Adrian van Hooydonk is a native of Echt, Holland. And basing your opinion of a person (or whether you would take him "seriously" on what you think of their given surname, seems rather immature (and very American, to be honest). He may do good, he may not (he did, after all, pen the controversial E65), but lets not base that on schoolhouse name calling.
Cool article on Bangle, here: http://www.speedsportlife.com/2009/02/04/avoidable-contact-24-the-man-who-saved-bmw/ Even if they do kinda slag on my E38 a bit (which I find to be a beautiful , if conservative, design).
So last night I went and saw him speak, even got to meet him. He gave a great lecture on autommotive design, and gave a bunch of examples on what goes into the design and production of the car (almost all BMW, and some Mini and Rolls). Apparently it takes 5 different million dollar presses to make the hood of a mini. Anyway, it was pretty sweet. Glad I got to hear him talk.
Which is why most of us should just shut up when we hear the price of a part at the dealer, though I have to admit that sometimes the prices are just too drastic. Either way, it is just staggering how much actually goes into car design. Even if some of us don't like the exterior and interior aesthetics of modern Bimmers, there's definitely some thought put into the designs, and I respect them for that.
