The BMW grill grief, no Audi?
Discussion
Stuck in traffic the other day and it got me pondering.
In the car community we are all familiar with BMW’s recent design direction and the derision it creates:
How come we don’t direct the same level of mockery at Audi?
They went from reasonable:
To a fairly ugly gaping front end grill in this facelift of the A4:
And seemed to have stuck with it ever since:
To my eyes, these whopping Audi grills are just as bad, if not worse than the BMW ones, but we all seem to just accept it and no mocking/memes seem to be directed toward Audi, just BMW?
How come? Do car folk just not care about Audi as much as BMW, and feel less protective over it as a result?
In the car community we are all familiar with BMW’s recent design direction and the derision it creates:
How come we don’t direct the same level of mockery at Audi?
They went from reasonable:
To a fairly ugly gaping front end grill in this facelift of the A4:
And seemed to have stuck with it ever since:
To my eyes, these whopping Audi grills are just as bad, if not worse than the BMW ones, but we all seem to just accept it and no mocking/memes seem to be directed toward Audi, just BMW?
How come? Do car folk just not care about Audi as much as BMW, and feel less protective over it as a result?
1. Audi soften it by having that solid bar running horizontally to which the registration plate is attached;
2. Audi don't have gigantic polished bars to further highlight the huge opening;
3. There was social media chatter about the Audi grill but the internet was a much smaller place back then and what they did back then is very minor compared to what BMW has been doing recently.
2. Audi don't have gigantic polished bars to further highlight the huge opening;
3. There was social media chatter about the Audi grill but the internet was a much smaller place back then and what they did back then is very minor compared to what BMW has been doing recently.
To be fair there was a lot of complaints when Audi first introduced that grill with a lot of derogatory comments about goatees. I guess its possibly because the B5 era of Audi buyers was a relatively small user base so the majority of Audi buyers arrived after the grill was already introduced. Mercedes and BMW established a much bigger customer base before making a radical design change so the backlash has been proportionally noisier.
Audi grilles still get grief, just not as much as BMW
Audi do it better though, yes the grilles are getting bigger but it is a progression. I'm not sure where they go from here though.
BMW grilles are all over the place on the current cars, horizontal, vertical, medium, huge, angular, rounded
Audi do it better though, yes the grilles are getting bigger but it is a progression. I'm not sure where they go from here though.
BMW grilles are all over the place on the current cars, horizontal, vertical, medium, huge, angular, rounded
I've seen comments here on PH about how Audi's styling has developed for the worse and gone from relatively restrained and tasteful to in your face gopping.
I lose track of Audi A4 designations after the B7, but there's a white Avant near me that's got the narrower, slittier, squinting headlamps, not overly large diameter alloys, could be a B8 or a B9 IDK, but it looks OK ish. I think it's on a 20 teens plate.
One of my favourite Audi designs in the A6 C5 Avant, the late 90s, early Noughties one. The A4 B6 Avant can look similar from some angles, but the dimensions make it seem more tightly wrapped, more muscular. The proportions of the A6 C5 Avant look better to my eyes.
I saw, I assumed it was, a 4 series BMW Coupe in a grey metallic shade under street lights in a supermarket car park recently and I was a bit taken aback that it was a relatively recent BMW that looked half decent and not offensively hideous.
I lose track of Audi A4 designations after the B7, but there's a white Avant near me that's got the narrower, slittier, squinting headlamps, not overly large diameter alloys, could be a B8 or a B9 IDK, but it looks OK ish. I think it's on a 20 teens plate.
One of my favourite Audi designs in the A6 C5 Avant, the late 90s, early Noughties one. The A4 B6 Avant can look similar from some angles, but the dimensions make it seem more tightly wrapped, more muscular. The proportions of the A6 C5 Avant look better to my eyes.
I saw, I assumed it was, a 4 series BMW Coupe in a grey metallic shade under street lights in a supermarket car park recently and I was a bit taken aback that it was a relatively recent BMW that looked half decent and not offensively hideous.
I was reading about this the other day.
It's called Munich Syndrome.
Can instantly bring a man to his knees, and results in loss of all rational thought process.
Sudden onset of Tourette's syndrome is often reported.
Also known to be contagious, often causing groups vulnerable of men to stand in an imaginary circle and well, you can guess the rest.
It's called Munich Syndrome.
Can instantly bring a man to his knees, and results in loss of all rational thought process.
Sudden onset of Tourette's syndrome is often reported.
Also known to be contagious, often causing groups vulnerable of men to stand in an imaginary circle and well, you can guess the rest.
The Audi ‘double decker’ grille was inspired by a pre war Audi (Auto Union at that time) sports racer. It thus has a history and Audi have not turned it into a pastiche. Incidentally the ‘BWW grille too ugly and oversized’ is getting a bit stale. I noticed one today, on a smallish BM crossover type car and reproached myself for thinking that it wasn’t too bad! We get used to things….. look at a Rolls Royce grille.
MisterBigglesworth said:
To be fair there was a lot of complaints when Audi first introduced that grill with a lot of derogatory comments about goatees. I guess its possibly because the B5 era of Audi buyers was a relatively small user base so the majority of Audi buyers arrived after the grill was already introduced. Mercedes and BMW established a much bigger customer base before making a radical design change so the backlash has been proportionally noisier.
Golfgtimk28v said:
Let's be honest people don't care what they look like, they will still buy it. It is crazy how Bangle lost sales, yet the Teutonic bros are just taking the piss now.
Not true at all. I'm a long-time BMW fan and have owned a few, including an E30, E32, E36s, E46s, and I still have an E46 and an E32. I've briefly considered the F82 M4 and the F87 M2 but they looked too contrived. I won't be buying any more modern BMWs as long as they all look badly proportioned and distinctly ugly to my eyes. The Chinese are welcome to them!I've seen comments here on PH about how Audi's styling has developed for the worse and gone from relatively restrained and tasteful to in your face gopping.
I lose track of Audi A4 designations after the B7, but there's a white Avant near me that's got the narrower, slittier, squinting headlamps, not overly large diameter alloys, could be a B8 or a B9 IDK, but it looks OK ish. I think it's on a 20 teens plate.
One of my favourite Audi designs in the A6 C5 Avant, the late 90s, early Noughties one. The A4 B6 Avant can look similar from some angles, but the dimensions make it seem more tightly wrapped, more muscular. The proportions of the A6 C5 Avant look better to my eyes.
I saw, I assumed it was, a 4 series BMW Coupe in a grey metallic shade under street lights in a supermarket car park recently and I was a bit taken aback that it was a relatively recent BMW that looked half decent and not offensively hideous.
I lose track of Audi A4 designations after the B7, but there's a white Avant near me that's got the narrower, slittier, squinting headlamps, not overly large diameter alloys, could be a B8 or a B9 IDK, but it looks OK ish. I think it's on a 20 teens plate.
One of my favourite Audi designs in the A6 C5 Avant, the late 90s, early Noughties one. The A4 B6 Avant can look similar from some angles, but the dimensions make it seem more tightly wrapped, more muscular. The proportions of the A6 C5 Avant look better to my eyes.
I saw, I assumed it was, a 4 series BMW Coupe in a grey metallic shade under street lights in a supermarket car park recently and I was a bit taken aback that it was a relatively recent BMW that looked half decent and not offensively hideous.
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff