Bangle quits BMW- Woot!!!

[Heinzftw]

Originally Posted by boostin

i enjoy the Bangle era of design. i feel like the Bangle designs make the E46/E39 cars look dated. E46 M3 vs. E92 M3? IMO, the E92 is nicer. E39 M5 or E60 M5? IMO, the E60 is nicer. not to mention, i think the 6-Series is the nicest-looking BMW available right now.

WHAT? E39 is one of the best looking and badass bimmers ever made. E39>E60 anyday!

[Kevin The Clean 1]

Finally... !

[guardianangel3290]

Originally Posted by Heinzftw

WHAT? E39 is one of the best looking and badass bimmers ever made. E39>E60 anyday!

its a good looking car but theres no denying it looks old as f*** now haha

[boostin]

Originally Posted by Heinzftw

WHAT? E39 is one of the best looking and badass bimmers ever made. E39>E60 anyday!

vs



i'll take the E60! especially knowing that is has a V10.

[Year's_End]

Originally Posted by boostin

vs



i'll take the E60! especially knowing that is has a V10.

It's a toss-up imo. There are amazing examples of the E60, but the E39 has the potential to look just as good with some mods.

[imported_mega]

stock for stock e39 please

[KeithLM]

Originally Posted by sunking420

As for the design of the one, am I the only one who loves the design, at least of the 135? People on here rag on the "pig belly" curves on the side view, but I tried to imagine it straight and it wouldn't seem right without the curves. My two cents anyway......

I love the look too. Everything about it, it just looks like it is meant to be driven hard.

Personally I'm not a fan of older BMWs. Especially those with the flat nose. It hasn't been until the past few years that I've considered some of them to be good looking. The E39 is decent, but certainly nothing I'd get excited about. The previous 3, whatever that is, is ok. And I think all the current cars look fairly good.

But I'm clearly not a BMW enthusiast. I respect the cars, especial the M cars, but not until the 1 came along did they really excite me. Now that BMW has got my attention they interest me more and more, but the only older one I would consider owning is perhaps the prior M3.

[BlackjackMulligan]

Originally Posted by Heinzftw

WHAT? E39 is one of the best looking and badass bimmers ever made. E39>E60 anyday!

+1

The E39 was, to me, the definition of a BMW.

[jotapeh]

Was never a fan of the 5 Series headlights. That pretty much ruins the whole car for me. Every time.

[Add1ct]

what's so funny is that many of us don't think the designs that came under Bangle's reign are all that attractive, and some are just plain ugly, but the japanese makers just can't stop copying them- I find especially funny the transition the big lexus took a couple years ago when it clearly moved from copying the S class to copying the 7, showing the changing of the guard at the luxury flagship level, ie the 7 is now top dog. But then again the new S came out, so we'll have to see who lexus copies this fall, hahaha

[bigb135i]

I have to say he grew on me.

[gtaday51]

Originally Posted by BlackjackMulligan

And to the quote about Porsches not changing over 30 years? Point out an angle, line, or crease on the 911, Boxster, or Cayman that isn't gorgeous.

Have you seen the Panamera? I'm sorry but that thing proves that Porsches can be made ugly by a dated design language.

[Guildenstern]

Originally Posted by gtaday51

Have you seen the Panamera? I'm sorry but that thing proves that Porsches can be made ugly by a dated design language.

It looks good untill you get to the back. Then it looks....

It's the opposite side of the Bangle Butt coin. Not opposite like good....

Also, it doesn't strike me as the awsomest back seat for people with heads.

[AW09M3]

this is one of the biggest shocks in all of bmws history. can bmw survive without bangle? will all bmws be booring as hell now? this is scary

[gtaday51]

Originally Posted by Guildenstern

It looks good untill you get to the back. Then it looks....

It's the opposite side of the Bangle Butt coin. Not opposite like good....

Also, it doesn't strike me as the awsomest back seat for people with heads.

They tried to make it a 911 sedan. Im sorry but coupes rarely make the grade as good sedans. Take the 3 sedan. It looks a bit odd, no?
Even the Aston Rapide looks a bit wierd as a streched out DB9. Although that is one of the better examples.

[raisemyrent]

guys!! the bangle bustle is, mmm disgusting... (think 6 series convertible)

BUT, look at your ones from the front, and slightly to driver's left... notice the "muscley" look on the driver's left side of the vehicle, around the rear-view mirror. this is something I am still not used to (and amazed by).

I have personally believed for a bit, and discussed with my friends who are designers, that the epitomes of flame suracing are the e92 coupés... DO GOOGLE images of 335is and 328is up until 2008 and see what I mean.
see one on the road, and understand why the 1 is its little brother, but the 3 series is the mature one (in terms of design).

who knows what happened, but Bangle definitely influenced BMW. who knows, maybe he was going to go crazy on the next models and left/quit/was fired at the perfect time (not the biggest fan of the 2009 3 series facelift).

please google 335is even if you've seen them.

[imdanomite]

damn...i liked Bangle.

[BMW86]

Originally Posted by sunking420

Personally, I wasn't wild about Bangle's influence initially. Basically, they grew on me over time to where I actually started to love what he was doing. He had to be pretty bright to be with BMW, and I don't know if genius fits, but generally with anything truly ahead of its time, it will be slagged at first and appreciated later.

As for the design of the one, am I the only one who loves the design, at least of the 135? People on here rag on the "pig belly" curves on the side view, but I tried to imagine it straight and it wouldn't seem right without the curves. My two cents anyway......

I agree with everything you have said.

In terms of what else is out there, bmw still looks pretty good compared to audi and mercs etc. These days there are so many more bmw's on the road but because of their unique look and distinctive bmw design they still command alot of attention whereas the older ones are begining to look a little dated, especially to those who dont know much about euro cars.

[Guildenstern]

Originally Posted by gtaday51

They tried to make it a 911 sedan. Im sorry but coupes rarely make the grade as good sedans. Take the 3 sedan. It looks a bit odd, no?
Even the Aston Rapide looks a bit wierd as a streched out DB9. Although that is one of the better examples.

I know what they tried, that's why it looks ugly back there. A 911 is a 911, a super-expensive sedan is not a 911 and shouldn't try that hard to be a 911.

I think the Rapide looks good although also short on rear head room unless the back seat is cupped way down into the floor. The Estoque and Quattroporte look good too, although the Estoque looks kind of like a copy of the Rapide as far as hood and door line.

And the 3 sedan looks great. I'm a little confused because you seem to be inplying that the 3 sedan was just a derivative of the 3 coupe.

[raisemyrent]

I think he meant the M3 sedan...

[gtaday51]

Originally Posted by Guildenstern

I know what they tried, that's why it looks ugly back there. A 911 is a 911, a super-expensive sedan is not a 911 and shouldn't try that hard to be a 911.

I think the Rapide looks good although also short on rear head room unless the back seat is cupped way down into the floor. The Estoque and Quattroporte look good too, although the Estoque looks kind of like a copy of the Rapide as far as hood and door line.

And the 3 sedan looks great. I'm a little confused because you seem to be inplying that the 3 sedan was just a derivative of the 3 coupe.

No I know BMW redesigns the sedans a year ahead of the couple. But I don't know the 3 series coupe just looks a little more, elegant, than the sedan.

[zbladejr]

I remember the first Bangle 7 series, saw it in Europe at a show room. Next to it was the then new 325ci (I think this was 2001 or one of those years). Hated the 7 series then........it's better now, but still.....and here I confess, love bmw, but the S class keeps a design edge.

Bangle designs are surely progressive - but what I saw from BMW that has given them a very strong business edge over the past 10 years is exceptionally strong marketing. As a marketing professional, I appreciate the role that the product design has, but when we think about it, most of the marketing was focused on differentiating BMW's as 'the performance choice'....to Mercs and Lexus, not as design masterpieces.

The 6 series especially, as much as I want to love it, is hampered by the design. Someone said it earlier, compare an Aston Martin coupe with the 6 series coupe. Forget the price for a minute; the Aston is classic curves and just plain sexy. The 6 series is....well, adequate.

I'm not hating on Chris Bangle, he deserves the millions he surely earned.
We - BMW enthusiast deserve to have our voice heard - and I challenge anyone to prove that the Bangle 'butt' is what we were asking for. Or even the shark eyes - we live with it, but it's just not that satisfying.

Good luck Chris - for me, I'm glad you're gone.