Hailing from Europe as i do, it goes with the territory that we assume that the best autmotive design is claimed by us. Not for any other reason than the worlds most coveted cars are still largely European and we love them and like to think that the rest of the world wants to emulate us but i’m starting to see a few weaknesses in the facade.
Europe does produce some stunning pieces of vehicluar art but those little gems are mostly in the very expensive catergory and so slightly irrelevant for most of us.
For the German, French, British, Albanian etc motoring masses it’s more a case of pootling around in something as inoffensive looking as possible. This is what the continential makers do very well, they produce lots of pleasant looking cars and when they can’t think of something suitably generic they raid their heritage and produce a fatter version of the old Fiat 500.
Japanese maunfacturers are so heavily involved in the European market place that they even develop cars that are specifically targeted at the Spanish, Italians, Andorrans etc.
I was thinking today what Japanese car designs i could never find myself in. Purposefully steering clear of some of the home grown shockers (that we should all avoid) available i tried to only consider those models that would be passable to my myself, family and friends here and back home.
Alot passed through my mind including and in order the new Mc Rib by Mcdonalds, George Bush failing the next election, a Suzuki Swift, a new pair of socks, joining a cult, the most BEAUTIFUL pair of breasts, a Nissan Dualis, George Bush eating a cheese burger and Mishal Husain (BBC World anchor) driving the Nissan.
Now whats interesting about this is that i only thought about sex once or possibly twice and they say that the average male thinks about the damnable subject at least once every 10 seconds (i think). This whole thought process took about 3 minutes so i can (and i will) mark myself out as a role model for other men.
Anyway back to the cars, Suzuki’s Swift and Nissan’s Dualis or Qashqai in Europe (i like to think it’s code for cash cow). Both these models were specifically developed for the European punter and have by all accounts been well received.
Examine these two cars and you will notice that they are quite pleasant looking and but totally forgettable, rather like a BBC news reader (excluding Mishal Husain).
Europe prides itself on its clean and sober lines in a car and that is exactly what these two emulate.
Not to say that this is a bad thing but it can be a rather humdrum design philosophy and these days alot of the mainstream European manufacturers produce mostly lots of inoffensive and very generic looking cars.
Japan still arguably leads the world in putting some really rotting metal together but Eastern design is anything but predictable and so when awaiting a new domestic car to break cover you really never know what thing of beauty or appalling beast will make an entrance.
The point of this story and to sum it up is that Japan has the edge on Europe in design and that Japanese consumers are to put it midly more out there,less conservative and more mouldable as a car buying public.
I can’t think of any examples to back this up right now because frankly im tired and this is a blog so i don’t need to try very hard but i’m going to defend my precarious position and write more about this delightful pet subject again so watch this space.
At the time of writing even my computer won’ show the Nissan clearly in the photos below, clearly sharing in my sense of exasperation regarding the aesthetics of the car. I’m loathe to say its anything to do with my IT skills.
Nissan Dualis/Qashqai
Suzuki Swift
