Chris Bengal is mad at the world

Maybe he didn't have his Wheaties, but there's something a little tweaky about our boy Chris...


[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HbKmr_Spyc&feature=player_embedded[/ame]

 

He has a point, quite a few of them. Quite dead-on in fact.

However, one must realize that Geneva brings out the worst in anti-car-culture intertwined with wannabe car culture, and existing provenance... not to mention his peeve of politically correct supercars.

Looking at pictures from the show, I am glad that at least a few shows in the world are still building concepts that will have no merit in real world production. However, the concepts being delivered look terrible! Who are these designers?! They have gotten so terrible in seeking individuality that the cars no longer are appeasing to the eye. Ouch I say!

 

Yep...he's saying it the wrong way (with the hooker analogy) but his point about "just going fast" does not make a super car is right on. And he understands the difference between Ferrari and Lambo and design philosophy for sure.

But it sounds like he's not much of a fan of the new McLaren....

 

I like Chris Bangle. To be able to just design the most random and far fetched designs and have people actually fight over whether it looks good or not is impressive in my book. In my opinion he's a radical quirky designer. Also looks alot like raz al ghoul from Batman.

 

I agree with him. Fast cars are a dime a dozen. I want something more besides that.
Its strange agreeing with a car designer that created some of the ugliest BMW's ever.

 

+100

Just because you understand and talk about something doesn't mean you can do it...

He couldn't design a dumpster, but he can talk a good line and that's apparently a big part of the job.

 

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teV6Oa6mVPE[/ame]

A fascinating presentation by Bangle.

 

It's just odd that the supercar design of today has very intelligently evolved.

It sounds like what Bengal wants is a complete revolution. The Aventador is the best he's going to get right now, and Lord knows, he took a good eyeful at the show and didn't mention it.

Context probably plays a big roll in this also, seeing as they're talking in front of a Veyron.

 

Jon, to see some of the context, you really need to step back from the displays they are in, and look more broadly... at all the cars in the mix today, and this other interview...

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fNg9jP66JU[/ame]

Jason is very talented; but quite inexperienced in the position he's been put in, and it shows. Based on a few interviews I've seen, I believe Jason thinks every one of his designs is above reproach; and sadly, they are not.

 

+1

I like his observation about the Porsche 917 and Ford GT40 having blazed the "fast/aero" trail -- I think he's right that we're seeing few surprises in the new McLaren, Lambo, Pagani, Lotus, etc. More like logical successors.

 

Bangle had the design leadership of a fantastic automobile brand in his grasp, and screwed the pooch.

I consider his interest in questioning anything pointless.


A legacy of proving talk is cheap.

 

Chuck Jordan used to say... "Never trust a designer who talks too much."

 

Bangle is an intelligent man. However, the guy turned BMW into a joke overnight. I don't take anything he has to say about luxury or sports cars seriously. And I followed his whole narrative until the end. I don't get what he was trying to say about meeting the mom and going to church and how Ferrari is seen as a gentlemans car. I don't see Ferrari that way at all. In fact, if you said the words Gentleman's car to me, the first thing that will pop into my head is Aston Martin.

 

When branding becomes reality... every product marketer's dream.

 

I've seen this video, and I still think Bangle is being condescending. There's clearly resentment on Chris' end that he's no longer in any spotlight and has left people continuously questioning his ideas at BMW so many years ago. Castriota is still very fresh, and that's annoying in any corporate setting when you're no longer being talked about.

I wouldn't call Castriota "inexperienced" by any means. Being the "head of design" is where he's new, and that's just a title. He's been in charge of some of the most well known projects in the last six years. He knows what he's doing, and those signature elements to his design are being expanded on with each car. Making your work instantly recognizable is very difficult to do in the auto-industry. Jay Mays, Ian Callum, and Bengal are a few of the people that come to my mind when it comes to trademark design elements, and Castriota is a fresh face with fresh ideas in the same boat with those veterans.

He's clearly stepped out of his comfort zone by working for Saab, and I applaud him for that. If he truly thought his designs were beyond reproach, he would have stayed with supercars. Bengal's being a prick, and anybody around coffee table conversation with that tone would agree. Jason's holding his ground and defending his work.

 

You might want to watch the video again. Castriota is sweating. He obviously is trying to figure out what the obvious answer is so he won't look like he doesn't know what he is talking about. Maybe he thinks highly of Chris and is nervous. You give him an awful lot of credit for the couple designs he has been in charge of. It was quite obvious when he went to Bertone that he had always had a design director above him before that.
The SAAB is an atrocity. Bangle was right in questioning him about what makes it a SAAB.
Castriota should have had a canned answer for this anyway, even though the car is lacking in the SAAB department.

 

"Lacking in the SAAB department?" Honestly John, what the hell is a SAAB? Did you know they build rocket launchers, small engine aircraft and fighter jets?

If you want to tell me the 9-3 is all "SAAB" I would disagree. You hardly hear anything about the company, their marketing strategies have been odd and whenever somebody says "SAAB" they think of the 900. Maybe a return to a chunky 9-6 would be interesting. Either way, trying to grab at aviation-inspiration looks good because SAAB are more keen on Aircraft than automobiles anyway. This is only a concept as well.

On the side, I would have loved to hear what Bangle would have had to say if he were asked to explain how the Z4 was a BMW.

 

I would like to hear him critique the new Z4 redesign, now that it has gone from an atrocious styling exercise to one of the most beautiful cars for sale today.

Like others have said, I don't think Bangle has the goods when it comes to actually designing cars.

 

It pretty much tells the story when one magazine after another says "De-Bangled at Last" about each new restyled BMW series.

That hasn't happened since the Chrysler Airflow or the Edsel, that I can recall...

 

Video from 2010. I especially like where he says people see him as a voice for car design.
http://www.inframe.tv/filmProject.aspx?id=27

 

Yes, the post Bangle era is really shaping up as the next design renaissance with the X6 & Granturismo.

& LOL at Castriota calling this a SAAB
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibkRWoV241c[/ame]

The best part, in the video he gets seemingly most excited about android integration... sounds like a real designer...

I'd just about guarantee Bangle could do a better Saab than this guy...

 

I agree with you, the thing is hideous. Bangle do better ? Sure. Worse ? Easily.

 

this group of ladies came up with a better & cleaner design, that says SAAB better IMO ....what is SAAB? good question, owned a 500 T briefly while at school, thier just different i guess, but what stands out to me is thier design elements follow a function, example; the wrap-around-windscreen of AeroX concept.....jason's design just doesn't say anything to me!

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfJq5gtnZWA[/ame]

 

What's there to critique, a few detail revisions to HIS design...

Not sure how you go from calling the original production Z4 to 2011 Z4 atrocious to beautiful with little more than a lower nose job and minor nip/yuck here/there. You'd think by your statement it there was a major difference between the two. Further who's to say the revisions employed weren't something similar to how he would evolve it as well with his thoughts on revolution/evolution/revolution/evolution for production cycles.

It's really funny all the Bangel hate that ensued. He brought a new design language to a stagnant department. His revolution led to record sales and expanded model lines, i.e. success despite the laughable "furor" that was generated in the media and forums. Bottom line, people still bought them, and a lot of them at that.

Now Bangel is gone BMW will lull the "faithful" back with staid, lifeless design (cue the x6/granturismo/6 series images) and then wonder when it doesn't work ask themselves, que' happened?

Is he the best, no, did he bring a lot to the party, absolutely. Is every design a pearl after it gets squeezed out, no... He did more good than bad at the end of his tenure just look at production before he got there and after.

Saab should have hired him instead of a "green" guy that worked on a few high end designs that have zero relevance to the Saab customer... They'd have a fighting chance with a thinker like Bangle and what he did to make BMW what it is today.

 

That's nice video here. Thanks for sharing with us.