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Just Drive She Said.

Who is designing cars for me, the Mid Gen X who grew up on the birth of the Internet, console games, new wave and an anything goes freedom never felt by any other generation? I’m talking about people who feel the Beatles are not classic rock but closer to geriatric rock, and Deep Purple is a colour not a band. We, on the early end, lived the Jam, Wham or Depeche Mode and on the young end, still constantly look for the next new band. So-called retro cars are all the rage now with each of the American manufacturers offering their rendition of muscle. Funny how retro means different things to different people. To me it means the ’80s; to the car makers it means the ’60s. Even a couple of the import companies had chimed in with remakes. I wonder though, in all that these cars stand for, reflect through their design, or conjure images of, how are they supposed to relate to me?

Drive my car.

Cars like the Camaro, Mustang, Chevy HHR, PT Cruiser and Challenger are all my dad’s cars, better relegated to sock hop playing AM radio station cruise nights than my driveway. The peace, love and flower power of the mini and the Bug, my mother’s cars, just don’t chime with where I am going. People this age, being in their sixties or seventies are not buying new cars to relive some part of their lives any more. Also not considered by these examples, less in the Mini and Bug, is the relationship between the vehicle’s performance and the way my generation lives, grows and attains the things we deem as valuable. We don’t do as our parent did. That eye on the prize, one way, straight line reach out and grab it style of life and learning. We are more about round about routes to what we want, multiple paths to a goal which isn’t clearly defined but grows as we learn and grow. We change direction at a whim and are comfortable with our choices, good or bad. We look for cars which reflect this. Going 0-60 fast a quarter mile at a time is not interesting to us. We want to feel secure going around corners as a reflection of our lives and lifestyle choices.

Don’t you want me.

Then there are the models which came into their own during the ’90s and are still in production now. I’m talking of the Civic and Accord, the Mazda 3, Lancer, Pontiac G5/Chevy Cobalt which as far as I can tell is a Z24. Sure they grew up, got more sophisticated, lost some of their cheapness, and inexpensiveness. But I sure didn’t put posters of them up on my wall back in the ’80s wishing I was cruising to school in one. Like most gear heads my age, I dreamed of a Lamborghini Countach or the Magnum PI Ferrari. I envied those with jobs who drove a Nissan 280ZX or a Toyota Supra. I wanted the bike from Akira with all the technology of a Q masterpiece. After waiting 20 years could my dreams be answered? From first glimpse at the Tokyo Motor Show in 2001 of the square jaw and open mouth, to the 2005 concept car which by now looked as if it were a real transformer, I held my breath they would bring it here.

A new orphan urban integrated.

The Nissan Skyline was an unattainable pinnacle of Japanese power. It was shown off in tuner magazines before the term tuner even existed. My stomach knotted up and my lip curled just thinking about the Skyline and how it was the one car, where no matter how much I earned, I could never have living in North America. Guys in Japan pounding out 1000HP from an R32 car that looked the business. Just looking at the car you could tell it did corners, and that you could probably intimidate anyone with American muscle into giving up at the line before even launching. When the fifth generation R34 design came out it was a sleek brick of a car with low stance that looked like it was hunkered down to the road. From the flared fenders and strong hip line to the massive intakes in all the right places the design said fast. When you looked at the lines of the car, you could see the earlier models. You saw where the car came from. And, you could see the way in which its boxy form seemed to have been sculpted by speed so fast it had melted the solid steel into its final shape. This was a car that could seat four, had a trunk big enough to fit a sub box and a rack of amps and still have room to spare.

Robot High School.

When the Z roadster became a stylish poster vehicle for the Nissan’s turnaround, nobody knew what a Nissan was supposed to be. Now, Nissan’s brand is much less muddied, and the GT-R is more likely to refine, rather than redefine, the company’s image. The new GT-R is boxy, with thick, chunky rear haunches and flared front-wheel well arches. Shiro Nakamura, the chief creative officer of Nissan, has noted that the GT-R’s square lines and vents were influenced by Gundam robots. “The GT-R is unique because it is not simply a copy of a European-designed supercar, it had to really reflect Japanese culture.” He directed three design studios, one in Europe, one in North America, and one in Japan to dream up the next version of the vehicle. American designers contributed a more rounded set of contours on the rear three-quarters of the vehicle, softening the stark, flat trunk lines which were drawn in Japan. The European designers influenced the roof line of the car, adding a hard kick in the C-pillar unlike in any other current Nissan vehicle. “There are no big cues for Nissan here,” says Nakamura. “This one will stand alone, because the GT-R is built from its own design language.” The company Polyphony Digital, creators of the Gran Turismo series of racing video games, were involved in the development of the GT-R, having been contracted to design the GT-R’s multifunction display.

Baby Driver.

I’m looking forward to having some time with this car as I really like the lines, the weight and the overall form of its sculpture. The way in which a sculpture leaves the ground is as important as the sculpture itself. I am also looking forward to seeing if the in-car computer display goes that extra mile and forges a new path. I am interested to see if the interface was as thought out as the rest of the car. Too often the correlation between the virtual and the physical is ignored or left as a side thought. Done right, and this will be the car to redefine cars. If Nissan and Polyphony Digital put half as much thought into the interface of the multifunction display as was put into the form of the vehicle, this car will mark a point where super cars will be described as before GT-R or after GT-R.

The economy of design.

Strange I would start an article about cars by talking about the Interior Design Show, but it goes to a point. I had the opportunity to go to IDS last week, as I do every year, and this year was a sad one for design. It all started this winter at IIDEX the largest design show in Canada and the Formula 1 of showing off. This year was, to say the least, like watching a couple of teenagers race shopping carts down a ramp. The innovation was gone. It was like someone said, ‘Oh no the economy is crashing don’t look too flashy!’ This theme of low key sadly went from the Haute couture of design shows to the more provincial IDS show. Standard faire abounded at both. The usual suspects showed up, but only in person, with only the staples of their business on display knowing full well that tried and true will sell. What chance did the auto manufacturers have, hat in hand looking for money, to be able to glitz up their products with great displays at their most important Canadian show?

Import-ant knowledge

It was almost as if an ocean apart from the woes of their own crisis gave the imports leave to be somewhat flamboyant. I really think they just ‘get’ design and it’s ability to do more than just style something. Nissan, Honda, Mitsubishi, Toyota all had bright open airy booths with views to the future. There was no hint at recession, rather they used their misfortune of being in a business driven by the cost of oil as a mantra to show off the challenges they would champion through the superiority of innovation, creation and vision. Standing inside the Honda booth, or Nissan, you felt like there was a bright future ahead and you were already in it. You couldn’t help but be enveloped by the experience. From the shape of the walls, to the detail colours, from the materials and elevation texture, everything set off their products and made them stand out. More than that, as a whole experience package, you were left reaching for your wallet in order to be part of this wonderful future where the dismal goings on of real life couldn’t penetrate. Design touched everything and was consistent with the same message, ‘the bright clean future beyond the short term challenges’. The European offerings were not too far afield of the Japanese, their booths, as bright, yet somewhat less futuristic, gave a great sense of ‘it ain’t so bad’ attitude. A Stoic, ‘we will endure’ feeling which showcased their engineering marvels in a clean minimalist now-future.

De-sign of the times

The effect of the overall visual presentation by the North American car companies was very very different. Their booths were like fogs where even though they were brightly lit, made you feel like the weight of their woes were squarely set on your shoulders. In the case of Chrysler, it wasn’t even lit well. A black curtain back drop, a few plant and signs made it feel like a community cruise night. There was no bright future, no better tomorrow, no joi de vivre. It was as if so much as a handful of glitter might draw unwanted attention by the media. I can understand the point, no matter how misguided, of not wanting to seem like scarce money was being wasted, was translated into minimalist booths. But, the one place we expected to find a reachable American dream was devoid of any excitement.  Although smiles abound, and new shiny products were displayed and talked about with vigour, something behind the scenes made it all feel like hushed tones. Booths, when actually there, were flat and fairly sparse in their groupings. Duo or tri-tones were only used in so far as to portray company colours and green to show concern for the environment. Overhead dynamics and movement were ridged and didn’t help to draw the eye or body towards the parking lot style layout of their offerings. A bit more was given to new releases in the form of their own display backdrop, or turntable but nothing too gregarious. Standing in one of these booths left me feeling like I didn’t want to be part of their problems. It was like arriving late at a party where someone had just punched a hole in the wall.

The story of E²

What they all had in common was their focus on the economic crisis and the environment. Although different approaches, technologies and visual presentations, the message was the same. ‘There are tough times ahead but our products are better for the environment, better for the future, better for your children.’ As mentioned, the imports wrapped their message tightly into their whole brand image. Everything revolved around what they will do after the crisis abates and how they are going to help you bridge it. The domestic companies had islands of environmental consciousness surrounded by pickups, SUV’s and muscle cars, seemingly unwilling to take the whole future thing into the heart of their business model. You would think that after having seen what the Japanese accomplished in the 70’s, they would be quick to pick up on the cues of what everyone else is doing now. Again, the European approach to showcase new technology was to rest on the superiority of their engineering.

The different types of technology shown was interesting in that unlike the gas powered engine, several different methods of creating electricity for power are actually viable. There was even a system which captures breaking energy, stores it in batteries and uses it to power the electrical systems of the car leaving more engine power for driving. There were pure fuel cell hybrids which turned gasoline into electricity to run the motor. There were pure electric vehicles and electric gas hybrids which use batteries that are topped up by a small gas engine. Every company with a program showed off their technology. Interestingly Honda was the only one who showed it off in a true future concept car which took it to the next level. They explored the users relationship with the automobile and it’s changing economies and visually explored it.

Tragic Vaudeville.

If there is one thing to be learned from the biggest consumer consumption marketing machine, it is that a weak package, with poor experience design, no matter how great the offerings, will fail to inspire people to desire your products.  As with the interior design show, the auto show has numerous components that have to go together to create a compelling experience. There is of course the product and the technology as well as the promotional items. But there is also the lighting design, the texture, movement, walking patterns, points of interest, communal and private areas. All the things of good environmental design, great architecture and usable space. Each of which also have to combine to create an entertainment which draws you in, tells a story with you at the centre, gives you joy and won’t let you leave.

Every aspect needs to be designed. Be it by an industrial designer, environmental designer, graphic artist or architect all working together under one large experience design. The big picture needs to be drawn, planned and executed. Picasso only works because one vision brings it all together.

Who doesn’t love a Muppet?  FAO Schwarz now has a MUPPET WHATNOT WORKSHOP where you can design your own Muppet…  Not only can you design one, they will make it for you and ship it out to you.  The Muppet’s, created by Jim Henson and featured on Sesame Street, The Muppet Show and a number of Movies, have firmly ensconced themselves into the lexicon of culture.  I still refer to my cats as Muppet’s, or if someone is silly, I endearingly call them a Muppet.  They helped to spur a whole industry around children where toys actually looked like something from the imagination of a child and not some scaled down learning tool for future roles in life.  So get your interwebz fired up and head over to make your own. At $90 it is a great buy.