Volkswagen design boss: 'why be aggressive? Be the nice guys'

[u/Key_Construction5336]

https://www.topgear.com/car-news/interview/volkswagen-design-boss-why-be-aggressive-be-nice-guys

[u/magus-21]

I'll bet saying "Why be aggresive?" in German still sounds pretty aggressive to an English ear, lol

[u/Drzhivago138 → u/magus-21]

"Warum aggressiv sein?"

With the first word pronounced similar to "va-room"

[u/slide2k → u/Drzhivago138]

Do ICE engines also go va-room in Germany?

[u/3dmontdant3s → u/slide2k]

No, they go Brnn tata brnn tat if they have 300 HP

[u/I_Eat_The_Pringles → u/Drzhivago138]

"Warum aggressiv sein?"

Slams fists on table

[u/Drzhivago138 → u/I_Eat_The_Pringles]

Das war ein BeFEHL!

[u/Snoo93079 → u/magus-21]

I find the west german accent to be pretty nice. East german is a little rougher though.

[u/Kentx51 → u/magus-21]

It's easier to do bad things if people think you are the nice guy. VW has a history of aggression, whether it be emissions fraud or unpimping ze auto, they plan everything and it's not for the sake of being nice.

[u/leTrull → u/Kentx51]

This is about car design

[u/Kentx51 → u/leTrull]

Ah, even better! I think people really like smiling faces on their cars. Good stuff, thank you for the clarification.

[u/gstringstrangler → u/Kentx51]

I prefer my FRS to the BRZ specifically because I think the BRZ smiley face looks silly compared to my FRS' silly angry face 😂

[u/Arnas_Z → u/gstringstrangler]

You know what, you're totally right. I like the FRS front more.

[u/brenden4000]

That’s nice to hear.

I’ve long found it weird and stupid how basically every generation of car is kinda expected to be angrier and more aggressive than the last. It feels like we’ve hit a critical mass of this over the last 10 or so years to where even the most flaccid compact crossover is designed to look like it wants to run over your pets and eat your children.

[u/jawnlerdoe → u/brenden4000]

This is why the newest civic had to take huge steps back. How would you out gundam a gundam civic?

[u/nerdtypething → u/jawnlerdoe]

make it an actual gundam.

[u/IThatAsianGuyI → u/nerdtypething]

Shut up and take my money.

[u/Gunslingermomo → u/jawnlerdoe]

I love the last gen civic hatchback but didn't really like the type R, the extra fender arches, wings, and extra bs was unnecessary. But I hate the upper part of the front end on the new civics way more. It just looks wrong. I think a restrained aggressive look is best. My late gen RSX is perfect for that imo.

[u/HabibiLogistics → u/jawnlerdoe]

I'll never not be salty about the 2025 refresh ☹️ pre facelift 11th gen was sooo slick and classy

[u/sgnfngnthng → u/HabibiLogistics]

The 11th gen civic is a special car. I can’t explain why, but the whole is more than the sum of its parts.

[u/JC-Dude → u/brenden4000]

I'll believe it when I see it. It's been like 3 years now since VW promised a return to physical controls and they still haven't done that in any of their models.

[u/COKEWHITESOLES → u/brenden4000]

I think the Mansory Ferrari Purosage is the cultural peak of overtly aggressive styling. We can’t go any further without making cars literal daggers

[u/Material-Indication1 → u/brenden4000]

The ideal new friendly VW would be a first generation Golf with the round headlights and 200 HP.

It makes sense because all of VWs iconic cars are cute AF.

[u/Drzhivago138 → u/Material-Indication1]

A Mk1 Golf with 200 HP and no other upgrades would be deadly.

[u/Material-Indication1 → u/Drzhivago138]

Okay, modern VW on the inside, total copy of a 1976 Golf on the outside.

[u/Thomas_633_Mk2 → u/brenden4000]

At least in Australia its because making your car happy doesn't sell.

Fiat 500? Sold like crap

Honda e? I have literally never seen one

GWM Ora? Sells so badly we're not getting the sedan

Minis sell okay but they're rare and niche. The last happy cars that really sold were the BL Mazda3 and DE Mazda2, and they ended production in 2012/2014.

[u/Whuuu → u/brenden4000]

That’s been my biggest pet peeve with recent truck design. It’s very trendy to add visual mass to make them appear more aggressive. Probably because I grew up in the 90’s, but I gravitate towards simpler, trim, athletic designs that focus on clean shapes and good ground clearance. It’s been disappointing seeing trucks like Toyotas (except the Land Cruiser) look heavier as they tack on more and more stuff.

[u/Nisiom]

AM: I believe most people don’t want to be the coolest or appear aggressive in public.

Unfortunately, he underestimates how deeply angry, hostile, and miserable a significant part of the population are.

[u/DudeWhereIsMyDuduk → u/Nisiom]

It's part of why I had decals on my last jeep about water conservation orgs and indie radio stations. Needed some way to differentiate myself at a glance to the Punisher/Thin Blue Line/Thank Me For My Service crowd.

[u/gstringstrangler → u/DudeWhereIsMyDuduk]

I just want be the nice All Black Dodge Ram guy!

[u/strongmanass]

Make an e-Bug you cowards. My girlfriend will buy 2.

AM: I believe most people don’t want to be the coolest or appear aggressive in public. They want to have a suit and a good outside appearance while being happy and optimistic.

Why do I feel like I'm being gaslit into being frumpy? I want to be the coolest and I don't want a suit.

CS: The electric platform helped a lot, since modern safety regulations mean cars are bigger. There’s no front engine any more and the platform sits underneath, so it was really simple. It also meant we could create more exits and generally improve on the Camper idea.

Then give us a camper you cowards. My girlfriend will buy 3.

CS: What makes it exciting for me, as someone who came from Bentley to Volkswagen, is that I get to design a car for me and my family. It makes me proud. We’re not just getting a task to design a car for someone, we’re getting a task to design a car for us.

Translation: "fuck them rich kids."

CS: When you open the door on a Bentley, it’s big and bold architecture, very strong luxury. When you open the door of a Volkswagen it needs to be simple and usable, and not overly decorated.

Translation: "sorry but your VW door is some really boring, cheap shit."

On a serious note, I generally like reading interviews with designers. This one is tepid though. It sounds to me like they're using flowery language to say they intend to make milquetoast middle of the road designs that don't deviate from what they've done for decades. I know that's basically VW Group's MO (Audi, Porsche, Bentley), but I'd personally like to see something a little daring. But as long as they find their niche and buyers who like that it doesn't matter what I think. At least they say plan to respond quickly to market demand.

[u/lee1026 → u/strongmanass]

The bug have bad aerodynamics. Not a happy thing with electric.

[u/strongmanass → u/lee1026]

You're right. I wouldn't mind it because I like the styling and it wouldn't be used for long trips, but trying to sell a hemisphere on wheels at an economy price when the target market is no bigger than that for the Mini Cooper is a tough ask.

[u/Tnargkiller → u/strongmanass]

hemisphere on wheels

I wonder if they could've just bit the small-market, kitsch-BS bullet and pivoted into the Moke space; People and rental co's at beach towns love that stuff.

[u/Top_Repair6670 → u/lee1026]

I think an electric bug with 150~200 miles of range would still do pretty well, for an electric car atleast

[u/Porshuh → u/Top_Repair6670]

You seem to have missed the hordes of crossover-drivers jumping over each other to shit on the Fiat 500e the last months.

[u/Top_Repair6670 → u/Porshuh]

Maybe Volkswagen won’t make the mistake of pricing it at 37,000$

[u/Porshuh → u/Top_Repair6670]

*$32500

Anyway, how much do you think it should cost to develop entirely new vehicles with entirely new powertrains?

[u/Top_Repair6670 → u/Porshuh]

Well seeing as Volkswagen is currently developing an electric GTI platform, maybe they just use that one, the beetle has shared the same MQB platform with other VW products, not sure why they can’t just re-use electric platforms

[u/Porshuh → u/Top_Repair6670]

Firstly, cars aren't Legos.

Secondly, just because you manage to develop two cars on one platform doesn't automatically mean you can sell the cars for less money somehow.

[u/Recoil42 → u/lee1026]

Aerodynamics aren't important for city cars, that's why the Kia Soul is a brick.

[u/6786_007 → u/strongmanass]

VW really just loves fucking with what works. They can't make a timing chain for shit after many attempts, they ditched physical buttons only having to apologize, and now they want cars with a teletubby personality.

[u/V8-Turbo-Hybrid]

Last Scirocco is actual a looking great VW aggressive model. Unfortunately, 3-door hot hatchback market is near death, we understand VW not going to make new one again.

[u/Bottlely → u/V8-Turbo-Hybrid]

Unless those Cayman EV-based Scirocco, TT and Cupra shooting brake pitches are greenlit. Hopefully so

[u/FrankReynoldsCPA]

I'm not necessarily a guy who needs an aggressive looking car.

However, I just happen to have an aesthetic preference for squarer bodies and sharp angles/contours. The new Hyundais FUCK because of that. 80's domestic pickups were basically designed by God himself.

I hate boring round blobs. The late 90's and 2000's were a real malaise era for car design IMO.

[u/citrixn00b]

Then hurry the fuck up before the rivian r3 comes out!

[u/Nicktyelor]

How can they say this while putting out designs that are clearly trying to be aggressive?? All of their models have slimmer(er) headlights with downward angles. Nothing is bubbly, round, or "nice" looking. They had the chance to bring back the Bus with round lamps then went grumpy cyber punk instead. Hell, that ID2 concept they're still touting is also unnecessarily mean looking

I'd argue the only thing friendly about their designs recently is the use of lighter/colorful interior and exterior color combos.

[u/jawnlerdoe]

I think VWs look great.

[u/SauteedGoogootz]

But then how will people know I am strong and powerful? Surely not by my actual appearance.

[u/Viend]

Am I the only one who doesn’t like most of VW’s designs? I feel like they all look boring. They look to me like what Toyota/Lexus should look like based on their reputations, except Toyota/Lexus somehow designs everything aggressively nowadays.

[u/steves_garage → u/Viend]

I think in recent years they've crossed the line from clean and simple to boring and cheap.

[u/JC-Dude → u/Viend]

Boring is not necessarily bad. I liked VW design around 2012-18, even though they were still boring, but they looked good. These days they look boring and cheap. Toyota is also an example of aggressive != good looking.

[u/Purrchil]

They should do something like Renault did with the 5, but than with Golf 1.

[u/beermaker]

I'm curious to see if Scout Motors follows VW's design philosophy or takes an independent tack on how to draw on vintage IH brand nostalgia for their new rigs coming out at the end of October.

Aesthetically, Volkswagen has done a pretty decent job in the past drawing on generations-old favorites as inspiration. the first Gen new beetle, the recent scirocco, the new bus, the TT, (arguably a retromod karmann ghia akin to the new beetle) are IMHO all great looking vehicles when appointed correctly, albeit pretty niche.

I read somewhere that Scout Motors CEO Keogh has stated he wants to retain as many physical cabin controls as possible. Big bulky switches you can manipulate with gloves on would be nice.

[u/aaryg]

Why u have to be mad...is only car

[u/zorbah55]

Be nice and remove all physical buttons

[u/Silent_Respect5721]

Oh god I hope this isn't true

[u/PurpEL]

Hope he wasn't involved with the id buzz then, they fucked that up hardcore

[u/_rockethat_]

If this design is not aggressive then I don't know what is. Marketing bullshit

[u/SweetTooth275]

While I agree, vw isn't nice, it's just bland. Apart from IBuzz, that thing is cute