• Former BMW design chief Chris Bangle to receive Lifetime Design Achievement Award

                    
      		   
      Published on 11-20-2011 06:10 PM
      14 Comments Comments
      Say what you want about Chris Bangle, there is no denying his impact on the automotive industry. His designs have been controversial and he dragged BMW kicking and screaming into the future but he certainly has had a massive impact. This 2012 Lifetime Achievement Award is given by the Detroit Institute of Ophthalmology where a group of automotive design peers chose Bangle as the recipient for 2012. Bangle was with BMW until 2009 and is known most for the E60 5 series and E65 7 series both of which feature the infamous "Bangle Butt." He currently operates his own design studio in Italy. Congratulations to Mr. Bangle for this prestigious design award.

      This article was originally published in forum thread: Former BMW design chief Chris Bangle to receive Lifetime Design Achievement Award started by Sticky View original post
      Comments 8 Comments
      1. deemo319's Avatar
        deemo319 - 11-20-2011, 08:54 PM
        Greatfor CB! I like how slowly he convinced the Board of Directors that he and the public saw their cars as a sausage in different sizes, and not only did they make a change in design but a major one. With the BMW design mantra of alternating "revolution followed by evolution" they went revolution two at a time with the E65/E66 7 Series and E60 5 Series and it started with the E53 X5.Even when people were calling for his head and other car designers were laughing, they were copying is style at the same time. Still see his influences in Asian cars today. Like him or not, he is an automotive design visionary. Well done CB. Click here to enlarge
      1. Sticky's Avatar
        Sticky - 11-20-2011, 08:54 PM
        Click here to enlarge Originally Posted by deemo319 Click here to enlarge
        Greatfor CB! I like how slowly he convinced the Board of Directors that he and the public saw their cars as a sausage in different sizes, and not only did they make a change in design but a major one. With the BMW design mantra of alternating "revolution followed by evolution" they went revolution two at a time with the E65/E66 7 Series and E60 5 Series and it started with the E53 X5.Even when people were calling for his head and other car designers were laughing, they were copying is style at the same time. Still see his influences in Asian cars today. Like him or not, he is an automotive design visionary. Well done CB. Click here to enlarge
        Very well said.
      1. Yukohama's Avatar
        Yukohama - 11-21-2011, 01:51 AM
        very nice, congrats to him... i kind of liked his designs...
      1. fstop7's Avatar
        fstop7 - 11-21-2011, 03:57 PM
        I think he deserves it for having designed the E46. Two generations old now and it still looks like it could be a current design.
      1. Remonster's Avatar
        Remonster - 11-21-2011, 09:57 PM
        Bangle didn't design the E46, but he did do the facelift. Bangle was, on the other hand, responsible for how much uglier the E90 is than the E46.I'm mostly joking about the ugly part, his designs are definitely provocative and interesting but I personally prefer BMWs from before and after his era. There's no denying that he deserves this award, though.
      1. Sticky's Avatar
        Sticky - 11-22-2011, 03:50 AM
        Click here to enlarge Originally Posted by Remonster Click here to enlarge
        Bangle didn't design the E46, but he did do the facelift. Bangle was, on the other hand, responsible for how much uglier the E90 is than the E46.I'm mostly joking about the ugly part, his designs are definitely provocative and interesting but I personally prefer BMWs from before and after his era. There's no denying that he deserves this award, though.
        He deserves it simply for his impact. I know of no other designer spoken about as much or as controversial as him. Love him or hate him, he created a revolution.
      1. BK63AMG's Avatar
        BK63AMG - 11-22-2011, 06:23 PM
        Good for him. With that said, nobody does it better than Ian Callum.
      1. Sticky's Avatar
        Sticky - 11-22-2011, 06:26 PM
        Click here to enlarge Originally Posted by BK63AMG Click here to enlarge
        Good for him. With that said, nobody does it better than Ian Callum.
        Callum certainly deserves more credit for what he has done with Jaguar. His designs are far more pleasing and less controversial. He has managed to pull Jaguar into the future without all the criticism that Bangle saw. That said, he has not had the impact Bangle has. I do agree the guy is damn good.