Ah, put me on the spot now why don't you BBoi?
Just trying to rattle your cage so to speak because over the years (from GCF days) I've noticed that when asked a similar question you've usually replied with a philisophical answer with a broader context and meaning rather than simply getting down to the nitty-gritty specifics as you have done with your post above.
Seriously, most people here think I'm mad for saying it but I really am a big admirer of the original (as in pre-facelift) E65. It has tremendous presence on the road and looks ever so much better than the current facelift - which now wears it's facelift like an identity crisis. It's all in the details: those new headlamp shapes, front skirt and rear light cluster treatment are incongruous with the overall image of the car.
I agree whole-heartedly with that paragraph there. Put aside the tremendous presence of the RR Phantom and ofcourse lets forget about the ever-increasing number of supercars, the E65 7er commands a sense of presence that is unrivalled in the uber-luxury segment. The massive (yet impressive looking) wheels, the no-bullsh*t facial expression (in most angles) as well as other Bangle-bits such as the thick shoulderline being twisted and moulded into the infamous Bangle-butt.
To be honest though, in hindsight the E65 was not
that radical in it's design apart from the protruding rear. The front of the car was still fairly conventional with lines running horizontally, whereas nowadays we're seeing a myriad of cars with lines swooping from the lights down to the mouth of the car. The side of the car did not contain the drastic flame-surfacing which gained its spotlight when the Z4 droptop hit motorshow stands across the world. But I guess this tied in with the 'no nonsense' imagery that the 7er was hoping to portray. No fancy-pancy cut lines or concave/convex sheet metal... just a simple, bare, solid look, ..which again added to its commanding presence.
I agree that the facelifted 7er was in a sense going back on the laurels that BMW had originally established for the E65 model. The smiley-face front as well as the attempt to make the rear bootlid a little less bare by added those 2 extra jigsaw light pieces still had 'BMW' written all over it in terms of how these 2 design elements were executed, but it certainly did not have '7 series' written all over it. It still possesses that
'larger than life' presence the pre-facelift 7er brought forward in 2001, but unlike the original rendition which was a case of
'the end result is greater than the sum of its parts' the facelift model has contrasting themes which cancel themselves out. The end result is a car which probably is more appealing to the average BMW 7 series buyer, but also a car which lost its identity.
Most would argue that it was a case of BMW giving-in to public pressure. BMW took more hits from the automotive fraternity over the E65 than any opponent of Mohammed Ali ever did...and therefore had to take corrective action. Like many have said, the new image of BMW was that of being distinctive and taking a bit of a risk with designs... so to see BMW do a backflip on these two points, it really echoed the message that BMW had got it wrong with the E65. Ironically, the reality of it all is that it's the other way around.
The way I see it, it was a shortcoming on BMW's part. With the launch of the E65 7er BMW ushered in a new generation of innovativeness, a new style of designing as well as a departure from their conservative nature of yester-years. But the most significant change was the emphasise of being and dynamic and distinctive. This image was most notably shown in the design of their vehicles, but I'm a believer that the roots of 'dynamic and distinctive' dig deeper into the heart of BMW. Work culture and management style followed similar thinking (ie: of being new, different and innovative), BMW adopted a marketing strategy which focused on differentiation (best echoed by it's slogan) and undertook a promotional strategy which was very different from the status quo in the automotive industry. To me, 'dynamic' and 'distinctive' are not simply terms to describe BMW vehicles, but words to describe BMW as a whole.
So back to BMW's shortcoming. BMW failed to emphasise the point I made above. The radical and unorthodox design of BMW vehicles represented and symbolised a whole lot more than simply an attention-grabbing car. Every car embodied what BMW was all about.. but BMW failed to bring forward this point when they launched the E65. They said how the 7er would change the uber-luxury segment with its distinctive styling and tech' gadgetry, but what they should have done was emphasise the deeper change in BMW. They should have talked about how BMW's direction had changed and that it's approach to car design would reflect this shift in focus/direction. It should have been how BMW was changing and that the E65 7er was the first product spawned from this
new BMW. They should have used the BMW name to explain and promote the new focus at BMW rather than using the 7er as an open target due to the fact that BMW did not properly explain why it had taken such a radical route with the 7er. Most of us were left to interpret their own message and meaning from the E65 7er, and as hindsight has shown, it was a bit of a mistake. Consumers shouldn't be left to make-out their own message and meaning from a product, it should be fed to them in a clear and understandable way (I know, sounds very cynical, but hey, that's what they're teaching me for my Marketing major). This is why many people here at GCF simply do not have a holistic grasp of what BMW is all about. They see the lines, they see the convex/concave sheet-metal, they see the bootlids, the eyebrows, the xenon rings and so on.. but they don't see what it all represents, what it means and most importantly they don't appreciate the 'philosophy' behind the designs.
I've always said, the E65 7er deserved a whole lot more credit than it ever received, ...and to me that's a damn shame. It wasn't just
a BMW, it
is BMW.
Seriously, most people here think I'm mad for saying it but I really am a big admirer of the original (as in pre-facelift) E65. It has tremendous presence on the road and looks ever so much better than the current facelift - which now wears it's facelift like an identity crisis. It's all in the details: those new headlamp shapes, front skirt and rear light cluster treatment are incongruous with the overall image of the car. 
