BMW News: Bangle steps down - Hope for future BMW Designs

Originally Posted by GoingNuts

Bangle's design lacked umph. The E9x is completely unbuyable for me no matter how much power they have. They lacked presence of what a BMW should be. They are just odd, and odd doesn't make it better in my book.

I would be very curious to know how much he was responsible for the new Z4. That car has more than umph, it's very manly, and everything a BMW should be. I don't believe he's capable of doing that car because there's virtually no uncorrectable oddness in that car. Contrast that with the E9X is like comparing day to night. I looked over and over at the E9x, imagining what panel they could replace to make the car better. Eventually I had to give it up for dead because that design is uncorrectable, and too many things wrong with it.

Bangle's style is more suited to the Japanese manufacturers who prefer oddness. I hope Toyota will give him a job.

Actually the new guy they just promoted made the z4,
so in that case, hope he makes everycar with the passion he made the z4 with

Originally Posted by Rayce185

You guys DO realize that he also designed the E46?

Bangle didn't start leading design until 1999... by that time the E46 was already well beyond complete. They were selling the E46 in Europe in 1998 and the design was likely completed in late 1996 or early 1997.

Originally Posted by SpeedDemon

Bangle didn't start leading design until 1999... by that time the E46 was already well beyond complete. They were selling the E46 in Europe in 1998 and the design was likely completed in late 1996 or early 1997.

Born in the USA, Christopher Bangle, aged 52, has been Head of BMW Group Design Development since October 1992.

He may not have been lead designer until 99, but I was told that the E46 and E39 were among his first designs...

Originally Posted by Rayce185

He may not have been lead designer until 99, but I was told that the E46 and E39 were among his first designs...

your right

Originally Posted by Rayce185

You guys DO realize that he also designed the E46?

Yes, he designed the cosmetic changes for the facelift. But the car had a good design to start with.

Originally Posted by GoingNuts

Yes, he designed the cosmetic changes for the facelift. But the car had a good design to start with.

Facelifted actually looks better
Either way e46 will always be my favorite car

Originally Posted by SpeedDemon

w00t!

Please give me some classic german styling cues now! I honestly am not sure if this guy is going to do any better though.

The classic German BMW design is an unmistakable German-helmet wearing man kind of design. It is proud, unashamed, and nothing flabby, flimsy, or girly like that of bangle's design. The testosterone in the classic design is unmistakable. Here's an example:

Originally Posted by BMWfanfromQuebec

Facelifted actually looks better
Either way e46 will always be my favorite car

The point being a good design can be improved. A poor design like E9x cannot be improved. I ran the E9x design over and over in my mind. It is beyond rescue. I like a 335. But a 335 in the E9x blouse is too stupid to be worth buying.

I'd have to agree. The e9x lacks that certain germanic influence. Whenever I see one the proportions just strike me as being odd and for me unbuyable.

Some of the responses in this thread are beyond silly.

Thank God!! The new styles across the board are just pure disgusting.

Hopefully someone will come in and bring back the classic look but a beefy aggressive style to it.

they need to hire some audi designers

Originally Posted by Rayce185

He may not have been lead designer until 99, but I was told that the E46 and E39 were among his first designs...

What the hell happened? Did he develop cerebral palsy or something?!

Originally Posted by tEckniks

they need to hire some audi designers

+1 audis have some nice designers but i can't believe how some people are criticizing the e9x, coupes are awesome imo and e90's just require blacklines to get rid of that "ugly white mole" on the back. e46s are my fav bodystyle also but e9x are not that bad either.

im doing a bmw project for my business class and the new guy designed the z4 and the new 7 series

Originally Posted by jessief29812

im doing a bmw project for my business class and the new guy designed the z4 and the new 7 series

+1

Don't count your chickens yet guys..

He designed the fourth generation 7series with the lumpy rear and the 6series were amongst his designs, Bangle just took the flak for the mess.

Von Hooydonk also oversaw the X6.

so erm yeah I'll guess we'll have to wait and see..

Full article taken from wheels24.co.za

'Adriaan van Hooydonk must be the most fortunate car design incumbent in history. The dark haired Dutchman has been elevated to the position of design chief for BMW AG.

Essentially he can sign off a BMW double-cab bakkie if he wants to now – undoubtedly he could get away with it and still be more popular than his controversial predecessor, American Chris Bangle.

Bangle, an adventurous and curiously humble man, was never really accepted by the European design community.

One feels Van Hooydonk, with his thoroughly European heritage and design background, will find journalists and industry professionals a lot more accommodating - for reasons less of aesthetics and proportion, but more resident in nationalism.

Europe to California

Initially trained at the Delft University of Technology in South Holland, before completing the one year automotive design course at the Art Centre Europe, in French speaking Vevey, Switzerland, Von Hooydonk is a placid man, yet outspoken designer.

Prior to joining BMW in 1992, Von Hooydonk specialised in utility item industrial design with General Electric Europe before working his way to Californian based BMW subsidiary Designworks.

Designworks does BMW car designs amongst an eclectic mix of consultancy work from Villeroy & Boch bath fixtures to John Deere tractors. During the early part of this decade Von Hooydonk specialised in interior design, obviously drawing on his strong industrial design background.

No stranger to controversy

His first car design to go into production was severely polarising. Though Chris Bangle shouldered much of the publically expressed anger concerning the forth generation 7 series styling, it was in fact Von Hooydonk who penned the car’s lines.

With his elevation to Bangle’s former position, Von Hooydonk (45) will now oversee all BMW AG design products, which includes Mini and Rolls-Royce. The latter two firms have received rave styling reviews concerning their products over the last four years, something Bangle, as BMW AG design chief, was given scant credit for.

Von Hooydonk has made his intentions clear. He wishes to push the avant-garde design direction BMW has taken bearings on under Bangle’s term even further.

The tall Dutchman is dismissive of media criticism, preferring to take a gauge of design success from the sales charts. "The market can deal with whatever changes we make far better than, maybe, the writing profession." He has admitted the first generation iDrive system was not perfect in its original incarnation though.

Von Hooydonk oversaw the X6 – another agonisingly polarising design – and his 6 series, despite its strong road presence, has remained outside the gambit of contemporary GT design greats.

BMW buyers who expected the company’s designs (and those of Mini and Rolls-Royce by implication too) to mellow are in for a rude shock.

We can only speculate whether Von Hooydonk likes a smoke with his pancakes in the morning, but his designs are typically sculptural and outlandish in contemporary Dutch design fashion.

We're sure of one thing though. BMW AG board members will be rubbing their eyes or calling for a technician to calibrate their desktop screens when Von Hooydonk’s latest signed-off designs are circulated via e-mail.'


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Personally I think Bangle did a lot of good for BMW, he brought in ideas that have made the company unique and not another Audi clone company where every car looks the same my two cents.

Originally Posted by box325

Personally I think Bangle did a lot of good for BMW, he brought in ideas that have made the company unique and not another Audi clone company where every car looks the same my two cents.

Agreed! Bangle and his design team of 200+ designers work magic over at BMW.

Originally Posted by M3Inline6

Agreed! Bangle and his design team of 200+ designers work magic over at BMW.

I agree as well. Don't have an issue with Bangle's designs. But yeah, lets see where the new guy takes BMW.

Bangle's E9x designs are just too "slab-sided".

It was a missed opportunity to continue the evolution of the 3-series into a sleeker curvier model each time. E21, E30, E36, E46..

E9x reversed the trend, undoubtedly a fine car and better specs wise, but imho a horrible design mistake.

Should have been more like the Audi S5.

http://www.webridestv.com/photos/200...udi-s5-78307/8

Audi S5 and R8 are both nice looking cars, though I really like the BMW M6 too.

I of course didn't like the butt, but I'm probably in the minority of people who like the negative space curve on the z4, aka flame design. It added some nice lines to the car. The 2009 is missing these and is better for it, but I still liked it. Best of luck for Mr. Bangle, in whatever endeavor he pursues in design. Certainly a controversial figure.