It’s easy to be convinced by the Fiat-Chrysler group rhetoric about the future of brands, and what’s going on with badge engineering right now. Yes, we know that badging Chryslers as Lancias in Europe is an intermediary step. Yes, we know it’s needed to cover holes in the product portfolio. But at what cost to the brand? And why – if the company is going to pursue this – does it not have the confidence to bring the Lancia brand back to the UK? In a bizarre twist, the British market therefore gets a Chrsyler-badged Ypsilon. Confused yet? We are.
Lancia, like SAAB, has a small but loyal group of followers, to whom we suspect this will be a complete anathema. Brands can no longer pull the wool over the public’s eyes, and to attempt to do so risks doing untold damage to the brand. The 300C/Thema, we could perhaps just about have stomached. But a 200C, badged Flavia? It made some of the CDN team want to cry.
It’s easy to be completely engrossed by the cars at the motorshow. Clearly, they should be the number one priority but, increasingly, stand design is important too, not only influencing how the cars themselves are perceived, but as a way of communicating brand values. Here are a few of my favourites stand details from this year:
Joe Simpson
VW’s Bulli is an exceptionally well-executed piece of design, evoking a spirit of a by-gone era. It’s especially impressive to see VW’s modern twist on the petrol pump with this electric charging unit that stands alongside the car, topped with a vast VW roundel. The petrol pump and station has formed such a strong part of the automotive-inspired architecture of the last century that it’d be sad to think we will lose that with the onset of the electric car. VW shows it needn’t be so…
Continuing the propulsion theme, Porsche chose to show what (isn’t technically) their oldest car, but one that makes a good story all the same. The first hybrid vehicle ever built, stood proudly on Porsche’s stand next to the company’s newest hybrid, the Panamera. Though many observers seemed to prefer its looks to those of the more modern car…
Seat showed off a simple, eye-catching way to display their range of colours, in this circle of mirrors. It’s not a new idea, but the bright and bold Seat palette was more notable for being somewhat more visually arresting than the IBx concept that can be seen behind…
Volvo’s accessories and stand displays often impress, and Geneva 2011 proved no different. Showing the company’s exterior colour range as a display of ‘jeans cut-outs’ made for a sweet and original display in the corner of the Volvo booth…
Audi is a master of stand design. This is a detail shot from the accessory range for the A1. Is it just us or is that checker-pattern reminiscent of fashion brand Burberry?
Elsewhere, the company’s quattro ice-block might be familiar to those who’ve visited an Audi stand before, but that doesn’t make it any less impressive…
We thought one Vision ConnectedDrive concept would have been enough, but BMW brought two Geneva 2011, fixing one to the wall of their stand. The display features a screen that rolls open or shut, depending on what aspect of the car’s technological aspects is being demonstrated…
We featured it in a previous post, but couldn’t resist sneaking in that half of a Renault 4 display again
The little Morgan Three Wheeler was causing an unexpected stir in the corner of hall six, attracting a constant stream of intrigued and bewildered admirers amongst the designers we spoke to.
The rebirth of the iconic bathtub-style Morgan is a stark and somewhat refreshing vision amidst a sea of ever-more complex surfaces and increasing wheel size. Its dimensions are hard to gauge through photographs, but sitting atop skinny wire wheels and with the V-Twin engine way out front for the world to see, it certainly won’t be mistaken for anything else at the show.
Beneath the pastiche retro exterior nestles a modern engine and gearbox, as well as a sumptuous leather-lined interior, sporting a central aircraft-style dial binnacle. With the exterior adorned in a matte green paint and complete with WWII graphics, you feel compelled to don a sheep-skinned leather jacket just to look at the car. However this convincing fusion of old and new, the simple beauty and eccentric demeanour of the Three Wheeler places it firmly as one of my favourite cars of the show.
…by cutting it in half. In its lime green paint, fixed to the wall of the Renault stand, this 4L struck an arresting visual image as you made your way up the stairs between halls one and two. And as Renault ‘drives the change’, we suspect there’s still much the company can take in inspiration from this innovative small car.
The FT-86 II is the latest interpretation of the much-lauded FT-86 concept originally shown at the 2009 Tokyo motor show. But, as the design nears production (or – given Toyota’s reticence to name an on-sale date – should that be creeps towards?), the no-nonsense sports car from the Japanese automaker appears to be becoming much more compromised in terms of its design.
The original showcar had massive appeal – thanks largely to its elegant proportions and exquisite detailing, particularly in the interior. However, this latest variant is devoid of an interior and features a slew of what almost feel like Lexus LFA-referencing elements that have not transitioned well. At the front, the LED strips in the lower bumper are met by LFA-style headlamps, which aren’t as successful as the original, simpler units. Meanwhile, the gaping-mouth grille gives the car the appearance of something you’re more likely to find feeding close to the bottom of a murky sea-bed.
Fender blisters appear at the front and a pronounced air inlet adorns the bodyside. Yet more changes have been made to the rear, where the haunches appear just aft of the crude shoulder that disappears incongruously into the DLO. LFA-like taillamps also adorn the truncated rear end, whilst further addendum – such as a large, tuning-style decklid spoiler and an aggressive diffuser – shout its sporting intent. These are necessary as this latest version has even less tumblehome than the original.
The elegant lines of the original FT-86 didn’t require such ‘go-faster’ bits; the design was much more successful for the lack of them. This car may, perhaps, be more production ready, but the FT-86 II concept regrettably lacks the appeal of its Tokyo forebear. As such, it leaves us wishing that Toyota had left the design alone, and appears to prove true that – as far as FT-86 designs are concerned – less truly does equal more.
Eric Gallina
The BMW ConnectedDrive is undoubtedly one of the stars of the show, here, Marc Girard – Head of Interior Design, BMW, demonstrates one element of the concept’s technology-rich interior. The passenger interface is a working gestural control unit, with LEDs and sensors woven into the material panel of the IP…
