A Star is Born

Beverly Hills, California is a magical place. Palms tower majestically overhead, the air is filled with the sweet aroma of fresh blossoms and exotic flowers, and the outside temperature is identical to the inside of the hotel - a strange sensation after having just left Canada mid-winter.

I saw more BMWs in Beverly Hills than any other marque. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press)

The hotel that takes on the city's name is at least as magical as the area itself, having been host to the world's richest and most famous for decades. Rodeo drive runs perpendicular to the Beverly Hills Hotel's Sunset Boulevard address, its edges lined with massive ficus trees extending their intricate latticework of roots across the greenery in search of moisture. They look as if they've been there for centuries.

BMW took us to their California design studio to talk with 7-Series and now 6-Series designer, and most recently overseer of BMW brand styling Adrian van Hooydonk. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press)

Of course they aren't that old, nor are the richly appointed homes that crowd the famed roadway. Premium cars pour through the street, congregating at stoplights before parking nose to nose in circular driveways behind wrought iron gates. BMW seems to be the marque of choice. Sure, Mercedes SLs are as plentiful here as Honda Civics in my my town, with a Lexus or two, the odd Jag, and even a new Rolls-Royce Phantom, motoring along. Yet more often than not a duo of his and hers Bimmers occupied the horseshoe driveways of the wealthy inhabitants, some having made their millions in business, others by inheritance and no doubt stars made by way of neighboring Hollywood's lure.