Walter de Silva is a man who knows a thing or two about styling; after all, he is in the business for the last 40 years.
The Italian designer has worked at the I.DE.A institute under award-winning architect Renzo Piano, who designed the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris and the New York Times Building. In the automotive field, he has some pretty impressive designs in his long resume such as the Alfa Romeo 156, the Seat Tango concept, the Audi A5 and the VW Scirocco.
De Silva, who joined Audi in 2002 to become VW Group’s head of design overseeing all brands from Skoda to Bugatti in 2007, believes that the “overdesign” school, which began with BMW's Chris Bangle and his "flame surfacing" that has since been adopted by many automakers, is becoming obsolete.
“We are convinced that the long period of overdesign, too many lines, too much styling is dropping down”, de Silva told Automotive News on the sidelines of the VW Up launch in Tokyo.
The 61-year old Italian believes that simple, clean design, as showcased by VW's latest models like the Golf, is the way to go because it stands the test of time much better.
“People want to understand what they buy”, explained de Silva who has adopted this principle in the VW Group newest models. “There is a certain security in our design. When you know that it keeps the resale value, it’s important for a family. That’s our intention”, he added.
While we don’t profess to know better than signore de Silva, our take is that the styling of his best automotive creation so far, the Alfa Romeo 156, is anything but simple with its bold details, even if it doesn’t hold its resale value as well as VW rivals, but then again, that has nothing to do with the car's design…
By Andrew Tsaousis
18 Comments:
SO THAT'S WHY THE NEW GOLF LOOKS LIKE CRAP
BS, it's a lame way to defend VW's underdesign, maybe this guy should retire because if you want to see how a VW designer can perform when he's not in one of de Silva's emotion cancelation chambers, all you need to do is to look at Kia's new models.
Volkswagen is for the boring people. They are just trying to save money for not making something new and cool.
And i agree with him.
he is so right.
One of the best car designers in history...
I claiming BS here....you can have clean design without being boring.....VWs current car lineup looks like generic cars that you see in bank ads....or cartoons..its not about overstyling a car or so many lines and details that you dont know what the hell is going but when it looks lazy thats a different story..
Psh, want to see timeles and clean designs ? Look at the Lexus IS, at the last gen. Subaru Legacy, at the Cadillac ATS, at the second gen Ford Mondeo and first gen Mazda 6, at the Alfa 159 and so on. VW is just beige.
boring is boring. cars must have emotional appeal. in opposition, everything would be square shaped vans.
Hmm, funny, I've heard of Chris Bangle, but I've never heard of this guy no matter how much I follow the world of automobiles. For someone who continually gets lambasted for turning BMW into what essentially became a household name and not just a German car company, his infamous legacy still lives on and evidence of his vision can still be seen in cars around the world.
What's happening to new cars today is a simplification based on not just new trends, but more so a more cost-effective way to build cars and turn a bigger profit.
The new Golf doesn't look simple in a Bauhaus sort of way, it looks simple in a disappointing sort of way.
Simple and clean is good, but this is just boring, faceless and dull. That is one way to kill the hot-hatch!
At least that confirms that VW design was uk fashionable last year...
So..., the Golf 6 is also overdesigned????? Because 7 looks underdesigned even compared to its predecessor... Like UP or old Panda...
LOOK AT THE GOLF FRONT FACE AND LOOK AT THE DESINGER FACE . WHAT IS COMMON ? THEY LOOK THE SAME
.
Yeah, Alfa Romeo 156...the good old days, when De Silva knew how to design cars. It seems that since Mr. De Silva started working for VW has forgotten how to design excinting cars...Perhaps he can't get all the freedom to draw what he really wants and he suffers the dictates of the leadership, who just wants boring cars. His talent is truly wasted.
I think Alfa is far..far away in design if compared to VW. Alfa has more soul.
The Alfa 156 was gorgeous, the VW Golf 7 is not.. Not necessarily due to the designer, but to the culture of the company which employs him. VW simply doesn't value good design - it DOES value profit though and so it's designs will never scare the horses. I'd never buy a VW because, like many people, I think they're boring but that what some consumers want.
I agree with Da Silva on the lasting design topic.
Being conservative in automotive design ensures that your vehicles are liked by most people – sure, there won't be many who "love" your designs, but even less who "hate" them – and that's precisely the goal Volkswagen wants to achieve in trying to become the world's biggest car company – one page taken clearly out of Toyota's playbook.
Regarding agressive styling, it definitively becomes obsolete faster than conservative styling since it is usually a trend, a fad of the times. Thus, cars can be perceived (subjectively) as old when you know its styling was a trend back in the days, as opposed to plain vanilla styling, which you can't easily tell its age; and that translates into better resale value.
Simple and clean might be the way to go, but no one mentioned less attractive. The problem is that it looks dull and lacks personality. In terms of styling, you can't even place it in the 80's, as a retro wannabe, not to mention in these days. It looks boring, and nobody wants a boring car. Yes, a regular Golf can be used to carry groceries and pick the kids from school, but when one decides to buy a GTI it means that he wants to be different in some way, he expects more from the car and he wants the car to stand out, more or less, to be out of the ordinary. A GTI is not your average Golf and it shouldn't look average. Historically, the Golf is Volkswagen's best selling model, and it's a shame it ended up looking like this. It reflects no volume, as if it was assembled straight from the drawing board, with no further carving. Perhaps it will overthrow the old Honda Accord as one of the most stolen cars, because it looks so common and thieves love that. And it's not only about the Golf. Passat, Jetta and all the other "cars of the people" are in the same pot, it makes no difference you own a Passat or a Jetta, they all look the same. Brilliant engineering, but poor imagination..
Post a Comment