BMW Bids Bangle Begone
Mr_Shiftright
Member Posts: 64,481
Well it's official. Chris Bangle, head of design at BMW since 1992, and the man who singlehandedly stirred up a hornet's nest of criticism with his 2001 designs, is leaving the German automaker. The article says this is strictly voluntary. What do you think?
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BANGLE LEAVES BMW
1. Subaru
2. Hyundai
3. Cadillac
4. Lexus
When the dust clears, BMW may struggle to compete (Detroit News)
More troubling for BMW though, is this quote:
People are losing interest in fast cars and driving.
Combine it with the enviro-[non-permissible content removed] propaganda and the "speed kills" scaredy cats who have gained in number even in Europe...and it doesn't bode well for people who like to drive.
I don't even like to drive anymore, and this is a man who owned literally a hundred cars in his life, went racing and loved driving. I hate it now. Cops are everywhere raking in revenue for city shortfalls.
I'm not sure why anyone would buy a high-performance car anymore, unless you lived in the desert or some such or can justify spending $50,000 to goose it for 3 seconds on an on-ramp twice a day.
Perhaps we are on the cutting edge of yet another breaking trend, that firms like BMW should seriously contemplate---why build cars in the US that are in direct collision with speed laws?
I'd be more interested in a car with stealth technology---might even look kinda cool
I find that troubling in general! I don't want an encore performance of the late 1970s/early 1980s!
I don't either but I'm afraid that we are headed that way. There's a bunch of reasons for it but in fact our automotive priorities are becoming extremely distorted. Cars have become too heavy and too gadget-laden to the point where 300HP is the minimal requirement for having any fun (BMW is as guilty as anyone).
I'm looking for a a car that is both fuel-efficient and fun, something that will get me thru the oncoming era the way my Fiat Spider got me thru the years '71-'79. It wasn't the fastest car around but it was a ball to drive and had style and spirit.
Bring on the diesels BMW! ...and lighten up!
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
How about in direct collision with gas usage? My BMW 2009 X3 gets 14-15 mpg and it is small for an SUV. I heard that the 5-series Gran Turismo is as large as a 7 series. Isn't that going in the wrong direction?
I like this one as it appears to be very light:
http://www.wired.com/autopia/2008/06/bmw-builds-a-ca/
BMW has a video where Bangle talks about how hard it was to design the X3. It has a very nice interior layout that uses the space very efficiently. On the outside, particularly the tail lights however, he could have thought things through somewhat better.
My opinion is that anyone can be "outrageous", and shock people. This is easy, really, and, sadly, often rewarded in our culture---until 3 months later when we're all sick of it and we sober up---then we get shocked again.
BMW has prospered by making generally attractive cars, for the most part, modestly designed, for decades and decades. Then some fashion plate comes in and screws it all up, as if there were no BMW "genetics" going on for the last 75+ years.
Thank God he didn't mess up the grille.
God help BMW if it abandons its styling heritage.
I realize that these days it is very very difficult to make a car distinctive in a positive way, but I find many of these design elements exude a kind of cheapness.
When automakers abruptly change from a design theme, that's usually not a good sign for the existing theme.
2009 Acura TL comes to mind...
Ah, the irony of it all----for decades the Japanese shamelessly copied BMW, and now...... .
I couldn't agree more, they even messed up the grille (it looks blobby IMO) but I don't mind so much since I have an E39.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
The new RL has that 'Transformers' ideal going for it, edgy for the sake of edgy.
The E60 drives very nicely no doubt...but, especially for the earlier versions, I can't get over the front, the back, and the interior styling.
I much prefer how it drives compared to the 2007 or 2010 525 sedans we have in stock.
Part of that is probably the manual vs automatic but I still think the E39 drives better.
End result... I still drive my '03 530 and enjoy it as much now as when I bought it. Just a fabulous sport sedan that I keep well maintained with proactive maintenance performed by my BMW Indy shop. Actually, no major issues to date at 77K miles other than tires, TSB work or other preventative work done under warranty.
A simply terrific car!
75k miles, preventive radiator, expansion tank and hoses replaced
80k, brake light switch replaced
85k, master cylinder replaced
130k, replaced original battery
144k, replaced original rotors and pads
150k, replaced oil separator
152k, replaced fuel pump
153k, replaced catalytic converters and oxygen sensors
The rear wishbone joint cups are split and will be replaced after I get new summer tires; still on the original clutch, struts and shocks. My maintenance records indicate it costs 10 cents per mile to maintain for everything.
I do wonder though why BMW can't make a 3 series as comfortable inside for larger people as the much smaller MINI.