Bangle quits

Moi, I think you are letting your personal taste for the previous design language prevent you from recognizing what Bangle helped to do at BMW which was to reinstate them as a design leader. The old language could not roll on unchanged forever.

An unfortunate side effect is that a lot of brands are chasing this look. I think Audi moved off its 1999-2004 language too quickly in search of some Bangle.

Well “taste” should not be an argument within the professional field.

The new AvH penned F01 shows clearly enough that there are more ways than two in finding a successful visual language for a big and nevertheless sporty and elegant saloon car.

A BMW should always be a Panther not a Rhino.

There would have been more ways to develop BMW into the future than either keeping everything like it was (building the E30 until infinity) or building the things that they did.

For me a visual language resembles music a lot.

If the BMW of old was a Violin overture the new ones became Samples by Busta Rhymes. There is a place and a time for both.
But as the conductor of the Met. you should have a gut feeling for when to play what.

And now enjoy the sound of silence…

Has anyone else posting owned four BMWs? Bangle chased me away from the marque with the e65 7 series just as I was looking forward to moving up from a 5 series, and I was far from the only owner who jumped ship. He seemed to be primarily concerned with making a name for himself at the expense of good design and customer loyalty. He may have helped BMW pick up some new customers, but many believe they were primarily those “Hey look at me. I have a more expensive car than you do!” types that have given BMW a bad name.

You feel that the 6 series is to die for? I don’t believe in capital punishment for designers, even Bangle. To me it was an example of something that looked good in the original sketches, but didn’t translate into three dimensions because someone didn’t really understand surface development. By the time that showed up, there was too much emotional investment and ego involved to admit that it wasn’t working. If you like the utility of having a picnic table for a rear deck I guess that’s up to you.

I wonder how many positive comments from designers are related to their own frustration in getting management to accept change. His success in accomplishing that can’t be denied, but that doesn’t make him a great designer, just a truly proficient BS artist.

Better die a hero than see yourself become a zero…

Chris understood that and have figured out his capability in design creativity. You have to understand that the automotive industry is a verry small branch in industrial design, and also verry restrictive. I think that he just figured that his talent can be taken to another dimension or also he had some other dreams in mind. Being such an important icon in the automotive industry, I believe he wants to leave his place as someone who was truly involved in design prospectivity. I should compare his decision to the famous football (soccer) player from France, Zinedine Zidane.

From my experience, I would attribute the negative comments to designers who are frustrated getting management to accept change.

Poor showing Deez. If you would like to bring it, introduce yourself at the NED conference.

I gotta say that BS artists do get traction, whether they are “good design” or not… more controversial designers Stark and Rashid are talking to companies upper management too, only they haven’t signed on to a director role but instead went the “personality” route.

Whether or not a person has changed a companies branding course shouldn’t matter. The public (designers and non-designers) have an opinion on what he did with the brand and its not all going to be positive

I personally question some of the directions he took BMW but mostly like the new looks, and I think its a shame he’s leaving. He was taking risks and changing things, now well never know where he would have ended up taking it

Their sales have grown every year Bangle was there (until this year). Someone likes them.

That speaks pretty loudly that the public likes what he did (or at least that he didn’t hurt brand loyalty)

Interesting peer comments from his Wikipedia entry:

  • J Mays, Ford’s chief creative officer, dislikes Bangle’s designs, but admits Bangle has been significant in reshaping modern cars.

  • Marc Newson, an industrial designer and car enthusiast, described Bangle’s BMW Z4 as having been designed with a machete.

  • Patrick le Quément, chief designer at Renault, said: “[Bangle is] certainly the most talked about designer. His designs have a great deal of presence, and they’re well proportioned. He’s been highly influential. My only concern is his use of concave surfaces: they’re hollow shapes and lack that tightly muscled look I feel helps design.”

  • Martin Smith, head of design for Ford of Europe, describes Bangle as an instigator of the trend toward “surface entertainment” in cars; the Ford Iosis bears some resemblance to Bangle-styled BMWs but it was not criticized as much as Bangle’s designs.

Which, I am still devastated by. My eyes burn every time I see the 09 A4.

I have to say I hate that I love that new A4. That said, I look at the previous 2 A4s as aging really well. Last gen RS4 is pretty bad ass.

I just can’t get over the BMW-isms in it. It seems like a knee jerk reset of a style that they had been successfully refining and, as you say, was looking really good.

I agree, same with the crease through the side of the new TT. The cool part to me about the TT was that it didn’t have any wiz bang on it, it was distilled down to almost nothingness. A kid could draw it with a couple of lines. I still get kids shouting “Nice Car!” and “Daddy, what kind of car is that?”, the best was a friend of mine got “Look Mommy, a spaceship.” when he parked his TT this year.

I love the proportions of the new one, but I will probably get the same model TT when this one dies, or maybe a 6 Series Coupe or z4 Coupe… probably the TT though.

It’s a little melodramatic, but I felt betrayed when I saw the crease! :smiley:

I have a 3 year lease on my 08 GTi but I will be looking for an 08 A4 Avant (from a dry climate) when the lease is up. No way I was getting a used A4 I could afford, on no notice, at the time in Minnesota. They’re all rust buckets!

LOL, I know what you mean!

really? that thing is terrible. looks like some homemade kit car fiberglas body sorta job.

I’ve had an old e30 (84 318i coupe) and now have the new 3 series coupe (328xi). I appreciate both in aesthetic terms though have to say I wasn’t much a fan of anything in between (though maybe would like the e39 5 series, OK)…

To me, Bangle, et. al, has re-ingvigonized (is that a word?) the brand. From stable and emotionless, BMW has gone to emotion and the embodiment of “The Ultimate Driving Machine”. Sure, some models suck (X3, i’m looking at you), but overall, the brand has done pretty well despite it’s recent detractors.

One thing I would would also like to mention here is the attribution of everything good/bad to Bangle, personally. It takes way more than one dude to design/make a car. Shoving all the love/hate to Bangle personally just doesn’t seem right.

All that being said, the new 1 series is super hot, the new 7 is great, the new X1 sucks.

…and, for the first time ever (maybe excepting my lust for the TT, 1st and second gen), i’m thinking Audi has finally got some B@lls and would seriously consider for the next ride…)

R

I recently read a quote…or heard it on the radio…

The opposite of Love isn’t Hate…it’s Indifference"

When it comes to design the polarity that it can create is truly what we all strive for. Apple, Rashid, Bangle, Starck, etc. all create visceral reactions. Love or Hate are on opposite sides of the spectrum. It’s when you’re hoovering in the middle, the no-mans-land of indifference that you’re in deep $hit.

Bangle was never in No Mans Land. I fall on the side of love. This thread proves my thoughts on this quite well…and that is Bangle did his job very well. He made everyone talk about his products. Four pages worth and counting!

I didn’t want to be a shit, but I totally agree. It looks like a Probe/Cavalier/Ferrari hybrid. Just reading that makes me feel all wrong let alone looking at it. And those tail-lights are just so wrong I almost don’t know where to start.

I wasnt digging it either… But it is interesting to see some evolutionary beginings of the “flame” treatment. I like it much more now

really? that thing is terrible.

Yes! :slight_smile:

One thing I would would also like to mention here is the attribution of everything good/bad to Bangle, personally. It takes way more than one dude to design/make a car. Shoving all the love/hate to Bangle personally just doesn’t seem right.

So true. One individual should not be held accountable for all the credit and/or blame based on the biased or unbiased opinions of the media, general public, and other designers, but as the chief of design you would ultimately be responsible for the design direction decisions that are made. In the end we must remember these cars were a group collaboration.

Here’s a little list of the lead designer for each model:

E30 - 3 Series: Team Effort (Munich)

E31 - 8 Series: Klaus Kapitza (Munich)

E36 - 3 Series: Joji Nagashima (Munich)

E38 - 7 Series: Boyke Boyer (Munich)

E36/7 - Z3 Roadster: Joji Nashima (Munich)

E39 - 5 Series: Joji Nagashima (Munich)

E36/7 - Z3 Coupe: Chris Bangle (DesignworksUSA) - First Project

E46 - 3 Series: Chris Bangle/Erik Goplen (DesignworksUSA)

E52 - Z8: Henrik Fisker (DesignworksUSA)

E53 - X5: Chris Chapman/Chris Bangle (DesignworksUSA)

E60/61 - 5 Series: David Arcangeli (DesignworksUSA)

E63/64 - 6 Series: Adrian Van Hooydonk (DesignworksUSA)

E65/66/67/68 - 7 Series: Adrian Van Hooydonk (DesignworksUSA)

E70 - X5: Pierre Leclercq (DesignworksUSA)

E71 - X6: Pierre Leclercq (DesignworksUSA)

E82/87/88 - 1 Series: Kevin Rice (DesignworksUSA)

E83 - X3: Geoff Velasco (DesignworksUSA)

E85/86 - Z4: Anders Warming (DesignworksUSA)

E90/91/92/93 - 3 Series: Joji Nagashima (Munich)

F01/02 - 7 Series: Karim Antoine Habib (Munich)