too bland and conservative and lacking the Avant-garde styling of Bangle designs. Peer comments J Mays, Ford's chief creative officer, dislikes Bangle's designs, but admits Bangle has been significant in reshaping modern cars. Marc Newson, an industrial designer and car enthusiast, described Bangle's BMW Z4 (E85) as having been designed with a machete. Patrick le Quément, chief designer at Renault, said: "[Bangle is] certainly the most talked about designer. His designs have a great deal of presence, and they're well proportioned. He's been highly influential. My only concern is his use of concave surfaces: they're hollow shapes and lack that tightly muscled look I feel helps design." Martin Smith, head of design for Ford of Europe, describes Bangle as an instigator of the trend toward "surface entertainment" in cars; the Ford Iosis bears some resemblance to Bangle-styled BMWs but it was not criticized as much as Bangle's designs. , BMW AG's Board Member for Development, said: "Christopher Bangle has had a lasting impact on the identity of BMW Group's brands. His contribution to the company's success has been decisive, and together with his teams he has mapped out a clear and aesthetic route into the future," Robert Cumberford, former GM designer and Design Editor for Automobile, wrote in 2004 that Bangle is "a man with the courage of his convictions and of solid character, and he is worthy of our admiration for that alone." References Further reading External links InFrame.tv: Chris Bangle talks car design" Forbes, 2006 "The New BMW 5 Series" BMW Website — Chris Bangle explains his design philosophy for some key models. BMW Designers An overview of automotive designers working for BMW. TED Talk: Great cars are great art (TED2002) Interview with Chris Bangle on design and emotion Chris Bangle Associates S.R.L. 1956 births Living people University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Engineering alumni People from Ravenna, Ohio American automobile designers BMW designers Art Center College of Design alumni Compasso d'Oro Award recipients American expatriates in Germany