The man responsible for a lot of the design trends BMW produced in the 70s and 80s, Claus Luthe, is dead at the age of 75. Luthe is known for the refining the design of the 3, 5 and 7 series BMW as well as designing the 1967 NSU Ro8o. The New York Times did a decent job burying the other reason Luthe was so well known—you know, how he was convicted of murdering his own son in 1990—until the very end of the obituary.
The NSU Ro8o helped influence modern vehicle design and is the direct ancestor of the Volkswagen K70 which later evolved into the Passat. So what's the protocol in a situation like this? The man was a pioneer of auto design, but then again, he's a convicted murderer. We'll just stay neutral about what that all means. Not that we want to stay neutral, we're just more interested in hearing what you have to say. [NY Times via NY Press] (Image)