Praise for Lexus design from... Chris Bangle?!

[Joaquin Ruhi]

Students of automotive design need no introduction to Chris Bangle, eccentric and iconoclastic auteur and creator (or influencer) of polarizing designs such as the Fiat Coupé, the original 4th-gen (E65) "Bangle butt" BMW 7-Series, the slashed-by-Zorro original E85 BMW Z4 and the Dame Edna-esque 5th-gen (E60) BMW 5-Series.

His latest is this REDS electric car concept that probably deserves the Picasso name more than any Citroën minivan ever did.

The reason this is here and not in The Garage is because of the final question-and-answer from an Automotive News interview of Chris Bangle by AN editor Douglas Bolduc:

What gives you hope?

Some of it comes from the brands and their design groups. Look at Lexus [which debuted its UX subcompact crossover at the show] as an example. Here is a brand and design group that says, 'We are going to start with an idiosyncratic direction and we are going to stay on this until we hammer it into something.' It has taken them years but they are actually creating something out of it. At least what you're seeing there is a commitment toward revitalizing a brand through a strong design statement, not a predictable one. Now they are offering you excitement, emotion and passion.

 

[Ian Schmidt]

Honestly I never got the hysteria about his BMWs. If they'd looked like that electric car there, yeah, but they weren't that different from either the previous or next models.

 

[Tragic Bronson]

Honestly I never got the hysteria about his BMWs.

Scarred a lot of BMW fans...

 

[MichaelL]

The back of that 7 series is ugly and disjointed. As a BMW fan, glad Bangle is gone.

 

[mikeavelli]

I was one that gave Bangle crap over his designs but over time I sure do miss him. Bangle figured out how to make a BMW look like a BMW while also looking different. You didn't confuse BMW's during his tenure. Since then they have played it safe and while the current designs are nice I constantly confuse them, SUVs and sedans.

Bangle was a breakthrough, a true revolutionary. I applaud him and miss him. Its great to see him compliment Lexus and surely he is thinking a bit what could have been at BMW if he was allowed to continue.

 

[krew]

krew

Chris Bangle: Lexus Design has "Excitement, Emotion, and Passion"

Former BMW design chief gives Lexus props.

View the original article post

 

[Levi]

I liked the 7 Series and 6 Series. They were different. But then everything went boring because the market did not like them. But then again I like weird things. And again I like clean simple things like old Japanese cars. But I dislike lukewarm, neither this nor that.

 

[zeusus]

That is pretty high praise that he singled Lexus out without being specifically asked about Lexus. It means what Lexus is doing is creating a strong impression on the industry.

 

[maiaramdan]

@zeusus

You are right, I agree but any automaker can give the impression whether it's a very good or very bad design. Because different not equal good and also not equal bad

So Lexus may watch out also
For example I hated the current IS front , the current RX rear 3rd , the NX really need to step up it's game after all it's competitors got a new generation

 

[Rob_LexusTech]

maybe im crazy, but im one of the few that actually liked the early bangle butt 7-series. they were packed with all kinds of cool gizmos and really didnt look like anything else on the road at the time. the 7 series dared to be different, VERY different, and because of that, people crapped all over it. -well, i liked them till i owned one that legit caught on fire and blew up on me -insane story for another day.

as far as the new lexus design language, im all for it! our cars are getting sportier, more high tech, and radical styling more than ever before! and every refresh gets better and better! im just worried that the LS500 may suffer the same kind of hate that the 745Li got and still has to this day, damning it to eternal hell for being weird and different, which would be a shame, because its beautiful. but i have to say, even as a die hard LS guy. seeing the V8 replaced with a TTV6 was a tough pill to swallow, which made me automatically hate it, and had to really open my mind to accept it, that is, until i gave it a chance in the real world. great looking/driving/handling car, but still get a little misty eyed thinking about the LS without a V8. maybe im just nostalgic.

 

[Ian Schmidt]

I liked the Bangle 7-series as well - you could tell it was a 7-series immediately and not a 3 or 5, which is a problem BMW and Audi now have to excess.

As far as a V8 LS, we're either gonna get an LS F with one or a BEV LS in a few years that'll blow away V12s.

 

[zeusus]

@zeusus

You are right, I agree but any automaker can give the impression whether it's a very good or very bad design. Because different not equal good and also not equal bad

So Lexus may watch out also
For example I hated the current IS front , the current RX rear 3rd , the NX really need to step up it's game after all it's competitors got a new generation

Not sure I get your point, Bangle's impression was good and not "very bad". Whats the point of convoluting the discussion into something it isn't?

Its like if somebody ate a hamburger and loved it but someone in and says, well he COULD'VE hated it! <-- nobody really says that.



I like the current IS front, the current RX rear and the NX looks fine as it stands and is eating up sales.

 

[mikeavelli]

Not sure I get your point, Bangle's impression was good and not "very bad". Whats the point of convoluting the discussion into something it isn't?

Its like if somebody ate a hamburger and loved it but someone in and says, well he COULD'VE hated it! <-- nobody really says that.



I like the current IS front, the current RX rear and the NX looks fine as it stands and is eating up sales.

Me either. Also unlike say Acura, when the Lexus design changed sales continued to go up, not down.

 

[maiaramdan]

Everyone have it's own point of view
But I still want at least one car in the lineup to be lux. classic in Jaguar / A.Martin way