German Car Forum

Honestly, I have never understood why some people were making such a fuss about the new direction BMW was going... When the new 7 series came out, the 'Bangle-butt' immediately caught my eye, together with the more edgy, square-shouldered form of the car. IMO, it made the car look more robust, fast, modern and sophisticated at one time, in comparison to the old 7 series and the competition. But when I saw the front of the car in the first press pics, I wasn't really confident, because the press pics simply were horrible. They didn't succeed in catching the new design on paper/photo (they did a much better job with the new Z4 coupé for example), and moreover, the car had the orange blinkers, which accentuated the horizontal form of the front lights and made them look like eyebrows!

I remember seeing these press pictures first :



Compare these with f.e.:




The car looks so much better when the blinkers are clear. Although I like the facelifted version a lot, I think the more horizontal front lights and the Bangle-butt of the original E65 suited the car better.

I have never had the feeling Bangle made a mistake, but it's true that in the beginning it took some time to get used to this new design. The 5-series looks a bit 'oriental' from behind, the 1-series' front a bit surprised, etc., but overall I like these designs a lot. Bangle is the man

I dont know if i can forgive him for the extreme shock i recived when i saw this photo.. :


A truely tragic day for me..

Been a supporter of Bangle ever since I caught sight of the official E65 7er pics. Yes I will admit that press pic with the orange eyebrows wasn't the best angle or model to present, but the clear indicators give the car a whole new dimension.
That was the pics though .... real life, ... well, things only got better. One model after the other the designs got better. Some aspects took a little getting used to, for example, the front lights of the 7er, the wrap-around style rear lights of the 5er, the L-shape lights of the 3er ... but there was one thing which always made me love the new BMW's .... Aggression.
5er front lights, 3er front lights, Z4 concave/convex flame surfacing, X5 facelift looking 'beefy', the 7er and 6ers big butts, the 1er's long and sweeping wheelbase.... all this gave off a family stance of aggression and purpose.
Interiors... well, I really like the 'clean' look, especially when I'd compare the 7er's interior to that of the W220 S-class. All that mumbo-jumbo about I-Drive was put to rest when the MB and Audi implemented the same concept into their respective flagships.
He and his team ushered in a new design era.. and we see this now on every car brand, all the way from a Hyundai to a Mercedes... Bangle broke the conservative-design shackles ..and his dignity in not lashing back at the press saying "HA HA, I told you so!" was impressive. He simply believed in the direction he was leading BMW...and boy has it paid off handsomely.

Vote '1' for Bangle

I started adooring BMW when the new 5er Sedan came. So ive always liked him!

Ha! I vividly remember seeing that photo while waiting for a flight at LAX back in October 2001. I was sitting there with my then girlfriend saying "It's not right! This is outrageous!" I couldn't stop bitching and moaning about what a disaster the new 7er was.

I also vividly recall my wedding day in March 2002 when my father-in-law picked us up in a silver 7er. I was completely blown away.

I remember the looks on peoples' faces as we slowly drove through the inner city. It was the kind of bizarre reaction that you'd get out of few cars - people were amazed, shocked, appalled.

We parked the car next to a S500, and it dawned on me that there was something distinctly crazy and vibrant about the 7er that give it grotesque, and perhaps metaphysical appeal. Every every man, woman and child that came within eyeshot of the 7er had to check it out. People were in curious awe of the car like the apes and the monolith in Stanley Kubrick's 2001.

With the X5, the range-wide transition is finally complete (unless you want to count the 3er cabrio), and it's hard to argue that BMW isn't much, much more healthy for all slings and arrows.

Despite my misgivings about the 7er facelift - I think BMW now operates from a position of design credibility, as opposed to being patrons of the conservative status quo. No small feat, and an enviable position for any car company.

Firstly, Artist, that is indeed the most horrible photo ever taken of the BMW E65 Part I. It even was an official press photo, allowing it to be seen by everybody in the world.
Secondly, awesome story Osna I don't remember the exact place and situation I was in when I first saw this pic, but it must've been similar, hehe.

Osna, you've probably seen a facelifted 7er with sportpackage (no chrome anywhere) and big 20" rims by now in real life right? It's jaw droppingly stunning, I tell you! Even better than the prefacelifted, with it's double angel eyes, smooth yet big back without chrome strip and improved bumper design.

Edit; thses last few posts have inspired me to another poll

I stand by my earlier views on Bangle. I don't like his designs, and most of the BMWs that existed before his influence looked better than the ones that replaced them. The previous 7 series was a great looking car while the current one is not attractive at all to me. Whether his designs sell or not does not concern me. I still don't like how they look.

Well, you guys already said it all, but I'll try to explain some things:

''Yes, I was wrong to think that he was taking BMW in the wrong direction. He is a good designer''

Before I saw his, let's say radical designs, my views were that BMW was more dynamic, sporty car maker, and then when I saw 7er or 3er I was surprised. I thought he was really taking BMW in wrong direction! But when I finally understood this new design, saw the cars on the street and sat in them, I started liking his designs! I now can't say his designs are something beautiful, unsurpassed something that will last forever, but they sure are clean, sophisticated and sleek. I believe to Bangle now, I am looking forward to his next works! BMW was right when they hired him! my 0.02 $

I voted "No, I will stand by what I have always said. He is messing up BMW and he is not good at designing", but that is not exactly how I feel. I've never felt he is not good at what he does, it's just that the end result is not to my taste, nor is it what I feel BMW's should be all about. It would have been interesting to see what sort of reception his style would have had if he had become the design chief of some brand of lesser reputation...

It's interesting how Bangle was right when saying people would fully appreciate the designs when the model line would be complete - that only seeing the whole line-up would make seperate designs justified. And he was so right!

Also: now the design language is established the refinement & polishing of these designs will start.



Mind that it was not only Bangle who created such radical design strategy - we shall not forget the dept. for design strategy (marketing aspect), the Board of Directors, and in the last place - the Quandts (and the rest of Supervisory board) who agreed with such radical strategy.

Yes, some design executions were a bit too clumsy, but the strategy as a whole worked perfectly.