His styling themes have generated intense controversy among automotive designers, and have had a polarizing effect with respect to their visual cues. Bangle acknowledges that his designs do not look good in photographs, suggesting to critics that they should see the cars in real life before judging them on their looks. Bangle himself did not (as is commonly believed) coin the phrase "flame surfacing" to describe his work; this can be attributed to a motoring journalist, and is probably the first time
Deconstructivism has been adapted to automotive design. The reason for this design was to use BMW's new technology of 3D panel pressing allowing a single press for compound curves, which had previously needed multiple pressings unless the panel was shaped by hand. This is further evidenced by the fact that Bangle has often pointed out architect
Frank Gehry's work as a major influence. Arguably the most controversial of Bangle and van Hooydonk's work was the
E65 7 Series, a sharp contrast to the preceding
E38 generation which was conservatively styled. In fact, van Hooydonk's original 1998 sketch for the E65 was a much more radical sleek fastback, but the final design was toned down considerably to resemble a more conventional
three-box sedan.
Time magazine named the E65 as one of the
50 Worst Cars of All Time for its rear end styling and iDrive functionality, while there were several online petitions pressing BMW to sack Bangle. While the sales for the 2002 and 2003 models years were off 60% from the 2001, the E65 7 series became the best-selling 7 Series of all time. Bangle aggressively defended his designs against criticism. He was supported by the BMW board of directors, who wanted to move BMW's image into the future. •
Patrick le Quément, chief designer at
Renault, said: "[Bangle is] certainly the most talked about designer. His designs have a great deal of presence, and they're well proportioned. He's been highly influential. My only concern is his use of concave surfaces: they're hollow shapes and lack that tightly muscled look I feel helps design." •
Robert Cumberford, former GM designer and Design Editor for
Automobile, wrote in 2004 that Bangle is "a man with the courage of his convictions and of solid character, and he is worthy of our admiration for that alone." ==References==