I have a theory that Volkswagens should be angular. Angular cars look fresh and tidy, organized and decisive.
After five hundred years of the Beetle, the Bauhaus style becomes VW’s salvation. The sleek Giugiaro Golf and Passat of the seventies set the tone that will make the music quite long and catchy. This came to an end in the 1990s. Volkswagen opts for softer, rounder shapes. The Golf III is a soft egg compared to its Bauhaus-like predecessor. It does well, but only lasts six years, while the II lasts eleven years. After that, the Golf IV is again an old-fashioned, sleek masterpiece.
Action is reaction in the evolution of form at Volkswagen. The Golfs and Passats follow each other in an alternation of harder and softer lines, and the square twists are always the better cars. From 2004 onwards, under the new design chef Murat Günak, milk is added to the coffee again, and once again the softening of the hard line is not going well. After three years, the VW management sends Günak away. Then VWs become tight as a monkey again. The frisky lines and chrome disappear, order is restored.
This year history is repeating itself. Design chef Klaus Zyciora, a master of his trade, is sent away. He is the big man behind the ID models that have not gone down well on the market and I understand that. There’s something lame about those cars. ID.4 and ID.5 do not radiate power with those seasick waves. The consumer thinks so too. At the VW factory in Emden, production of the ID.4 had to be scaled back earlier this year, while the angular Passat also built there continues to sell steadily. Here the Skoda Enyaq does significantly better than the ID.4 and the reason is clear. The Skoda is more VW than the VW. It has all the right angles. The expression looking sharp perfectly expresses the appeal of Skoda’s design. The straight-line T-Roc, on the other hand, is doing well at VW. It was in the top three of best-selling cars in Germany last year. That is not just because it is not electric, it is still a hard recommendation for many less progressive Germans. I don’t care for the concept, but it’s good, concise stuff.
And lo and behold, VW is once again changing course. The brand will be showing in Hamburg in March this year the ID.2, the first concept created under the leadership of the new design chief Andreas Mindt. You see the message: back to normal, people. It’s old-school VW again, straight forward, Golf-like sleek with a nice wide C-pillar, a nod to the Golf IV. I, an ex-Golf IV driver, immediately like him.
Do you understand? The straight line is Wolfsburg’s most valuable asset.
For VW’s sake, I sincerely hope I’m wrong. According to my theory, the big, massive ID.7, a kind of flattened ID.5, can never be the success that they so desperately need in Wolfsburg. But I fear with fear.
Speaking of angles; I went crazy when I came across this site the first images of BMWs new class saw. That car has all the brilliant sharpness of Bertone designs from the 1970s, or Giugiaro’s first Golf. I dare to predict that the BMW will be a huge hit, regardless of the price. I have already started saving. Do you see? Nothing against Ducks and Beetles, but tight is almost always better.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl