In the spirit of that famous TV theme line “girls were girls and men were men,” I’m thinking now of a time ever so long ago when “5’s were 5’s and 3’s were 3’s.”
Take 1987, during my just-beginning-to-learn-to-drive heyday of knowing my car models while imagining the one I wanted to have. The clear difference between BMW’s 3 Series and 5 Series could be spotted a mile away.
1987 BMW 3 Series
1987 BMW 5 Series
I’m afraid the same cannot be said in 2012, not even from a few feet away, let alone a mile. Upon my first glance of the “all-new” sixth generation 3 Series, I really did think I was looking at a 5. Only upon my surprise of seeing the trunk lid badge was I corrected.
2012 BMW 3 Series
2012 BMW 5 Series
Can you see an immediate difference? Call me old-fashioned if you will, but I wish we could still easily distinguish between a manufacturer’s major models. Unfortunately, as I’ve lamented before, everything looks the same. And here– modern-day technology notwithstanding– is yet another example.
And so the theme song finishes, as I too sing: “Those were the days!”
Ryan R. Sanderson 