Bangle BMW

[advanR]

Repost from www.s14.net

Does Mr Bagle design also BMW F1 ??

Use this thread to take out your anger on Bangles influence on BMW design.

Id like to add that my dad has a new 530i and I think it is more and more beautiful each time I look at it.

*****, I just remembered, he leased a Z4 this summer as well. (I tell him to get an E39 M5 and S2000, hmph) Not my style, but I cant say that anything the Z4 was meant to be would otherwise appeal to me. Looks great for what it is.

 

[mr_pushrod]

I know aerodynamics and downforce are neccessary for F1 but bloody hell, is it ugly!

 

[advanR]

I like looking at it.

There is something about how the "form follows function" philosophy of f1 (remember the wacky mirrors and wings from the early 90s?) and my lack of knowledge about aerodynamics that just makes my mind wonder when I look at it.

 

[Gt fein]

I like it! I know its a show, but how much armor-all did they have to use on the tires?

 

[askia47]

Wierdo

 

[The Vanishing Boy]

Another victim of Bangle's design profanity.

 

[emad]

just wanted to say this somewhere so here is as good as anyplace else:

apparently the computers they're using this time around are HP Linux Clusters - gotta love the power of the penguin

oh, and I gotta say, that is one damn ugly f1 car

 

[///M-Spec]

Um, our friend Bangle has nothing to do with the F1 car program. I figured advan knew this, and was just kidding around. But since some of you appear to be a little confused by his jest....

Sir Frank Williams and Chief Designer Gavin Fisher determines what the F1 cars look like, not Herr Bangle. BMW supplies the motors and technical support.


///M-Spec

 

[The Vanishing Boy]

....

 

[Slicks]

Chris Bangle deserves to be shot. Three times, for screwing up three cars - the 7 series, 6 series, and 3 series. The Z4 is decent enough.

 

[Slicks]

Sorry. Typo - the 7,6, and 5 series. The 3 series hasn't been uglified . . . yet . . .

 

[Zrow]

I like the new 7 ok, but the 6 is beautiful. I mean, look at it.

I sware half of you guys say its ugly just to go along with the trend.

 

[Matrixhasu77]

Ah! That nose destroys the square looks of the front of that F1 car! It's too big.

 

[Sage]

Originally posted by Zrow
I like the new 7 ok, but the 6 is beautiful.

I toldly agree. 👍 The 7 isn't too bad... the front is "meh", the sides are very nicely done, but the squared off trunk doesn't work.

When I first saw the 6, I wondered why I liked it, because the rear is much the same as the 7. Then I realized one important difference – If you look at the rear of the 6, the truck is actually slightly concave, giving the impression of a lip/spoiler. On the other hand, the 7's butt is completely slab-sided... it's literally a flat wall.

Also, the 6 inherited the Z4's wonderful headlight design that plays well with the creases in the hood, and again, the sides are great.

I like the Z4 (the rear's a bit weird though... the lamps have rather mixed lines in them), the 7 is okay, and I love the 6. I'm having a hard time looking at the 5 though. I understand the concept behind the flared front lights, but something tells me they're not done quite right. And the rear is just... ick. It's made up of two angry-loooking squares.

Bangle has some very interesting ideas, but the execution isn't always great.

 

[advanR]

trust me, look at the 5 often enough, drive one, and youll think differently.

I saw a 545 the other day and my jaw dropped.

 

[GentlemanDriver]

I think that the 5, 6 and 7 series and the Z4 are only beautiful when they got the right color (most black, gray or anthrazit) and the right rims.

So, the Z4 i think is ugly at all. But we have a Z4 in black with 18" sports rims. Awesome.

 

[Glut]

One would surmise that any colour that makes a BMW less visible is a bonus...

And I must add that I actually like the new williams. IMO it's a lot less boring than the current stock of F1 designs.

 

[TsLeng]

Luckily their bikes aren't designed by him.

 

[milefile]

It's quite entertaining to see a bunch of high school morons saying a designer should be shot. Especially when it is very unlikely any of you will ever even own, let alone drive, a BMW. I suppose you all would be happy if BMW looked the same for another 20 years?

Can any of you identify a design principle that has been violated? Can you use descriptive terms to voice your opinion?

You people are idiots on a band wagon. BMWs look better than they ever have.

Now the Boxter, that's a real piece of crap.

 

[Sage]

Originally posted by advanR
trust me, look at the 5 often enough, drive one, and youll think differently.

I saw a 545 the other day and my jaw dropped.

Well, I do like it more now than I did when I first saw it, but the trunk still bugs me, and I don't think I'll ever get used to it (in similar vein to the 7's trunk). It just doesn't seem right how the front and sides are all flared and rolly and stuff (and fairly elegant), then the rear is so boxy.

Originally posted by milefile
Now the Boxter, that's a real piece of crap.

Well, from what perspective? From a styling perspective, it's still gorgeous after all these years... one of those perfectly timeless designs. On a value perspective though, it does suck. It's overpriced, and hell, the interior is cheap and has ugly "mouse fur" trimmings.

 

[Duke]

Originally posted by milefile
It's quite entertaining to see a bunch of high school morons saying a designer should be shot. Especially when it is very unlikely any of you will ever even own, let alone drive, a BMW. I suppose you all would be happy if BMW looked the same for another 20 years?

Can any of you identify a design principle that has been violated? Can you use descriptive terms to voice your opinion?

You people are idiots on a band wagon. BMWs look better than they ever have.

Now the Boxter, that's a real piece of crap.

What, did you leave your password out so Doug could post from your account?

I'm equally tired of Bangle supporters saying we have no right to criticize his work because they are selling like hotcakes, and we'll never afford a BMW anyway. Does that mean I, as an architect, am not competent to critique any building larger than a 3-bedroom house, just because I'll never be able to afford to build one?

Ridiculous.

BMWs do not look better than ever before. In fact I infintely prefer the looks of the previous generations of every BMW. The 6 is ugly. The 7 is hideous. The previous 5 was near perfect and now it is just "striking". The Z4 is OK, but no better than the Z3, just different.

Before Doug sees this and has a conniption, I'm not talking about their qualities as cars. I'm talking about how they look.

Bangle's designs are disorganized in overall massing, and are over-detailed. A misproportioned group of pieces, with additional panel lines, waves, creases, and other fussy details overlayed onto it like a Jackson Pollock painting. If he designed houses they would look like this:

Descriptive enough for you?

 

[LoudMusic]

They said the same thing about many of the renesance artists. Now they're all famous and their paintings sell for millions of dollars. I'm not saying this bloke is in the same catagory, I'm just suggesting that everyone back off a bit. You may not like it, but that doesn't mean it's crap.

Personally, I think the new BMWs are less attractive than previous models. I can see how some would like them. Apparently they do, I see them all over the place.

I also like the design of that house.

I also really like the looks of the new F1. And besides, what difference do looks make in an F1? The questions are "does it go fast? does it go faster than everyone else?"

Nothing else matters.

 

[Famine]

Originally posted by milefile
It's quite entertaining to see a bunch of high school morons saying a designer should be shot. Especially when it is very unlikely any of you will ever even own, let alone drive, a BMW. I suppose you all would be happy if BMW looked the same for another 20 years?

Can any of you identify a design principle that has been violated? Can you use descriptive terms to voice your opinion?

You people are idiots on a band wagon. BMWs look better than they ever have.

Now the Boxter, that's a real piece of crap.

I dislike the current crop of BMWs because they don't look very nice. They seem to be too busy - mixing too many design ideas together - badly. By contrast the two-generations-ago 5-series, with it's ghost headlights - is one of my favourite cars to see coming the other way (generally because it means the driver isn't up my arse).

The Z4 looks like someone thought curved lines and straight lines both look good, so he/she should stick them on the same car. The very front is awful and actually looks like a completely separate entity, grafted onto the front of the car.

The side of the new 7-series is perhaps the biggest single area of metal I've ever seen anywhere. It doesn't appeal to me in the slightest.

In the upcoming F1 season, I won't be looking out for the Williams cars. In fact I think I might have to actively look away...


Now I don't care even slightly who or what designed any of them. I know what I like. I know what I don't like. I don't like this.

 

[Josh]

Originally posted by milefile
You people are idiots on a band wagon. BMWs look better than they ever have.

Thank you! I couldn't agree more.

 

[///M-Spec]

Originally posted by neon_duke
What, did you leave your password out so Doug could post from your account?

Originally posted by neon_duke
BMWs do not look better than ever before. In fact I infintely prefer the looks of the previous generations of every BMW.

Duke.. you're probably old enough to remember when the E36 made its debut. It would have been in summer 1990, when BMW showed the new 325i.

At the time, this car was a radical departure for BMW. Covered headlights, wide and flattened grille, tall flanks, completely streamlined and stylized compared to the previous, boxy, safe 325i.

I remember thinking at the time "Oh my god, what the hell did BMW do to its cars?" I was driving an E30 325 at the time (a box with rounded corners) and swore I'd never move on. 14 years have passed and the E36 is heralded as a classic by an entire generation of enthusiasts. I am still driving one... my third. I remember people having fits when the E46 came out in 1999. So it was no surprise when another generation of BMWs move things along ..again... everyone freaks out.

Don't you think the current generation of cars will grow on you?

Originally posted by Famine
I dislike the current crop of BMWs because they don't look very nice.

C'mon, Famine. Surely a real car guy like yourself can overlook a car's design if it delivers the drive?


///M-Spec

 

[Takumi Fujiwara]

Honestly, while I hate Bangle's design, what bugs me the most about the current crop of Bimmers is the stupid iDrive system. It's so badly designed and akward that it's not funny.

My uncle has a 745Li. He hates it so much that he leaves it unlocked with the keys in it hoping that someone will steal it so he can collect the insurance and get something better.

 

[advanR]

what is your uncles address? would you like to set something up with me?

 

[The359]

I like all of Bangle's designs for BMW because for once he's actually doing something unique. Not only unique for cars themselves, but unique for BMWs. No longer do every single car in the BMW lineup look almost identical. Now each individual series has its own identity, instead of just the singular "BMW" identity.

Of all the Bangle designs, the only one I can complain about is the new 5-series, merely because I find it too bland, however the pictures I've seen of the new M5 being tested make up for it greatly.

Go Bangle 👍

 

[Duke]

Originally posted by ///M-Spec
Duke.. you're probably old enough to remember when the E36 made its debut. It would have been in summer 1990, when BMW showed the new 325i.

At the time, this car was a radical departure for BMW. Covered headlights, wide and flattened grille, tall flanks, completely streamlined and stylized compared to the previous, boxy, safe 325i.

I remember thinking at the time "Oh my god, what the hell did BMW do to its cars?" I was driving an E30 325 at the time (a box with rounded corners) and swore I'd never move on. 14 years have passed and the E36 is heralded as a classic by an entire generation of enthusiasts. I am still driving one... my third. I remember people having fits when the E46 came out in 1999. So it was no surprise when another generation of BMWs move things along ..again... everyone freaks out.

Don't you think the current generation of cars will grow on you?

No, I don't. As long as I can remember - going back to the '70s 2002 and 320i - I've thought that each succeeding generation has just gotten better and better, as soon as I saw them. I liked them all instantly, but I hated the Bangle creations on sight. I don't even follow the automotive press/showcar circuit in any way, so I really don't know of any bandwagon I could be jumping on. All I know is that I hate the current BMW designs and I'm tired of hearing that I can't possibly actually hate them, that I must just be jumping on the bandwagon, and that I shouldn't be allowed to criticize them because I'll never be able to buy one.

Actually, I'm most disappointed, because in 3 years when I would be shopping for a nice used 2004 model, I won't be able to stand them.

 

[Famine]

Originally posted by ///M-Spec
C'mon, Famine. Surely a real car guy like yourself can overlook a car's design if it delivers the drive?

Actually, no... I can recognise the cars for what they are, but if I can't see myself driving one - or more importantly looking back at it after I've parked it, got out and started to walk off - I don't like it. I won't hold a person's choice of car against them, after all beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and I accept BMW's reputation for well-built, well-handling cars, but that's what it boils down to.

It's like the Audi TT. I dislike the look of it intently. My ex-boss has one with which he is very happy, and I'm pleased he is. But it's just not for me - I recognise it's qualities but just can't see myself sitting in it (or the walk-off test).


Two of my favourite BMW cars ever are the BMW M1 and the 635i. My two least favourite are the current 7 series and Z4. The Z3 M Coupe I liked a lot. The current M3/M3CSL are great. I've never driven any of them - but I smile whenever I see one, and grimace whenever I see the 7/Z4 and 3 Compact...