[Year's_End]

Originally Posted by Laszlo

Some of you must be wearing the same rose tinted sunglasses that Bangle sports.

Dude just shut the fuck up.

[epbrown]

Originally Posted by Laszlo

Some of you must be wearing the same rose tinted sunglasses that Bangle sports.

Or, and I know this sounds crazy, we see things differently than you. No, wait, that can't be.

[Year's_End]

Originally Posted by Laszlo

"If you think it's expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur."
RED ADAIR

Uh huh.

[epbrown]

Originally Posted by Laszlo

"If you think it's expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur."
RED ADAIR

Would you like a chair? You don't seem to have a leg to stand on anymore. You've gone from articulating your views to these one-liners and non-sequitors. If you don't have anything else constructive to say on the topic, it's perfectly okay to stop posting. Other posters on your side of the argument have made some good points and might be better suited to carrying the torch from here on.

[vAnt826]

Originally Posted by Laszlo

"If you think it's expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur."
RED ADAIR

What a fail. Arguing about Bangle's designs and driving his most important achievement. Lets not take a look at BMW sales figures before and after Bangle. That just might be too much for you.

[155MPH]

Originally Posted by epbrown

Quick: name the head designers of the previous 2 BMW product cycles, without Googling. Or name the current head of design at Mercedes-Benz and Audi. Even if you can, you have to know that hardly anyone else could. Few people gave a damn about BMW design before Chris Bangle set the new direction, or car design in general.

None of the current cars will be historical masterpieces? How common is it for any mass-produced car to become a historical masterpiece? What, you see the E36/E39/E38 being hailed for centuries to come? Those cars are competent feats of engineering and little more. What is there to say about their design? That they're innocuous and inoffensive? That the average person had trouble telling the different models apart? The cars could have been designed by IBM's laptop division during the same period.

Bangle has already succeeded beyond your wildest imaginings. Because of him, people are talking about BMW design, not just other designers and a couple of European car magazines, but everyone. People feel about it, care about it, have strong opinions about it, discuss it - some intelligently, some not so much. People are behaving exactly as they do about art. The only other car designer that's been talked about as much is Harley Earl, dead before Bangle was born, I think.

Lastly, do yourself a favor and don't mention Enzo Ferrari again when discussing car design. During his time - and long after - the company looked to external design houses for their car exteriors, Pininfarina, Bertone, etc. He couldn't have cared less about car design - his chief interest was in racing; he wasn't particularly good at, or even concerned about, anything else.

I am willing to bet that 50 years from now when people look back, Bangle will be recognized as being the catalyst for reviving automobile design. It all started with the Z4. While everyone criticized it, everyone also copied it. BMW design cues are everywhere. Just look around you. Bangle is genius.

[And this is the reason to hold on to your M roadster and coupe. It will be collectible, not just because of its limited number, but because it is the top performer in the Z4 lineup for a car that changed automobile design]

[epbrown]

Originally Posted by 155MPH

I am willing to bet that 50 years from now when people look back, Bangle will be recognized as being the catalyst for reviving automobile design. It all started with the Z4.

I dunno about that - the 7-series was first, and more controversial. I think the Z4 is the best example of the flame-srfacing design, but it's easier for a sports car to pull off such excess. The 5-series might have a better case.

I'll be keeping the Z4MC, whatever its place in history. I just plain like the car.

[sayemthree]

Bangle = FTMFL!
Bangle = Bungled = F'd up

[Big Windy]

Originally Posted by Bimmer Loyalist

Dude just shut the fuck up.

you are taking this entirely too seriously. not necessary.

[Year's_End]

Originally Posted by Big Windy

you are taking this entirely too seriously. not necessary.

Not really.

[Year's_End]

Originally Posted by Big Windy

you are taking this entirely too seriously. not necessary.

By the way, if I come off slightly spirited, it's because car design is my passion. I find Lazlo's remarks about Bangle to be completely ridiculous, hence my reactions. Can't help it, just the way I am.

[561design]

Originally Posted by Bimmer Loyalist

By the way, if I come off slightly spirited, it's because car design is my passion. I find Lazlo's remarks about Bangle to be completely ridiculous, hence my reactions. Can't help it, just the way I am.

ORLY? Have you checked this site out? It's pretty amazing but I'm not willing to pay for the membership fees to see the rest of it. http://cardesignnews.com/site/home/

I'm an industrial designer myself and I can see that his remarks are weak at best. Until you actually have to work and design something from the inside, you'll never know how difficult / impressive what Bangle did. When I was working at Motorola I was designing phone 10 years ahead of when they were due to market. I bet at the time if they were released people would have hated them as well.

[Year's_End]

Originally Posted by 561design

ORLY? Have you checked this site out? It's pretty amazing but I'm not willing to pay for the membership fees to see the rest of it. http://cardesignnews.com/site/home/

I'm an industrial designer myself and I can see that his remarks are weak at best. Until you actually have to work and design something from the inside, you'll never know how difficult / impressive what Bangle did. When I was working at Motorola I was designing phone 10 years ahead of when they were due to market. I bet at the time if they were released people would have hated them as well.

Yeah I have. Unfortunately you can't look at much unless you join.

[rzm3]

looks like the X6 came from the X Coupe concept back in 1996? Wow!

I guess for designers/artists, it not always about the end product. The X Coupe shown didn't look good at all, but seemed like Bangle liked it, because it contained a great idea.

Art is an evolution, a process, it's the idea within art that truly matters, and it is because of the idea drives the evolution of designs into something that expresses it better...

just my 2 cents

[Year's_End]

Originally Posted by rldzhao

looks like the X6 came from the X Coupe concept back in 1996? Wow!

I guess for designers/artists, it not always about the end product. The X Coupe shown didn't look good at all, but seemed like Bangle liked it, because it contained a great idea.

Art is an evolution, a process, it's the idea within art that truly matters, and it is because of the idea drives the evolution of designs into something that expresses it better...

just my 2 cents

The X coupe was more of an expression of design language than a real hinter at an upcoming design. If anything, it influenced the Z4's design, but nothin more in a direct sense. It showcased the way light plays on metal, and how the future design direction would involve more interplay with creases, and concave/convex shapes.

[155MPH]

Originally Posted by epbrown

I dunno about that - the 7-series was first, and more controversial. I think the Z4 is the best example of the flame-srfacing design, but it's easier for a sports car to pull off such excess. The 5-series might have a better case.

I'll be keeping the Z4MC, whatever its place in history. I just plain like the car.

The 7 series may have been first, but it really didn't capture the spirit of flame surfacing. It just has a couple of tail lights that were misaligned and a butt that stuck up in the air. The real execution was on the Z4.

Anyway, that's my opinion, not an expert one for sure....

[mPlasticDesign]

I think the two biggest mistakes that are made when discussing Bangle is either people bash the direction of BMW design (recently) to the point of cliché or they give him too much credit. Let's not forget there is a small army of talented designers that are behind him, you do have to credit him for making the tough executive decisions.

[fobunited]

Some of you guys are quite misinformed about the cars Chris Bangle has designed.

For example, I have seen a couple of posts regarding The E46 vs. Bangle's E90 design...

Uuhhhhh.. Chris Bangle designed the E46 too.

Also some criticism towards the new 7 series design.....

Uuhhhh.. Chris Bangle didn't design the new 7, Adrian Van Hooydonk did.

[LateralG]

while bangle pissed off many BMW loyalists, his design attracted many more enthusiasts

but how many loyalists turned against bmw because of the designs? i am not one.

[155MPH]

for those that think we are not informed, or for those that would like to be more informed, here is an article on Bangle design...you decide if he is genius or anticrist

http://www.motortrend.com/features/c...ief/index.html

[Year's_End]

Originally Posted by 155MPH

for those that think we are not informed, or for those that would like to be more informed, here is an article on Bangle design...you decide if he is genius or anticrist

http://www.motortrend.com/features/c...ief/index.html

Good article.

[epbrown]

Originally Posted by fobunited

Some of you guys are quite misinformed about the cars Chris Bangle has designed...Chris Bangle designed the E46 too... Chris Bangle didn't design the new 7, Adrian Van Hooydonk did.

Bangle is seen as responsible because he was head of design and set this direction. The E46 was designed by him, but he designed it to fit with the rest of the model range at the time, as directed by his predecessor. Van Hooydonk did do the 7-series and Anders Warming did the Z4, but their designs were done to fit within the design language under Bangle's direction. I don't think anyone who knows anything about car design would ever posit the idea that one guy individually designed the entire model range!

As for the article, I wasn't surprised they mentioned Mays, as he's one of Bangle's rivals (they went to the same design school) and harshest critic. Mays should be the household name that Bangle is, but has never been given the free rein that Bangle got from BMW. Mays headed up the original TT and set the direction for the previous Audi range before going to Ford and he's much more into rounded, organic shapes and understated luxury.

I'm tempted to get an Audi A4 cab to go with my Z4 coupe, as the two cars run the gamut of car design from... a to z.