I have repeatedly seen many negative commenst about Chris Bangle, I gather some high level executive at BMW. I know that he is resposable in some way for design. These comments have come from many different sources.
For styling, 1 out of 3 isn't a very good record. Pre-Bangle, BMW *was* at the pinnacle of sport sedan/coupe styling. The Bangled cars are fugly at the rear. When you have perfection like BMW did, it is hard to improve the breed. They chose poorly and have since *promoted* Bangle along to keep him from completely ruining the 3-series as well, BMW's bread-and-butter.
I personally love what he did with the 5 Series... everything flows, he made the rear look AWESOME...
6 series ... Muahahahaha..
The 7 series.. you have to get use to it... and appreciate the bold lines he used throughout the car. Dutch/German inspiriation. (Chris Bangle's from The Netherlands)
Z4 ... im not too crazy about the doors but the rest of it is good.
Its what you want when designing a car, subtle lines, flowing design... ingenious ways of creating headlights/taillights that fit, body lines that blend in to create the forum. I also think Chris took to heart what BMW talked about, "Eyes" (headlights) Smooth, powerful sports cars. I donno.. maybe its because he's an artist.
I dont understand why so many people hate the cars. My only beef would be the iDrive and the dual "hump" it creates in the dashboard.
I am one of the few to really like what him and his team has done...BMW needed some change....and they still look really good...The 7 series is my personal top choice for a V12 sedan....offer me an Alpina and ill grap it without looking back...
Design can be a differentiator in a very crowded marketplace. BMW has taken this route. So has Cadillac. However, Cadillac could take the risk due to their declining sales and the "death" of their key demographic.... old folks! Grow or die.
BMW has a different dilemma...... how to maintain growth through model proliferation, yet maintain the image of exclusivity.
Response to design is an emotional response. BMW decided to take the risk.
Personally, I hate the new designs. But, I also understand that others may have a very positive response. I have always felt that BMW's understated styling speaks to their focus on engineering and performance. The "new" look seems to "cheapen" this image.
But, the proof is the sales and profit numbers. Last I looked, they were still doing pretty well.
The new designs aren't favorites of mine, but to be honest I've never thought BMW had the greatest styling. The fronts were distinctive, the sides bland, and the rears honestly always looked cheap to me. Not exactly a home run design-wise. But like JoeKr said, that really isn't what BMW was about.
I think now that everyone is finally catching up to them in performance, they are looking for a more distinctive styling. True, the Bangle designs aren't everyone's favorite, but they are unique. Unique is what you need to be recognized anymore. I say give them a couple years to iron out the kinks and they could turn out to be rather attractive...
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'Enthusiasm is no substitute for rationality. If you're a wacko you can expect to remain on the fringes.' ~dkozloski, posting from Alaska
i liked the old 740iL and i like the new 745Li
the 3series was always too small for my taste (and hight)
the 5series was very cool but the new 5 is disgustingly ugly (what a shame)
the z4 is a nice car, for my little sister
and the 6series should have stayed a legend with how it is looking right now, i mean it looks like a car a college student rich white girl would drive, basically it's not a man's car (unless you're.... ). they did the same thing they merc did, turn good looking manly cars into little fragile cute automobiles that little college girls would like to drive.
Last edited by Pimpin_Whity; 09-02-04 at 10:25 AM.
). they did the same thing they merc did, turn good looking manly cars into little fragile cute automobiles that little college girls would like to drive.
