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Current Opinion on Chris Bangle
Now that Bangle's designs have been with us for several years now, how does everyone think they've aged? Still think they're hack-jobs, or are you warming up to them? Mercedes, Audi, and Lexus have obviously been influenced by his work, but is that enough to consider new bimmers' styling acceptable?
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Well now that I've been informed my beloved e46 was a Bangle-era design, I have to say he's done some things right, but I'm still not thrilled with the flame-surfacing concept. I do like the Z4-coupe.
The fact that others copy says nothing to me. I think all german cars (except Porsche) have gone through an uglification in recent years. Passats, Jettas, and what's up with the Audi schnozzes?
| | Reply » Current Opinion on Chris Bangle |
Someone described the trend at the recent LA and Detroit shows as "ugly is beautiful."
I think it's a case of the emperor's new clothes - car designers think if they say "it's beautiful" often enough everyone will come to believe it. It works. Look at the entire fashion industry!
Sadly, the marketplace decides. If the "Dame Edna" 5 series had been a massive flop, BMW's Aztek or Crossfire, with thousands of unsold cars clogging BMW's lots and factories, Bangle would be working at McDonalds. As it happens, BMW is setting new sales records every month. Not Bangle, not iDrive, not wonky transmissions, not arrogant dealers, nothing seems to be showing up in the numbers. Go figure.
One thing we "enthusiasts" must remember is that we are a speck on the corporate radar. BMW sells a million cars a year. BMWCCA members and 'Festers probably account for 1 percent of those. The other 99% go to soccer moms, fat doctors, and the great masses of jerks who have given BMW its reputation as a snob and yuppie mobile. Remember the old joke about the BMW and the porcupine?
| | Reply » Current Opinion on Chris Bangle |
Quote: Well now that I've been informed my beloved e46 was a Bangle-era design, I have to say he's done some things right, but I'm still not thrilled with the flame-surfacing concept. I do like the Z4-coupe.
The fact that others copy says nothing to me. I think all german cars (except Porsche) have gone through an uglification in recent years. Passats, Jettas, and what's up with the Audi schnozzes? | E46 was designed by a very young guy that I met once named Erik Gopplen.
Sounds like the name of a rock star, doesn't it? 
Anyway, the mid-life facelift of E46 was all Bangle...
| | Reply » Current Opinion on Chris Bangle |
I’m still not much of a fan of Bangle’s designs. Although they have grown on me a bit, I find them too polarizing. The current 5 series looks too feminine (a BMW salesman told me the intent was to get more women buyers and it worked). The Z4 is just odd, although much better in coupe form. The current 3 series is the best looking of the lot. Interiors on all of them, except maybe the 6 Series, are horrible.
Other companies may be mimicking Bangle’s designs, but at least they have toned it down to where it works quite well.
| | Reply » Current Opinion on Chris Bangle |
Quote: | One thing we "enthusiasts" must remember is that we are a speck on the corporate radar. BMW sells a million cars a year. BMWCCA members and 'Festers probably account for 1 percent of those. The other 99% go to soccer moms, fat doctors, and the great masses of jerks who have given BMW its reputation as a snob and yuppie mobile. Remember the old joke about the BMW and the porcupine? | Not all doctors are fat... And some of us drive our bimmers because we love them and not for snob appeal.
With the exception of the current 5 series, I really like the newer designs. I love my 7. I do have to laugh whenever I see the new Lexus and Infinities that look so much like BMW's. The Japanese have very little imagination.
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Current Opinion on Chris Bangle