VW says nein to boring design
While Volkswagen's Tiguan is more radical-looking than most small SUVs out there, the rest of VW's lineup might best be described as German. Not necessarily ugly, mind you, just not envelope-puching, cutting edge stuff.But that could change in the coming years, says VW product head Dr. Wolfgang Bernhard. In an interview with UK media at the L.A. show, Doc Bernhard said the Scirocco and Tiguan are good indicators of how future VeeDubs might look.
'We have to shape our own destiny rather than trying to fit in with everyone else,' he said. 'The fun-to-drive part of our cars has to be on the surface.'
Bernhard went on to promise the Brits a Passat-based competitor for Mercedes' CLS, a more luxurious Touareg and a "bolder" replacement for the current Beetle.
First, how will the CLS competitor be different from the not 100% unsuccessful Phaeton (remember, it lives on in Europe)? Second, aren't Porsche and Audi both already marketing more luxurious Touaregs? And, third, we're looking forward to how the Beetle redesign is handled. It will be one of the first automotive retro makeovers and promises to pose a challenge for VW.
VW probably won't go so far as the design study shown here, which, by the way, is a fantastical creation by Hussein Al-Attar at Husseindesign. Click on the rendering for a high-res, desktop-worthy sized version.
[Source: What Car]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Dr. Woo 4:20PM (12/03/2006)
Looks like an Eclipse to me.
Definitely NOT a good thing.
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Dreizehnernuss 4:30PM (12/03/2006)
Funny that Bernhard will most likely leave VW in near future.
So the question is: No Bernhard no Scirocco ?
(the Scirocco is said to be Berhards "personal" project).
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TP 4:31PM (12/03/2006)
The thing is that we misunderstand the whole CLS fighter stuff.
It's not like they're gonna price it similar to MSRP of CLS.
They say that because it's quite an interesting situation in Europe, especially in Germany, their homeland.
MB, as well as BMW and Audi, is trying to attract buyers by offering low-end models, and their customer range is now approaching VW's target customers.
VW needs a strategy to attract bring back those customers, and CLS fighter is what they've planned so far. Since so-called 4 dr coupe is quite a unique segment with only one model offered by MB, VW now plans to build an alternative which will attract buyers of such vehicles with a lower price.
We only focus on the phrase "CLS fighter" and throw a question of "VW competing against CLS?", but I don't think that's gonna really the truth.
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Ben 2:23AM (12/04/2006)
Volkswagen is the king of boring design.
who will stop them from making more boring car?
the new boss porsche?
they make the same car for 60 years.
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SilverAero 8:15PM (12/03/2006)
Ha that picture might be a rabbit cause it looks like it has ears.
But seriously, I am really curious as to what a "bolder" Beetle means cause the new mini remake is pretty much the same as the current gen.
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BOB 8:29PM (12/03/2006)
--"BOLDER BEETLE" might mean something not so cute: the present one has to be just the right color not to look like a sorority girls' car. This will require quite a feat of design, because the car has to have an endearing charm like the original Beetle, and has to overlap as little as possible with the other VW models. (nor with Skoda and Seat, which have some cool VW variants at good prices)
MUCH easier to design a modern car with good recent forbears than it is to do a profitable retro or a clean sheet car on a brand with no heritage (see recent Chinese wonders)
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Howard Kerr 7:04AM (12/04/2006)
This is one of those "damned if you do, damned if you DON'T" situations. Ford was lambasted for not regularly freshening the Taurus, instead, they let it's looks grow stale then went overboard when they finally did re-style it (1996...the oval Taurus), and VW is getting blasted for keeping the styling fairly constant from one generation of Golf/Jetta to the next.
As far as freshening/restyling? the Beetle...it looks like VW is in the same spot NOW that they were in 35-40 years ago with the original beetle. How do you update an old(looking?) car so that it looks new...but not so new it scares away potential buyers?
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Ben 3:03AM (12/05/2006)
Howard Kerr check VW competition in europe.
the european honda civic.
all peugeot cars.
alfa romeo :-)
european ford focus.
cars that on sale in europe are much better looking then the cars in the US.
and VW just look like a shoe box.
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