aft center spine. The hood has a center hinge along that line, with engine bay access covers opening to the sides of the vehicle. The two-tone body treatment is similar to the Veyron's — the sides done up in polished aluminum that is contrasted by the royal blue hood, roof and rear body panels crafted from carbon fiber. The rear of the vehicle tapers into a boattail, and there's a hatch for access to the rear cargo area. The body silhouette may remind some of the profile of the recently released Porsche Panamera (which for some will not be a compliment but for me, it works.)

The fastback shape of is rear window certainly does evoke Porsche, but upon closer inspection, a large crease runs the length of the roofline and INTO the glass of the window. Shockingly, perhaps, the crease doesn't begin on the roof, but instead, can be seen within the windscreen and the hood as well.

The magic doesn't stop there. The car's "third tail light" is embedded within this crease in the rear window. Like most Bugattis of the past, this will be a truly beautiful car to behold - if we are lucky enough to see one, that is! Production numbers are likely to be less than 5,000.

Beneath the hood is Bugatti's 8.0-liter W-16 engine, which is a flex-fuel unit capable of running on ethanol. The engine, with two-stage superchargers, is said to propel the Galibier to a top speed of 217 mph. The all-wheel-drive car is also equipped with an advanced reactive suspension and carbon-ceramic disc brakes.

Inside, it's a leather-wrapped paradise, of course, with enough wood to build furnish a small apartment. Which, of course, is standard Bugatti fare. The seats look plush and the windscreen appears spacious and unobstructed by the aforementioned crease.