Chris Bangle quits BMW

Chris Bangle, the head of design for the BMW Group since 1992 and one of the most controversial and well-known designers in the auto industry, resigned his post on Monday, according to the company.

His exit, say people familiar with the company, was not forced. Rather, said the same executives, the designer had been laying groundwork for an exit for many months.

Bangle achieved infamy as well as fame in 2001 when he introduced the BMW 7 Series at the Frankfurt Motor Show to catcalls over a high squared off trunk lid that came to be known as the “Bangle butt,” as well as a new console mounted computer-mouse-like knob that was designed to control most of the electronic functions of the car, called iDrive.