[MalibuBimmer]

If he designed something like this, and the corporate powers-that-be greenlighted it, that would get my attention (and dollars):

[//M235ixD]

Oh no ! Not the designer of "blah" Audi

[FogCityM3]

Interesting how they chose someone with some mixed design history (tepid/bland and over-the-top). Also interesting how no one got promoted from within.

[Stratus650]

I'd say good choice, Im looking forward for his lead at BMW

Only thing is that he will need some time to make design Changes, as most models are already new or just about to change (spyshots stage)

[N & M]

Originally Posted by SCOTT26

In Europe Skoda is a brand that continues to cannibalise VWs own products.
The new Kodiaq as an example emphasises this. It's bigger and more flexible than the Tiguan,Q5 etc yet costs a lot,lot less even with more standard equipment.
The Octavia is a c-segment car and if it was in the same outline as a VW Golf as a 5dr hatch other than its more Sedan with trick hatch. Then the Golf would be in serious trouble.

Are we talking design merit or product postioning and packaging here? I have not really seen any real praise for design leadership for the Skoda brand.

The products are successful in Europe and cannibalise from VW due to their value offering and the fact that can draw engineering credibility from thier in group siblings.

Either way; a designer is as good as thier brief or the courage of thier employer.

[N & M]

Originally Posted by MalibuBimmer

If he designed something like this, and the corporate powers-that-be greenlighted it, that would get my attention (and dollars):

Mine too. I would be in that cue as well.

[KSERGEI-BY]

There are no reasons to say BMW is going to have audish design. Stop treshing this guy, he might inject couple of new ideas to the old mix.

[Teutonic]

Bugatti never "talked" to me in any way...
Skoda was (is) a generic simple vehicle.
I hope he understands and gets the weight of the task, so far BMW let me down big time, and ended up not buying an M due to the terrible design (like grill headlamp connection, lines on the hood, boring bumpers, poor wheel design, ipads glued on the dashboard, lines that don't connect , etc)
Let's hope...

[Teutonic]

Originally Posted by Bosozoku

Bangle 2.0?

Bangle was "fluid".
This guy loves cubism. My fingers are crossed, I hoped that Habib goes away and I was happy.
Now I just hope that we did not ditched the Devil and found his mother...

[V-Eight]

I'm not worried as the chief BMW design Group is held by Von Hooydonk. I think that every designer must follow a lot of compromises to create a new car, especially, costs. I'm sure that his work at Skoda was something like this. Do you all remember Luc Donckerwolke? He designed the wonderful Murciélago, and then was moved to Seat design. I'm sure that what creates after that wasn't stunning as his lambo was. So, this time things are inverted, and a designer that creates the Veyron, has passed his last years designing cheap, ugly, mass cars. I'm sure that he wants to create something stunning now.... let's give him a chance. I'm sure that all your skepticism will go away soon, with the next concept car.

[solarstone]

Bugatti -> Audi -> Skoda -> BMW

[Harold Wood]

Originally Posted by michal12

I think the info is part incorrect. Kaban was overall head of Skoda design, not 'just' the exterior.
His work for Skoda has definitely been very successful.

I think the crystal design style he has done at Skoda has been very fresh and I am really look forward to his projects at BMW

[GuidoK]

Originally Posted by Unkle Steve

Porsche is the benchmark IMO. They can give their cars a personality because they keep the brand exclusive by limiting the number of model lines available (iterations of a crossover like the x2 or a small sedan like the Audi A3 do not exist);

hmmmm lets see.
20 years ago they had the following models:
911 (in the usual multiple versions) and..... boxster (not even a coupe version of that). thats it.
Now they have:
911, 718 (in both coupe&conv), cayenne, panamera, macan.
Thats over twice the models.
I see what you mean by limitin production lines
And they style even a big ass suv (cayenne) with 911 features so that it looks horrible.
Porsche has some of the most forced designs because 'it HAS to look like a porsche' and that creates some of the most ugly cars
Making cars that all look alike is a sign of lazy design. Porsche designs only look good on low slung sportscars.
Thats why porsche as a brand is quickly loosing its 'want' factor. 20 years ago it was a sportscar brand with a lot of prestige. Now its mainly an suv manufacturer on borrowed VAG platforms...they're the biggest sell outs imho.

[emac_mfan]

Originally Posted by paul223

Veyron is powerful ugly car.

+1

[V-Eight]

Originally Posted by GuidoK

hmmmm lets see.
20 years ago they had the following models:
911 (in the usual multiple versions) and..... boxster (not even a coupe version of that). thats it.
Now they have:
911, 718 (in both coupe&conv), cayenne, panamera, macan.
Thats over twice the models.
I see what you mean by limitin production lines
And they style even a big ass suv (cayenne) with 911 features so that it looks horrible.
Porsche has some of the most forced designs because 'it HAS to look like a porsche' and that creates some of the most ugly cars
Making cars that all look alike is a sign of lazy design. Porsche designs only look good on low slung sportscars.
Thats why porsche as a brand is quickly loosing its 'want' factor. 20 years ago it was a sportscar brand with a lot of prestige. Now its mainly an suv manufacturer on borrowed VAG platforms...they're the biggest sell outs imho.

Totally agree with you. At least 20 years ago, when I was a teen ager, the 911 was my dream car, now it isn't. And when I decided to bring the only Porsche that have sense for me, the Cayman, they put an horrible 4 cylinder engine in it, at the same price. Porsche is just a common SUV maker that also makes a really good every day sport car, the 911. No more. In my opinion, it doesn't deserve the worth, even if the 911 is already one of the most daily usable sub-supercar.

[Ganxxta]

I'm a little sad, Habib designed the 4 series concept, once I saw that, the first reaction was: "I need that car".

Unfortunately usual BMW corporate BS happened and the final car was softened a bit, still its great looking.

Same goes for the current 6 series and the F10, both are just elegant and timeless for me, I believe Habib was also responsible for both.


Lets see what Mr. Lets-copy-old-mercedes-E-class will bring to BMW...

[Unkle Steve]

Originally Posted by GuidoK

hmmmm lets see.
20 years ago they had the following models:
911 (in the usual multiple versions) and..... boxster (not even a coupe version of that). thats it.
Now they have:
911, 718 (in both coupe&conv), cayenne, panamera, macan.
Thats over twice the models.
I see what you mean by limitin production lines
And they style even a big ass suv (cayenne) with 911 features so that it looks horrible.
Porsche has some of the most forced designs because 'it HAS to look like a porsche' and that creates some of the most ugly cars
Making cars that all look alike is a sign of lazy design. Porsche designs only look good on low slung sportscars.
Thats why porsche as a brand is quickly loosing its 'want' factor. 20 years ago it was a sportscar brand with a lot of prestige. Now its mainly an suv manufacturer on borrowed VAG platforms...they're the biggest sell outs imho.

You're entitled to believe that. Admittedly Porsche had some awkward transitions with the introductions of new model lines. In addition, their entry into the luxury segment with the Panamera was often frowned upon nearly a decade ago. I also despise the cayman and boxter models.

I disagree with you about the design being 'forced', as though it is made to seem like they miserably failed and are forever meant to be viewed that way. The cayenne became attractive around 2011, and succeeded with the detraction of sales of competing vehicles like the Range Rover. The 2018 model is speculated to kick major ass, since it will be bigger (hopefully like the Audi Q7) and be around 400 pounds lighter from the same platform that is being used with the newer Q7s and the Bentley SUV.

The Panamera has always been one of the most comfortable luxury four doors I have sat in. It completely blows any competitors away in that aspect. The cluster of buttons, which was always awkward across all luxury models including the SUVS, has been completely redesigned and improved with a nearly 100% touch screen interface. The exterior is also actually attractive now (at least to me). My point is that every flaw with the Panamera before 2017 has been addressed with the new model. And these interior changes will be brought to the 2018 cayenne, which has me absolutely thrilled.

Sure, the macan, cayman and boxter are entry level models that can seem unnecessary, but it's a smart way to expand the brand without overextending themselves. Leases still aren't subsidized, so a person has to truly commit to the brand if they want to be affiliated with it.

And IMO it isn't nearly as high as the number of subpar models released from bimmer, Benz and Audi.

The z4 has always been a joke to me, and the z5 isn't looking much better. The x5 has always been ugly. I will give credit to the sales that the x6 has made, though: that was one of the few expansions from BMW that I can consider to be highly successful. 1 series and 2 series are both jokes. If BMW wanted they could've kept the same image for the 3 series without catering to lesser models.

The 991 regardless of it being a .1 or .2 is already outdated, as it has been confirmed that all newer 911s will be hybrids that will perform exceptionally better.

At this point I feel like I'm rambling on. One more point that I'd like to make is that every other company is now starting to make all models look too similar with a lack of imagination. The C, E and S class no longer look distinguishable! Many BMW and Audi sedans look too similar compared to other cars within their respective companies. This 'forced' dilemma that you mentioned is being exhibited by nearly everyone these days.

Those awkwardly 'forced' models that you refer to are only going to get better. Don't complain when the 928 replacement annihilates the 8 series, because it will be coming sooner than we expect.

[Bluesummer]

Originally Posted by M-POWERED-

His latest job
Poor future BMWs

A designer with unfitted suit pants on stage..... it's like an Italian who doesn't know how to put pasta into boiling water. Get this whack outta the office please.

[vladinecko]

To those who are quick to judge this man I say, nothing is as black and white as it seems. You must keep in mind that design, especially automobile design, is subject to many crutches. From existing set of rules and conventions to brand identity, global market considerations, safety restrictions, production limitations, budget constraints or segment delineations, to name a few.

However, the most important factor that outsiders quickly dismiss is that everybody has a boss. You can see that from the Adrian van Hooydonk vs. Chris Bangle relationship. Bangle gets most of the heat for his controversial designs whereas it was actually van Hooydonk who was directly responsible for majority of them. Now the roles have shifted, van Hooydonk is the big boss and Kaban will be in his shadow making very limited and censored choices for BMW. In the long run, good or bad, van Hooydonk will be credited with anything of significance.

There is a high attrition rate in this post for a reason. As a designer, you want to roam free. If you create a masterpiece and someone in a more expensive suit tells you to put their doodle on it, it's an attack not only on your creation but also on your artistic identity. In a conglomerate like the BMW Group or the VW Group, you can bet your behind that any head designer has to dodge countless, unsolicited and unqualified pieces of advice per day and that is not easy to live with. You either persevere, like van Hooydonk, and become the head honcho or you throw in the towel in submission and capitulate.

BMW would not make choosing their lead designer a capricious matter. Kaban must have been thoroughly vetted on his talent, leadership skills, real-world experience and portfolio. Bugatti Veyron, regardless of its design, is an iconic car of its era. Having that and only that car on a resume would qualify any designer for Kaban's new job.

So let's scale back the criticism until there's something concrete to criticize, shall we?

[caycep]

http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-cult...signer-at-bmw/


Interesting to know Karim Habib is no longer there - I think it was either him or someone under him who did the F22 design?

[Maynard]

Even with the scruffy beard, I'm not having that sympatico feeling; I know you can't judge the book by the cover, but offhand it looks like more 'scent packages' and gizmo's that can read your hand gestures; less visceral sports car goodness. Hope I'm way off on that (those Skodas DO look pretty sharp).

[Viffermike]

Originally Posted by caycep

http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-cult...signer-at-bmw/


Interesting to know Karim Habib is no longer there - I think it was either him or someone under him who did the F22 design?

This has been discussed (and still is, to an extent) in the General BMW News subforum here. That's really where this belongs. It is not specifically 2 Series-related (though yes; its design was under his watch.)