I still see the TL in the rear quarter of the new 3. When you go to BMWUSA's website and view the pictures, there's a series with a front end shot of each generation 3-er; they all seem to flow/evolve until the e46-90 transitiion--it's a radical change. (Go to the image gallery, then wallpaper, images 9-14.) I just looked at it again--it's the bumper. All the previous generations have a clear separation: grill/headlights, bumper, airdam. Now there's that Audi-esque trapezoid flowing from the grill down between the bumper under the lights. While the car mags say it's not as radical as the 5 or 7, it is. I'll bet if you did the same picture series with the rear, it'd be the same. The shape of the new back lights is way different than all the previous 3's--almost like the Q45 in shape. There's even a close up pic of the front quarter that looks a lot like the Z4. My feeling about the 3 and the 5 is that they would look better if the lights were more squared off, like all preious BMW's. That said, MB radically changes the S class each time and gets a more modern look--the next one will probably resemble the Maybach. Maybe we just have to get used to a new BMW look and hope/pray that the engineering continues to be excellent.
So, I timed it right to get an 04, except for the Bluetooth snafu. I'm wondering what improvements there might be by the time the new cabrio comes out. More hp? Better i-drive? Maybe not having to put the key in any slot to push the start button (like my friend's new RL)?