Highlights from the article from Auto Extremist….
Detroit. In news that shocked absolutely no one, BMW AG promoted Chris Bangle to a new position last week - Director of BMW Group Design - in which he will supervise all of BMW's brands (BMW, BMW M, BMW Motorcycles, Rolls-Royce and Mini). His new position removes him from day-to-day, "hands-on" control of BMW brand design. Adrian van Hooydonk, a 40-year-old who had been head of DesignWorksUSA, BMW's California design studio (and a Bangle disciple), will take over direct control of all of BMW brand design.
If BMW fans are expecting instant improvements or drastic changes - they shouldn't bother. Adrian van Hooydonk was responsible for the look of the current 7 and 5 Series cars, under Bangle's tutelage, and the lead times for any design changes are, of course, notoriously long. Even if the planned "freshening" of the 7 Series (a nonevent by all indications) is due soon, the basics of the shape will remain intact for several years to come.
The real story behind the story is that of BMW's stubborn refusal (until now) to acknowledge that Bangle had become a lightning rod to its loyal customers, to the media and even to some within BMW itself - and had cost the company tons of ill will and a trainload of horrendously bad PR that has damaged the brand over the last 24 months.
Now, we have said repeatedly here at AE that Bangle's task at BMW was probably the most difficult that an automotive designer could face. There's a fine line between design "reach" and a more evolutionary path for automotive design. Evolutionary is what the new C6 Corvette represents (a disappointment to many who were hoping for more of a "new century" look), while the Cadillac look pioneered on the Evoq concept from several years ago represents "reach" in its ideal form - a look that not only repositioned the brand's "presence" on the street, but one that repositioned the Cadillac image for the next decade, at least.
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