A buddy and I were talking about the recent Lexus desgins and he thought they were Bangelish.
Both of us haven't liked what he did beginning with the 5 and he pointed me to certain areas on the Lex that were reminescent. I didn't think they were direct rip's but I could see where he was coming from.

What are your thoughts?

 

Toyota had something similar to flame surfacing since 1999, before BMW. Of course, it is much smoother than BMW's version.

I dont think anyone could confuse clear and smooth lines of Lexus, with sharp opposing lines from BMW.

If anything, in past few years germans have been taking few pages out of Lexus's books....

 

I am a former Lexus owner and may very likely be one again some day....especially an ES. Some Bangle-type features, like the trunk-lid brow and the angel-type headlights, I can tolerate. But the moment I see an I-Drive-type controller **** or a 7-series-type shifter on the stalk, they can forget it. Those are two devices I simply will not put up with in a vehicle I own.

 

Look at the new S class, that's the most Banglized non-BMW to-date, the trunk & particularly the dash, it's almost a direct rip-off of the 7.

 

The trunk of the new Acura RL is right behing the SClass.

 

i guess most ppl like these designs if everyone is trying to copy, am i right or wrong

 

I guess that is the problem with our aerodynamics of today, they're all starting to look the same.

 

I think as technology uncovers certain efficient deisgn elements, everyone else follows to some extent. With headlights, glass shapes and such, there is little reason to duplicate.

I've liked the resecced lighting desgins until the recent trend was to have them made bigger and flow from the body work. Now they are a corner piece on a rear quarter panel and the headlights are flowed well into the front as well.

In the later 80's the style was softened lines and roundness now they bring back sharper edges. Saw several generations of Honda Civics the other day, the new one is pretty sharp in styling. The new IS and GS have a hard edge to them. Some elements I find a bit Bangle like across several manufacturers but perhaps that is just the styling trend.

 

Somewhat related discussion here in case anyone is interested.

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=188314

 

The only model that looks somewhat like a bangle design is the new LF-Sh model and thats only a concept. Everything else to me looks pretty original if you ask me. There is some German inspiration with the Hoffmeister Kink or whatever you want to call it, but I dont think any current Lexus model is Banglized. RL, S-class, and a few other most certainly are though.

 

I can see som basic geometric similarities but Bangle went too far. Lexus' surfacing is much more tasteful.

 

Yeah, they are very similar.

They both have doors, a trunk, hood, windows....... yeah windows.... that's where Lexus went too far.

 

The reason everyone talks about Bangle is because some of the BMW designs he did were generally received as being weird and ugly.

Bangle did not pioneer or create many of the styling cues seen on current Bimmers.

The "Bangle Butt" had been on several cars previous to any Bangle design, like the Chrysler Cirrus.

This is getting ridiculous ... crediting Bangle for a lot of things he never actually did. It's like crediting one designer for "pioneering" a car with doors, windows, and 4 wheels .

All the current BMW "Bangle" design cues are not unique, have been seen on various cars, and are part of a common modern styling theme of smooth, curvy, and sleek cars, which for your information, was a trend generally started by Japanese automakers.

 

IMO, BMW design is significantly better. Both the 3 and 5 series have a level of design sophistication that Lexus hasn't achieved. The new IS is the closest thing yet, and if you look at the progression from first gen vs. the second gen IS, you cannot deny the heavy BMW influence in its form. Although I'm sure Lexus will continue to improve, I doubt they'll surpass BMW in exterior aesthetic sophistication any time soon.

If BMW learned from Lexus interior design and reliability, I would have more decisively bought a BMW over the IS. But IS 350 it was, and I'm happy so far.