Bangle's Fabric car. Cool. He still screwwed up the Z4.

[Aerkuld]

Originally Posted by Moses

I love the Bangle Z4. Guess I'm an idiot.

Not to worry, I'm one too. I like the look of the Z4 except the curve on the rocker panel.
But this fabric car is fantastic and I am amazed to the point that I am close to forgiving him for bangleizing the rest of the BMW range.

[speeder]

Originally Posted by the

Not only that, but just about every car manufacturer out there, from Acura to Mercedes, have adopted his designs and hard edged, "flame surfacing."

It's really quite amazing, the influence one single designer has had on an entire industry. And, it was such a radical departure from the jelly-bean aero ethos that existed before him.

You have to go back probably to the '50s to find designers who had such influence and changed the entire direction of automotive styling.

You are 100% correct. Not saying that I like all of his designs, (definitely like some of them), but the new MB C-class is an absolute rip-off of his styling. And hands-down the best-looking car they currently sell.

[Racerbvd]

Does it shrink when it gets wet??? How stable is it at speed, with a cloth body?? What about a top?? What does it look like under the skin???

[berettafan]

wow that man comes off as a major prick. i mean defining 'geometry' when you're talking to anyone older than 5 is just plain ignorant.

what a waste of production dollars that was. nothing revolutionary about it. i mean, how thick is the metal shell in todays cars? not very. it's the answer to a question/problem that does not exist yet it creates a host of new problems to be dealt with (ie park your airplane on a busy street in the city and see how long the fabric covering lasts).

[speeder]

Love the 7, hate the 5. The 6 is great except from the front, the new 3 is growing on me, (love the 4-door 335i in black/black), the Z4 is a huge improvement over the Z3, which was the gayest-looking car ever sold. It made the Miata look masculine. The Z4 has one of the best fronts I've ever seen, just wiiiiide.

[island911]

Originally Posted by speeder

...the new MB C-class is an absolute rip-off of his styling.

[artplumber]

Originally Posted by island911

You start with the special Bangle designed speculum.

I bet Moses could get that engine out in under 5 minutes, especially if it were experiencing decels.....

[island911]

Originally Posted by Racerbvd

... How stable is it at speed, with a cloth body?? What about a top??

good Q's...

Of course the car can be made JUST like convertible tops ...which, even with heavy fabrics, deform at speed. But pay no attention to similar existing automotive solutions, just bow to Bangles greatness of half-bakedness.

Seriously, you people who think that this is some sort automotive break-thru are high. Any material flexible enough for that door action is going to move under aero forces and/or be really heavy. ..and/or rub/drag over a long length. Sure, your imagination can imagine this being stable material, so light that it will be like that model airplane you built as a kid... and you can imagine it to be flexible enough to absorb any door ding, but stiff enough to resist aero forces ...sure; imagine. --I see self-promoting gimicktry.



But at least it's ugly.

[BlueSkyJaunte]

I'm 100% with Island on this one. Bangle's designs have been ugly since day 1.

And that "hood" looks like a robot vagina.

[island911]

Originally Posted by BlueSkyJaunte

...And that "hood" looks like a robot vagina.

LOL . ..and yes, a robot vagina must have a "hood"


Byron, this is what you wear for the top --pure jeanyus



Everyone will see how smart (and fashionable) you are

[t951]

I was the typical BMW demographic. 2 incomes, no kids, and not doing poorly.
When Bangle took over I was completely turned off by their cars.
People try and rationalize his designs by saying we talk about them (we also still talk about azteks, pacers, and gremlins...)
Regardless of what others might think, I am sure there are plenty of people like my wife and i that look at the designs and think.....blech.
The Z4 is one of the ugliest cars ever made. I think its worse than the Aztek because it's supposed to be a sexy sports car. Not one line is right. The front looks like its "retarded" the sides and rear have lines that serve no purpose other than to make you try and look elsewhere.
I am on the waiting list for a GT-R. A car that i know is ugly, but then again, its designed purely by function. Bangle-itis exists because that guy sold some morons on a committee that his designs are modern.

Anyway, don't want to steal from the original point of the thread. I think there will be plenty of new body solutions in the future, this cloth idea is pretty cool.

[the]

Originally Posted by t951

When Bangle took over I was completely turned off by their cars.
People try and rationalize his designs by saying we talk about them (we also still talk about azteks, pacers, and gremlins...)
Regardless of what others might think, I am sure there are plenty of people like my wife and i that look at the designs and think.....blech.

You don't need to rationalize the designs by saying we talk about them.

To the extent they need any rationalization, sales of the Bangle designed BMWs have been phenomenal, the best in company history. So for every person like you that they have lost a sale to, they have picked up 1.5 sales.

Even car designer who used to criticize bangle have now pretty much shut their mouths. Because it's hard to criticize the guy you are now copying.

Car design must always move forward, for a variety of reasons. Sure, there are always going to be people that feel a 1998 (or 1988) BMW is the pinnacle of design and should never change, but those aren't people that propel the market forward.

[M.D. Holloway]

I like it. I like it alot. The possibilities are endless. I think it is a great idea and timely. How long will it take to actually see something like this come to the lots?

The other options are DIY kits. Now that could be cool as well!

[alf]

I like it. Less weight is always a good thing. Go faster, stop faster use less energy. Lots of entrenched dogma to overcome though.

[Noah Holcomb]

Bangle is not only one of the most over-rated automotive designers ever, he is one of the worst ever in my opinion. He ruins every design he touches, his designs are chaotic and very un-natural. Sure they are different, in the same sense that a Stutz or Zimmer is different.. In other words they are different yet ugly! I could never see myself buying any car styled by him.

Those that favor the Bangle designs talk about the man as if he is up there with the likes of Giorgetto Giugiaro, yet he is not even close. In years to come I think his designs will not age well and eventually will be thought of as merely a fad. His designs don't have the lasting potential that a car should possess.

I honestly think I could design a better looking car than Bangle.

[Hawktel]

I think he might be on to something for overall car use.

The fabric over frame concept worked well with old school planes 100 years ago, and a good many of them exceeded the speeds we are speaking of for a production car. I think cost wise, it could be a extreme cost saving measure.

[BlueSkyJaunte]

Originally Posted by the

To the extent they need any rationalization, sales of the Bangle designed BMWs have been phenomenal, the best in company history. So for every person like you that they have lost a sale to, they have picked up 1.5 sales.

Up until last year the same could have been said about new home sales. Where's that market now?

Just watch...BMW, Cayenne, and MB sales will be swirling the bowl this time next year.

[livi]

Reminds me of the old Trabant.

[Jims5543]

Why would cloth not be stable at speeds and lightweight?

I am not sure if this has been done on a car before but it been used on planes for a while.

[berettafan]

Jim how fast does that plane go?