| Chris Bangle: Damned by success
Leftlane news notes today that BMW Group Chief Designer Christopher Bangle has gone from car design pariah to messiah, based on the fleet of BMW look-alike models cropping up on rivals' stands at the Detroit Auto Show this week. Mild-mannered Toyota, which once mimicked Mercedes' staid lines, is now clearly aiming now at high-flying BMW with the more emotional styling of its new IS and LS models. Even rival Mercedes, which lost the global lead in premium car sales to BMW this year, is taking on Bimmer attributes, with models that boast a more muscular, dynamic stance — just look at the new S Class. But is all that flattering imitation going to be good for BMW? Bangle's achievement was to make BMW stand out from the pack. His controversial design turned heads. Even that big heavy 7 Series bumper — "The Bangle Butt" — which didn't look half as big on US roads, got everyone talking about BMW.
Government, lenders helping people with mortgage woes
The mortgage crisis is leading lenders to be more open to helping people who get into trouble with their payments. “Lenders are going to work with every customer to understand what their situation is and try to come to a resolution," said Joseph Culver, treasurer of the Mortgage Bankers Association of Northeastern New York. “You have some consumers out there that just cannot make the payments because of the type of product they were originally put into; payments are increasing drastically," Culver said. Culver said in some cases, banks will adjust the terms of the mortgage. “Instead of increasing from 6 to 8 [percent], they'll maybe hold it at 6 [percent] for another year," Culver said. “There's multiple options, but again there is not just kind of a blanket statement that every lender can offer this.
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