Over the last three decades, there's been a common thread making Mercedes designs instantly recognizable and a lot of credit for that belongs to MBZ design boss Peter Pfeiffer. After forty years at Mercedes-Benz, and thirty years overseeing design, Pfeiffer is headed for retirement within the next 12 months. It was under Pfeiffer's pen that Mercedes turned out some of its most important cars. Vehicles like the 190, the W126 S-Class, original E-Class, and more recent work like the R, M, and G-class non-cars, to name a few. Gorden Wagener, president of Mercedes-Benz Advanced Design in North America is a name being bandied about as Pfeiffer's replacement, and Mercedes will be making an official announcement soon. After such a long stint under the same chief, it will be interesting to see whether Mercedes design changes, and if so, how those changes will be received by the public.
[Source: Autoweek]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Phil L. @ Mar 26th 2008 7:58AM
So... Mercedes now has the opportunity to Bangle their designs, too.
Of course, notoriety has its benefits. Bangle rates a Wiki page; Pfeiffer doesn't.
Petar Bogdanov @ Mar 26th 2008 8:09AM
Is it just me or are none of the listed particularly good-looking cars? O_o
Kevin @ Mar 26th 2008 12:49PM
You're entitled to your opinion, of course, but mine is that it's just you. :P The W126 in particularly is an exceptionally good looking car, even more so after being modernized a bit with larger wheels and a bit of a drop (~1.5" F&R) to bring the fender gap more in line with some modern cars.
These two, for example:
http://img292.imageshack.us/img292/2997/560selwv5.jpg
http://img246.imageshack.us/img246/1125/560sechn4.jpg (2nd one rehosted from mercedesclub.ca so as not to nuke their bandwidth. The image is owned by someone over there)
The two-tone body molding isn't all that attractive, but it was monotone on some later cars... but I mean other than that, they're good looking cars. They don't have the sleek, aerodynamic look of a lot of new cars do, but I like them.
And the W124 (the "original E class" that Dan refers to) isn't a bad looking car either, especially when it's a 500E:
http://img296.imageshack.us/img296/5929/500erb0.jpg (rehosted from VWVortex, again, didn't want to nuke their bandwidth)
But maybe it's just me. ;)
John Johnson @ Mar 26th 2008 8:13AM
"Peter Pfeiffer"
^ROFL. Now he can go pick pecks of pickled peppers.
accord745 @ Mar 26th 2008 8:23AM
haha -- that was the first thing that crossed my mind when i first read the article
ronbailey @ Mar 26th 2008 9:11AM
Dammit, John, you beat me to the punch...
Version 1.0 @ Mar 26th 2008 8:24AM
Looking forward to newer designs... Maybe some that, well, aren't so similar on ALL models...
Ken @ Mar 26th 2008 8:39AM
Hey anyone know what car he's sitting in in the pic? It has rear opening doors, no pillar, which they dont offer now, and the interior looks pretty normal, not concept-like....is it a recent concept though or possible design study of a forthcoming model?
Version 1.0 @ Mar 26th 2008 8:38AM
I think its a display only... As you can see on the top, the pillar looks like it has been 'cut' off...
Version 1.0 @ Mar 26th 2008 8:46AM
Oh and to answer your question, its an E-Class...
psarhjinian @ Mar 26th 2008 9:36AM
Of all the people who need to be sh_tcanned at MB, the head of design is not one of them (and yes, I know he's stepping down, not getting fired). Mercedes' cars look just fine.
Start with the Dieter Zetsche, move to the heads of marketing and engineering and wipe out the next 5% below them. Finally, be sure to save a special circle of hell for whomever is responsible for QA.
MARCO @ Mar 26th 2008 10:08AM
GOOD!! Maybe Mercedes can focus on making more "aggressive" sporty designs. And Im not talking about AMG or Black-Series. I think thats the one thing that sets BMW and Mercedes apart. Just look at the difference b/w a stock X5 or 5-series and M-Class or E-Class. Its almost night and day. No wonder alot of "older" and dare I say "women" lean towards Mercedes.
FSM @ Mar 26th 2008 10:10AM
Wow how many executives of his stature stay with a company for so long? My hat is off to him.
Todd @ Mar 26th 2008 10:34AM
They need someone that will revolutionize their designs like what Bangle's awesome designs did for BMW
John B @ Mar 27th 2008 12:00PM
"They need someone that will revolutionize their designs like what Bangle's awesome designs did for BMW"
That's satire I assume.
big L @ Mar 26th 2008 11:06AM
the cl class and S class look too much like cockraches. Partic fromthe rear.
Bring back Bruno Sacco...
Chaz @ Mar 26th 2008 2:53PM
While I did like Sacco's W140 S better, Pfeiffer's designs are those that immediately come to mind as the iron clad, bombproof x00,000 mile MBs. Where W124 is a dead serious, un-killable industrial machine, C219 (CLS) is a sinewy, gorgeous, fluid supermodel that I wouldn't realistically expect to outlast a contemporary Chevrolet.
WebUrs @ Mar 27th 2008 4:03AM
Just saw this, too bad he is stepping down but I am sure they have a good replacement ready.
On another front, I just hope that besides designing nice car the firm gets its online presence in shape, it is so boring that the firm even decided to drop its Second Life island - no visitors came over - failure.
4 Lessons we can Learn from Mercedes-Benz, AOL and Wells Fargo
http://commetrics.com/?p=9
Some more excitement would be nice but if its cars were as boring as its online presence, who would purchase anyhting see here http://Daimler.com
Thanks