Chris Bangle on Supercars at the Geneva motor show 2011

[7saen]

Bangle is agreat example of a man who got crushed on the surface of a primitive industry that excepts no change and is moving in a snail speed.
I f the industry had 10 more Bangles with more power (Board members), more money (Investors) or both (Start-uppers) then automotive-related innovations would grow just as fast as the electronic industry.
it's not about what he did at BMW. it's not about any "butts" or "flames". it's about a whole new way of thinking that was absolutely unknown in this field of industry. it's about questioning the usual and daring to be contorversal.

he is the right man for the wrong industry. well he was.

 

[Centurion]

Bangle is agreat example of a man who got crushed on the surface of a primitive industry that excepts no change and is moving in a snail speed.
I f the industry had 10 more Bangles with more power (Board members), more money (Investors) or both (Start-uppers) then automotive-related innovations would grow just as fast as the electronic industry.
it's not about what he did at BMW. it's not about any "butts" or "flames". it's about a whole new way of thinking that was absolutely unknown in this field of industry. it's about questioning the usual and daring to be contorversal.

he is the right man for the wrong industry. well he was.

Although you make some valid points it's unfair to pit the innovations in the consumer industry against the legislation burdened auto industry. The consumer electronic industry is fast paced, flexible with low cost of failure. If a product is crap, the manufacturer can push out a successor in a matter of months. In the car industry the fix costs are high, so if a car doesn't sell, the brand will me menstruating money like a it's nobody's business. Radical change and innovation is good, but only in small doses or only every 5-10 years. What Bangle did was brilliant and served as a foundation that inspired the currently outgoing but mature and handsome designs of what BMW has to offer today.

 

[SCOTT27]

In design and marketing for that matter you have to come up with something that remains true to your brand. Something that extends the qualities of the product you are promoting. If you do something new then you have to explain and convince why this is something that will fit within your brand.

Bangle just asked the question anybody else (in authority) would in his position , explain what makes this a car for this brand.
Designers I have seen can go as far as possible in creativity but at the end of the day they are reigned in if they cannot come up with a viable reason for why this will fit within the brand.

 

[Deleted member 1071]

In the above posted interviews, Chris Bangle reminds me of Conan O'Brien !

Fun as well as criticism aside:

Chris Bangle, like him or hate him, has become an automotive design legend and will be remembered very long after he has retired and passed. A bit like GMs' Bill Mitchell or Chryslers' Virgil Exner. Polarizing personalities are like that, I reckon.

 

[EnI]

The problem with auto industry are its customers. The ones with money are usually a bit older ones, and they can afford a (premium) car. It's not like consumer electronics industry, where mostly youngsters & young adults are the key demographics. Not so in the auto industry. Especially not in the premium segment. And usually - in general, or in average - elderly are not in favor of changes & novelties.

People have a certain matrix in their heads, how to perceive vehicles. The current paradigm is strongly set in their minds. I'm not talking about design here. As Hussein said: it goes beyond styling & shape. It's about what a car is, how it is perceived, etc.

Right now car companies (incl. BMW) are investigating possibilities of "CityCar" projects (car sharing) - a service that's usually limited to bikes in the cities. But in large cities EVs could be offered via similar service. A way of individualized public transport. And for such a purpose perhaps different cars are needed.

Bangle obsession has been "optimized usage": Why having something when not using it? Why owning it for the sake of owning it? From the economical point of view (optimizing the resources) that's completely redundant. Therefore more optimized usage (and thus more optimized usage of resources) is much more sustainable & economically justified. Sharing. Renting. Partial (co)ownership. Etc. At least in big cities where people usually don't have cars - so they have to use public transport incl taxi service. Or rent a car. But what if you need a car for just an hour for A-B-A-C journey?

Bangle ... not that he was a great designer. He is a great thinker, great visionary, great mentor, great manager & great motivator. and that was his biggest contribution to BMW (and will be to Samsung as well): he opens the minds. Not just of the designers, but of the whole company itself. Sure there are limitations (legislative, financial etc) but with more open mind the company can certainly think out of the box. Even more: Bangle went further - asking people to define that box. Is the box really objective, or sometimes also very subjective matter - a kind of self-censorship?

It's a known fact: if you want to brake the norms, you have to know them first. Only that way you can brake them intelligently & creatively & doing that under control. Otherwise it's just random savage act.

I'm very eager to see what will be Bangle's outcome @ Samsung. As Hussein implied: that's the right industry for Bangle. Futuristic. Hi-tech. Developing & changing fast. Having enthusiastic open-minded young customers. The products are relatively affordable & accessible, and cheap to own (compared to eg. a car). IMO Bangle's impact here could be even greater than it has been in automotive industry.

I'm sure we'll hear about Bangle a lot in the near future. I just hope Samsung Directors & shareholders are ready for a roller-coaster ride.

 

[330CIZHP]

Is Bangle on drugs?