[RACEM4TE]

Anyone know Whos replacing him?

[bjcarls]

Originally Posted by bb1857

Hopefully moving forward there will be some model distinction versus..SM, MD, LG, and XL....car shopping shouldn't be similar to buying something at Gap

Bangle called that, same sausage just a different length.

[mnikhil]

Originally Posted by RACEM4TE

Anyone know Whos replacing him?

Jozef Kaban, he was previously head of exterior design at...Skoda.

He is responsible for the Bugatti Veyron so I guess there is some hope.

[deemo319]

Originally Posted by RACEM4TE

Anyone know Whos replacing him?

The BMW Group introduced its new design team under Chief Designer Adrian van Hooydonk.

Jozef Kaba? will be responsible for design for the core BMW brand vehicles, while Domagoj Dukec will head the design team for BMW i and BMW M vehicles.

Jozef Kaba?, 44, from Slovakia, joins the BMW Group design team after holding various positions in the Volkswagen Group.

Kaban made a name for himself early when he designed the Bugatti Veyron while still in his 20's.

He was named chief of Skoda design at 35 after being head of exterior design at sister brand Audi.

Kaban will assume this position in the second half of the year.

[Law]

Originally Posted by mnikhil

Jozef Kaban, he was previously head of exterior design at...Skoda.

He is responsible for the Bugatti Veyron so I guess there is some hope.

Way to set the bar low.
The Veyron isn't exactly the type of design that wins beauty pageants.

What we need to hope is that the Bugatti Veyron is not an indication of or an influence on future BMW design.

[c63er]

Originally Posted by mnikhil

Jozef Kaban, he was previously head of exterior design at...Skoda.

He is responsible for the Bugatti Veyron so I guess there is some hope.

The audi fication of bmw continues.

First it was the use of wild exterior colors to cover up for otherwise bland car to drive (the b4 s4). Then van meel to head bmw m, while mr bmw m goes to Hyundai. Now we get someone who typifies vw/audi Bauhaus slab type design. At some point are we going to replace the kidney grills with two rings.

But in all seriousness, let's hope his considerable skill translates over to traditional bmw style. If BMWs really start looking audi like and Scott goes in overtime telling us we are all stupid, I'm going to lose it

[Gamb1t]

1000+hp aside which is an engineering achievement. Aesthetically speaking, the Veyron looks like a camel dung-beetle.

BMWs are distinct especially its front end. Some like it some don't. It doesn't have the aggressive sportiness of modern MBs nor the frontal presence of the Audi snout. Overall it is unique and I hope it doesn't change too much.

[IS3andME]

Originally Posted by Tengocity

Any coincidence that Mercedes have upped their game in exterior design since he left them, and BMW have gone backwards?

He helped tone down the "flame surfacing" and the M5 and M6 (as well as the respective 5 and 6 series) look a lot better than the previous gen, especially the M6. The current 3 series looks more aggressive, and to me the M3 sedan looks better than the E90 M3 sedan. The E92 coupe and M3 coupe actually to me look better than the F32 4 series and F82 M4, the fastback look is too stretched out.

So Habib has had some hits and misses. But, his best known hit will be the M2.

[Macphisto]

First on the agenda should be to fix the ugly QX80.

[Macphisto]

Originally Posted by IS3andME

He helped tone down the "flame surfacing" and the M5 and M6 (as well as the respective 5 and 6 series) look a lot better than the previous gen, especially the M6. The current 3 series looks more aggressive, and to me the M3 sedan looks better than the E90 M3 sedan. The E92 coupe and M3 coupe actually to me look better than the F32 4 series and F82 M4, the fastback look is too stretched out.

So Habib has had some hits and misses. But, his best known hit will be the M2.

Hussein Al-Attar is the designer of the M2.

[ron_jeremy]

Originally Posted by mybostonjack

First on the agenda should be to fix the ugly QX80.

This crap is not fixable, kill it with fire.

Seriously, i think we all can agree on losing Habib, isn´t make or break of BMW creating another E9 og 6 series GC.
It´s a team behind, but BMW needs to make a step into making more modern design, i guess we will not see anything exciting until inext.
Looking forward to the new X3 also though.

[farns2345]

Let's be real here there's a lot of people on this site that are fan boys and will buy anything with a BMW roundel on it - so it really doesn't matter who they hire. I'm talking about the people who always find an excuse when a BMW loses a car comparison or justify bmw's cost cutting tactics. (Time to run and hide)

[Brake_Late]

Originally Posted by Tengocity

Any coincidence that Mercedes have upped their game in exterior design since he left them, and BMW have gone backwards?

Same thought

[The Automotive Enthusiast]

Originally Posted by YungDro

What game? All merc designers just copy and paste the same boring design on each car they all look identical.

Have you seen a 7 series and the new 5? I'm 99.9% sure the 3 will probably follow the same design language.

[ORIGIN M.]

Like your option matters...

#LongLiveChrisBangle

Originally Posted by 440xiGCMsport

...BMW isn't dumb enough to rehire Bangle.

[ORIGIN M.]

The M2 design followed the design language of the 2er Coupe.

The M2 looks ever better. His grin is consistent with the image of the car.

Originally Posted by mybostonjack

Hussein Al-Attar is the designer of the M2.

[TRACK M4STER]

Originally Posted by Paul-Bracq-BMW

Sad, but hopefully the new head of design will have BMW move away from their conservatism and create more exciting looking models...

I remember 10 years ago with the ground breaking design of the E65 7-series and E60 5-series and loyalists were critical of the revolutionary flame surfacing of Chris Bangle. The "Bangle-butt" which has now been copied by many manufacturers has now been abandoned by BMW with a more evolutionary design but now BMW has now been met with "design too conservative, too boring, etc."

Can't win with you guys.

[piloto]

The update first post is from the future!

[IS3andME]

Originally Posted by mybostonjack

Hussein Al-Attar is the designer of the M2.

Thanks for correcting me.

[Brake_Late]

Originally Posted by Falafel Combo

f30 3 series
f32 4 series
f80 M3
f82 M4
g30 5 series
f06 6 series Gran Coupe
f87 M2


Are you all freakin' high???? Karim Habib will go down in BMW history as an absolute legendary designer!

#ClausLuthe

[M2PDX]

Originally Posted by ///M1990

This is the first step for BWM to start producing "The ultimate driving machine" again

That would requre the head of BMW Steering Design and Technology to leave the company.

[c63er]

Originally Posted by TRACK M4STER

I remember 10 years ago with the ground breaking design of the E65 7-series and E60 5-series and loyalists were critical of the revolutionary flame surfacing of Chris Bangle. The "Bangle-butt" which has now been copied by many manufacturers has now been abandoned by BMW with a more evolutionary design but now BMW has now been met with "design too conservative, too boring, etc."

Can't win with you guys.

Hit the nail on the head.

Bmw design was roundly trashed across the board except for the m cars and 3 series at that time. People like us were the most critical.

When these van hooyedonk and karim designs took hold it was a revelation to everyone. Mostly because they are very smooth and very proportional designs that keep the bmw heritage intact.

Now suddenly the designs aren't extreme enough.

It's just a reflection of a changing customer base

I'm assuming right now most of the customer base wants more vents, more wings and less subtle distinction. Underbody neon glow would really make everyone happy.

It will be interesting to see if the new cars will go into a more "extreme" direction or somewhere new that we haven't seen yet.

Mercedes seems to be nailing subtle distinction really well right now. Of course the current crop are Basicly derivatives of a core karim Habib design before he left. Interesting how that works out. Their only failure is the new e class against the 5 series which is a total home run.