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German Minister To Country’s Automakers: Make A Sexy, Tesla-Like Electric Car
NOV 19 2018 BY DOMENICK YONEY 26
Sexy sells!
Beauty, it’s said, is in the eye of the beholder, but when most people look at eco-friendly cars, good looks are not necessarily the first thing that comes to mind. Take the BMW i3. (Please!) One automaker, Tesla, has actually chosen the names of its models to spell out the word “S–3–X–Y,” and seems to have taken the tack that appealing cars sell and so attempts to bake beauty into its designs. Now, a German government minister has challenged the automakers of his country to follow suit.
More about German EV design
Peter Altmaier, whose official title is Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy, was sitting on a panel discussing artificial intelligence (AI) recently when he decided to let his feelings about the aesthetic efforts toward electric vehicles of German automakers be known. Said he (translated from German):
I really wonder when you, Mr. Zetsche, or you, Mr. Diess, or Mr. Krüger of BMW will be able to get an electric car built, which is only half as sexy as one by Tesla. As far as the attractiveness of your e-cars is concerned, you could actually come up with some fresh ideas.
Only Volkswagen’s Herbert Diess appears to have been in attendance and he didn’t appear to give a direct response. While no doubt some might consider the criticism unfair, we believe he makes a valid point. Although the recently unveiled Audi e-tron, and Mercedes EQC aren’t exactly setting the world on fire, they could be worse. The BMW iNext? Well, our mothers told us if you don’t have anything nice to say…
Joking aside, we would point out to the minister that Volkswagen has shown some very appealing EV concepts that we hope keep their sex appeal intact on the way to production. Porsche, in particular, has done quite well with the Taycan and Mission E Cross Turismo (which is now confirmed for production). Maybe we are just being overly optimistic, but the truth is that sexy sells and to move electric vehicles off of dealer’s lots, automakers will need to sharpen their pencils. It’s either that or concede the market to those that do.
Source: Spiegel via Business Insider
Categories: BMW, Daimler, General, Tesla, Volkswagen
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26 Comments on "German Minister To Country’s Automakers: Make A Sexy, Tesla-Like Electric Car"
“I really wonder when you, Mr. Zetsche, or you, Mr. Diess, or Mr. Krüger of BMW will be able to get an electric car built, which is only half as sexy as one by Tesla.”
DAMN! That is quite the slap down of the German auto biz.
Speaking Truth to Power (and to the trolls)!
Isn’t the Porsche Taycan more than half as sexy as a Tesla?
yeah, it might be about 1/2 of sexy as a tesla. maybe.
Speculawyer said: “…DAMN! That is quite the slap down of the German auto biz.”
———–
Agreed.
“… get an electric car ***built***, which is only half as sexy as one by Tesla.”
Concepts of concepts at this point are of negative value.
The Truth will always Hurt , However, I believe this is Constructive Criticism . If they’re Smart they will take this as Good Honest Advice & Get On with It ! ! .. 🙂 .
just last year, Merkel went after the car companies and told them to move to EVs. That is also when the subsidies started.
No more buckteeth!! /s
No More Beaver Tooth ..lol…Eat a Beaver …, Save a Tree ! … ….Ha Ha ha .. 🙂
Can we at least get rid of the large radiator grilles on EVs?
We have bigger fish to fry.
well, you can no longer do it on the engine heads.
At least not on Tesla.
Or Baby let’s Cruise like GM:
https://techcrunch.com/2018/11/19/gms-self-driving-unit-cruise-is-expanding-to-seattle/?yptr=yahoo
with musical accompaniment:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WlzY6cWpoMQ
German cars are ugly so it shouldnt be that difficult. Just hire someone from Sweden or Italy, hell anywhere but germany or UK.
this is getting funnier by the minute.
It’s not only about exterior looks, I am quite sure Peter Altmeier meant more attributes like :
range, price, handling, top-speed, acceleration, consumption, usability (cargo, passenger space) rather than just “sexy design”.
iPhone has been all that you said plus design.
Exterior looks matter 100%
98%
I love my MS, we have two, we want to like the Model X but was not way, I imagine how well the MX would do with a more appealing exterior design, I think it would sell more than the model S. Design is important and is time for Tesla to bring a designer from Aston Martin/Jaguar like.
They brought one from Volvo. They got it right eith Model S but not with X and 3.
Weirdly the Model is a car from 2012, I still remember that moment, really looked like a car from the future.
actually, the X is probably the best of them all.
Franz was the designer at Mazda, and who’s “design language” still influences Mazda and Ford vehicles, which look pretty sexy to me.
I like the S quite a bit, and the 3 very well, also. The X has grown on me, but it’s not the best looking of the three.
i see an indefinite craving from designers of the ever recurring ” grill” design of new cars .See above picture of new BMW.
Why oh why does an EV need a GRILL ?????????? you can hide it also UNDER the car or in the doorpanels .!!It is based on oldfashioned behaviour and thinking a car needs to be recognised as a particular brand.
Perhaps when a new and renegade designer comes to the conclusion that a radical new design also sells be it as really revolutionary design.Drop all old thinking and start from scratch .Why does a car need a bonnet ?? or why does it still have mirrors ,a moving steeringwheel etc .
Go on designers you know the song of the X ambassadors Renegades ………..
German automakers need to stop imitating traditional ice cars when building an electric car. Get rid of the fake sound. Get rid of the fake Grill (buck teeth, inspired by a beaver). You don’t need a gear shift or instrument clusters in an electric and soon-to-be autonomous vehicle. I hope they take what he said as constructive criticism.