Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Automotive News
  • Automobilwoche
  • Automotive News Canada
  • Automotive News China
Subscribe
  • Subscribe
  • Newsletters
  • Login
  • HOME
    • Latest news
    • Automakers
    • Suppliers
    • New Product
    • Environment/Emissions
    • Sales By Market
    • On The Move
    • Auto Shows
    • Munich Auto Show
    • Geneva Auto Show
    • Paris Auto Show
    • Beijing Auto Show
    • Shanghai Auto Show
  • Features
    • Long Read
    • Interview of the Month
    • Focus on Electrification
    • Focus on Technology
    • Segment Analysis
    • Cars & Concepts
    • Supplier Spotlight
    • Europe By The Numbers
  • Opinion
    • Blogs
    • Commentary
    • Guest columnists
  • Photos
    • Photo Galleries
    • Geneva Photo Gallery
    • Beijing Photo Gallery
    • Frankfurt Photo Gallery
    • Paris Photo Gallery
    • Shanghai Photo Gallery
  • Podcasts
  • Car Cutaways
  • EVENTS
    • ANE Congress
    • ANE Rising Stars
    • ANE Eurostars
  • More
    • Publishing Partners
    • Social Media
    • Contact Us
    • Media Kit
    • About Us
    • Capgemini: Invent Head on automotive takeaways from CES 2023
    • Capgemini: Securing the industry's future through a radical rethink
    • Capgemini: Succeeding with the automated driving journey through AI
    • Capgemini: The circular economy is spurring new thinking on EV batteries
    • Capgemini: Toyota and Capgemini leaders on how OEMs can handle industry changes and succeed
    • HEXAGON: Plugging into data is the only way to make winning EVs
    • TUV Rheinland: Ideas, services and certifications for smart mobility
    • TUV Rheinland: Testing of automated and autonomous vehicles on test tracks
    • Toyota Europe
    • UFI Filters
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Automotive News Europe
September 10, 2013 01:00 AM

Former BMW styling boss Bangle says car design lacks innovation

Claire Bal
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Print
    Bangle: Auto industry is not 'brave enough to be different.'

    Chris Bangle surprised many when he quit as BMW's design boss in 2009 to become an independent designer outside the auto industry. He is working on electronics products from a studio in the Langhe hills of northern Italy. Bangle, 56, still has strong views about car design, which he thinks is standing still in a fast-moving world. He spoke with Automotive News Europe Correspondent Claire Bal.

    Do you see anything interesting in car design today?

    No. We're in a phase I would call 'mannerism.' People are using many of the same approaches and elements that they have in the past. There is a real need for a change and that's just not happening. Even concept cars today simply anticipate the next production model coming down the line. Is this innovation? No. This is preventing car design from moving into a new era.

    Have your services been sought by other carmakers since you left BMW?

    Yes, as a director, quite a few times – and I've always refused. Designing cars consumes you. It has a hold on your spirit, which is incredibly powerful. It's not something you can do part time, you have do it with all your heart and soul or you're going to get it wrong. BMW was fantastic. I loved every minute of it. But you have to know when to leave the party. I think I understood what it means to let go, which is something I wish many other design managers would learn. So when people ask me 'Wouldn't you like to go back into the industry?' I reply: 'Tell the old guys to get out and let the next generation come through!'

    Do you still do some work on cars?

    We have had some very small connections with cars, but I'm not hammering on doors looking for that type of work. One of the first projects we took on at Chris Bangle Associates was something entirely different, the redesign of Hennessy Cognac's Privilege bottle. Like the Mini project at BMW, the challenge was how to treat an iconic product with respect. You don't want to devalue the past in any way, but at the same time you're trying to create an instantly recognizable product for the future.

    Do you admire the neatness of Walter de' Silva's designs for Volkswagen?

    Simplicity is nice – until you fall asleep. When did you last read a book cover that recommended you read it because the story was simple? We all want things in our life to have character. We want stories that are gripping. I'm quite ready for a world in which there are different kinds of cars, both simple and complex, but I'm never happy with insipid design. Yes, Walter's designs are very 'neat.'

    Reports say you're working with Samsung. After designing cars, are tablets and mobile phones easy?

    I won't go into the work we're doing but believe me, what we are working on is anything but easy! The car companies are basically fighting the Napoleonic war. Everybody knows who everybody else is. But the guys in consumer electronics are fighting a 'friendemy war,' one in which my friend is my enemy. I'm a supplier but I'm also your competitor. There's no sense of 'generation' because everything is happening so fast. It's a completely different world.

    NEW E-MAGAZINE

    This story is from the current issue of the Automotive News Europe monthly e-magazine, an exciting new product that is also available to read on our iPhone and iPad apps.You can download the new issue as well as past issues by clicking here.

    Young people seem to be more interested in consumer electronics than cars. Is this a reflection of the times or are carmakers to blame?

    Both. The automobile has been a nation-building product at certain times in history. Both the Model T and the original Fiat 500, for example, literally put nations on wheels. What could we regard as a nation-building product today? Social media, perhaps? But the decline in young people's interest in cars is also down to the failure of the industry itself to recognize its need to change. Some small changes are beginning to happen. The idea of car sharing as a business model, for example, or the design of vehicles that are less about power and more about space. But you can't really say there is any epoch-changing design underway. The auto industry lacks the ability to look at itself objectively, to ask itself the really hard questions, to reflect on what it could be were it brave enough to be different.

    RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
    2022 Eurostar winner Enrico Salvatori of Qualcomm
    Recommended for You
    Enrico Salvatori
    2022 Eurostar winner Enrico Salvatori of Qualcomm
    Christian Dahlheim
    2022 Eurostar winner Christian Dahlheim of VW Financial Services
    Milan Nedeljkovic
    2022 Eurostar winner Milan Nedeljkovic of BMW
    Capgemini Invent Head on automotive takeaways from CES 2023
    Sponsored Content: Capgemini Invent Head on automotive takeaways from CES 2023
    Sign up for free newsletters
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    You can unsubscribe at any time through links in these emails. For more information, see our Privacy Policy.

    Get Free Newsletters

    Sign up and get the best of Automotive News Europe delivered straight to your email inbox, free of charge. Choose your news – we will deliver.

    You can unsubscribe at any time through links in these emails. For more information, see our Privacy Policy.

    SUBSCRIBE TODAY

    Get 24/7 access to in-depth, authoritative coverage of the auto industry from a global team of reporters and editors covering the news that’s vital to your business.

    SUBSCRIBE NOW
    Connect with Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • LinkedIn
    • Instagram

    Founded in 1996, Automotive News Europe is the preferred information source for decision-makers and opinion leaders operating in Europe.

    Contact Us

    1155 Gratiot Avenue
    Detroit MI  48207-2997
    Tel: +1 877-812-1584

    Email Us

    ISSN 2643-6590 (print)
    ISSN 2643-6604 (online)

     

    Resources
    • About us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise with us
    • Advertise with Us
    • Ad Choices Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Awards
    • Rising Stars
    • Eurostars
    • Leading Women
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Automotive News Europe
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • HOME
      • Latest news
      • Automakers
      • Suppliers
      • New Product
      • Environment/Emissions
      • Sales By Market
      • On The Move
      • Auto Shows
        • Munich Auto Show
        • Geneva Auto Show
        • Paris Auto Show
        • Beijing Auto Show
        • Shanghai Auto Show
    • Features
      • Long Read
      • Interview of the Month
      • Focus on Electrification
      • Focus on Technology
      • Segment Analysis
      • Cars & Concepts
      • Supplier Spotlight
      • Europe By The Numbers
    • Opinion
      • Blogs
      • Commentary
      • Guest columnists
    • Photos
      • Photo Galleries
      • Geneva Photo Gallery
      • Beijing Photo Gallery
      • Frankfurt Photo Gallery
      • Paris Photo Gallery
      • Shanghai Photo Gallery
    • Podcasts
    • Car Cutaways
    • EVENTS
      • ANE Congress
      • ANE Rising Stars
      • ANE Eurostars
    • More
      • Publishing Partners
        • Capgemini: Invent Head on automotive takeaways from CES 2023
        • Capgemini: Securing the industry's future through a radical rethink
        • Capgemini: Succeeding with the automated driving journey through AI
        • Capgemini: The circular economy is spurring new thinking on EV batteries
        • Capgemini: Toyota and Capgemini leaders on how OEMs can handle industry changes and succeed
        • HEXAGON: Plugging into data is the only way to make winning EVs
        • TUV Rheinland: Ideas, services and certifications for smart mobility
        • TUV Rheinland: Testing of automated and autonomous vehicles on test tracks
        • Toyota Europe
        • UFI Filters
      • Social Media
        • Facebook
        • Instagram
        • LinkedIn
        • Twitter
      • Contact Us
      • Media Kit
      • About Us