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The WI/BMW Connection

April 10th, 2006 | general, autos

I think I’ve mentioned before that with any luck my next car will be a black Audi A3 3.2 S with black interior. I’m also tossing around the idea that anything on the car that doesn’t come in black will be painted black or covered with black hockey tape. But the A3 isn’t the only car I like. I enjoy all nice looking vechicles. One brand I always pay attention to is another little German brand commonly known as BMW.

BMW models have long been the benchmark for all other auto makers, from their 3-series to their high-class 7-series automobiles. And anytime BMW introduces a new updated design to any of their vechicle lines it makes headlines in all the auto industry publications.

The man who holds the title of ‘Director of Group Design for BMW’ is Chris Bangle. Over the last couple years his designs have sent shockwaves throughout the auto industry with the updates of the 3, 5, and 7-series lines. Some say he’s ruined the great cars BMW is known for. Others praise his designs as taking a step into the future without going overboard (note: Honda Insight). Personally, I’m not drooling over the newer designs, but I don’t find them hideous either. I guess I’m not the best to judge as I still think the coolest cars ever are the 1977-1983 and 1984-1991 BMW 3-series. Quite honestly, whether I like it so not, those small boxy-type cars just aren’t going to come around again. The industry has moved on.

So what’s with the post title? While flipping through the sections of Sunday’s Wausau Daily Herald looking for the comics, I stumbled upon the ‘Life’ section with a big picture of a rich-looking guy sitting in front of a BMW Z4. I read the caption…turns out it’s Chris Bangle. Looking just below the article title I read “Former Wausau resident has become one of the world’s pre-eminent auto designers”. Can it be that Chris Bangle hails from Wausau, WI?

It turns out Bangle, now of Munich, Germany, moved to Wausau with his parents at age 5. His dad was a salesman from Weyerhaeuser. Bangle stayed in Wausau long enough to graduate from Wausau West High School in 1975, and then attend UW-Marathon County for two years before moving on to the Art Center College of Design in Cali, from which he graduated in 1981.

So why is this cool? Not only is one of the most powerful designers in the auto industry from WI, but he lived in Wausau. Usually when someone well-known is from WI they are associated with Milwaukee, or possibly Madison. But Wausau? Really? Wow, people north of I-90 and I-94 really do exist.

So whether you’re thinking “cool, someone that grew up in Wausau designs BMWs” or “of course, it took someone from Wausau to make BMWs look like complete rubbish” I enjoyed reading the article. It was the only article I’ve ever read in it’s entirety from the ‘Life’ section of a newspaper. Thanks to Keith Uhlig for writing it.

9 Comments

  1. matches
    April 11th, 2006 at 6:13 am

    I was wondering if the Wausau thing was going to come up. Back when I was an aspiring car designer Bangle was the reason I started at UW-MC. Of course, that was when they were at the peak of their designs, with the E39 M5, the E46 3-series, the best 7-series ever and the M Coupe.

    Now? Eh.

    And seriously? A 3.2 S? That’s like $40k!

  2. majafa
    April 11th, 2006 at 10:28 pm

    See I never knew about Bangle ever being connected to WI, which is why I was (still am) surprised. I think it’s kinda cool.

    The A3 3.2 S line starts at $33,980. After adding my desired options, my quote from a local Audi dealer was about $36,500.

  3. matches
    April 12th, 2006 at 9:13 pm

    That’s not quite as bad, but it still seems like a lot of money for a compact once it surpasses that $30k mark. I think I remember you saying that quattro was your whole reason for liking the 3.2 over the 2.0; is that right?

  4. majafa
    April 12th, 2006 at 11:09 pm

    Yes, quattro is indeed the main reason for wanting the 3.2 over the 2.0. The bigger engine is nice, but wasn’t essential.

    I guess I don’t mind the higher price for a compact because I want to get as small a car as possible but still fit my things in it. At the dealer I lowered the back seats, opened the hatch and got out my trusty tape measure (make sure it’s long enough for a snowboards and guitar cases). I found that the space from the back of the front seats to the back is only 1 inch shorter than PDF’s Hover Jeep. That works.

    Although I must say I am kind of stalling, knowing that a version of GTI with two more doors is coming out sometime this year.

  5. matches
    April 13th, 2006 at 6:12 am

    I know what you mean; I don’t see myself wanting a car above a certain size either, and if your main requirements are DSG, quattro and some storage then really, no other car besides the A3 has those. I really think it’s odd that Audi forces potential customers into that huge price jump just to get the AWD, because the 2.0 / quattro combination to me seems more appealing.

  6. majafa
    April 13th, 2006 at 9:11 pm

    I feel the same way. With all the wonderful things I read about the 2.0 it sounds great. Some vechicles offer rubbish base engines, but in this case I would take the 2.0 and save a bunch of $$$…if it could be paired with quattro. I just feel this need to have AWD.

  7. matches
    April 14th, 2006 at 10:16 pm

    Are you going to check out the rumored 4-door GTI when it comes out? It’s no quattro, but it could be awesome.

  8. majafa
    April 15th, 2006 at 2:27 am

    Yeah I’ll be taking a look at the 4-door for sure. I always seems to think that GTIs = 4motion, but nope, FWD. The only other problem is that I have this perception that all VWs are chick cars. But if the GTI looks nice, and is considerably cheaper after options, then who knows…

    What ever happened to the R32? Was that a European treat brought over as a one-time test in the North American market? That thing had 4motion AWD….mmm crap, but only 2 doors (if I remember correctly). I can’t win.

  9. matches
    April 15th, 2006 at 8:39 am

    They’re supposed to be doing it again but last I heard can’t figure out which engine to put in (so it would either be an R32 or R36). I don’t know about the four-doors thing, and even if it did have 4 doors I’d imagine the price getting awfully close to the A3. Plus, from what I’ve read the AWD system in the R wasn’t nearly as good as quattro.

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