New design theme, something has changed

[Wolfgang]

some info about the grill mentioned in another thread may have emerged?

seems to be covered by this US Patent?

 

[Wolfgang]

1, 2 and 4 slat grilles

auto-motor-und-sport.de

 

[K-A]

Hell yeah! Patten that baby! Don't let the competitors steal that amazing 3-Slat grille from the Sport Package W212's (as in drawing).

They've already poorly tried to copy every other formation of the Classic M-B Luxury face.

 

[Wolfgang]

an update on German luxury

"We are pursuing grandeur as the highest form of the aesthetic," Gorden Wagener.

EXECUTIVE EDITION
Ambassador of German luxury

Mercedes design chief explains why he needs more than his current 590 employees

Harald Hamprecht -- Automotive News Europe

Gorden Wagener had a tough challenge when he succeeded longtime Mercedes-Benz design head Peter Pfeiffer in 2008. Wagener, a 14-year veteran at the German luxury brand, was tasked with reinventing Mercedes' design to attract younger buyers, while retaining the brand's traditional values. Wagener, 42, explained his philosophy and goals to Automotive News Europe Editor-in-Chief Harald Hamprecht.

What have been the most important changes since you started your current job?

Since design is the instrument that orchestrates the brand, we have defined a new design philosophy that goes hand-in-hand with the core statement of our brand philosophy "The Best or Nothing."

What values does your design represent?

Mercedes-Benz Design – as we simply call our philosophy – always conveys our known values, such as safety and quality, status, perfection, responsibility and environmental sustainability. At the same time, we rely on innovation – so we link tradition and the future together.

What is the innovation?

More strongly than before, our new philosophy accentuates the theme of beauty and, going further, grandeur, as the highest form of the aesthetic. We are pursuing a classic ideal of beauty. We want to build the most beautiful, sensual and stylish cars. Mercedes-Benz style as a synonym for the certitude of style. That's why it's no accident that we orchestrate our brand with design, with sculpted objects, such as our aesthetics series. Brand and design are the best protection from copying that you will find in the industry.

How important the so-called "green luxury?"

In the future, there won't be luxury without green, without social and political correctness. You show responsibility, are more open, less confining, socially accepted. We have already demonstrated this with our Blue Zero concept car. And we are expressing it with contoured forms that are inspired by nature and that express themselves in aerodynamics and efficiency. But as the technology leader, our technology must also be visually convincing and it must be done in a high-tech way, so that it is recognizable in our headlights, for example. That is a symbiosis of technology and beauty that is also derived from the historic vehicles of our brand.

Will you dig out still more ideas from the past, such as the gullwing door?

Mercedes will never build retro models, at most a modern interpretation like the SLS. The G class is an example of an icon that you could carefully reinterpret, but I won't reveal more at this point.

The new A- and B-class family will undergo a major change. What can we expect there?

Our new generation of compact cars permits us to have many variations. The replacement for the A class alone will be a quantum leap in sportiness, with a surge in its sideline resembling a predatory animal, a typically expressive Mercedes grille, and a hood that should be the longest in the segment. We want to appeal to significantly younger customers with our new entry-level models and so we have moved ahead very boldly. The further we move up in the portfolio, the calmer we become.

VW head designer Walter de' Silva says that design is more important than marketing.

I can only underscore that. Design is the orchestration of all brand values. Design goes hand-in-hand with the brand philosophy. Our sales and marketing chief Joachim Schmidt is the protector of the brand, and that's the reason we work very well together as partners. We are pursuing the same interests.

How big is your worldwide design team?

About 430 in Sindelfingen, more than 100 in our four other car studios around the world – in Carlsbad, California; Lake Como, Italy; Yokohama, Japan; and Beijing, China. We also can't forget the 60 people working worldwide on design for the Mercedes truck group. Compared with the competition, we have the most employees in design.

Will the number increase?

We still certainly need a few people in the area of graphics development and implementation quality. In our COO, Wolfgang Bernhard, I have a strong ally who is driving quality to an unprecedented level. But we generally have efficiency goals and design as well. And it is a normal management task to continually optimize the budget. But we are not saving at the expense of the future. The best example: the China advanced design studio is already under construction.

Are two studios in Asia necessary?

Both Japan and China are important markets for Mercedes, and our work certainly isn't declining at all. In September, we will officially open our studio in China, which so far has merely been an office. We are looking for a full-sized studio that ought to be as large as our U.S. studio, meaning it would house 30 people. In Tokyo, we will keep our 20 people and perhaps give them other work. Interior and graphics design especially plays a major role there.

How are things proceeding at your U.S. studio?

We are very well positioned there. Since we moved from Irvine to Carlsbad in 2008 we have three times more space. This expansion was necessary, not least of all to soak up influences from our important U.S. market. We now employ 25 staff there, and that is a good figure.

Are there special influences from the U.S. market that have flowed into Mercedes design?

It's generally true that we have a global Mercedes design. And we don't want to permit any local variations. We're traditionally considered to be the ambassadors of German and European luxury. Our brand stands for style leadership. At most, I can imagine some special features in the interior. For example, we are working on a red silk interior, which certainly would go over well in China.

And now you are also working on helicopters.

Yes, that is the most recent example of our Mercedes-Benz Style project, our product design branch, for helicopters, boats, furniture and much more. We launched the business in May 2010 and want to expand it with select partners.

How is it that you lured Karim Habib from BMW to Mercedes, then he returned to BMW barely two years later with all the collected knowledge about your future?

It shows me how our competition is extremely interested in our design competency.

You can reach Harald Hamprecht at hhamprecht@crain.com.

Read more: http://www.autonews.com/article/20110622/ANE/110629994#ixzz1hfYkp13L

http://www.auto-motor-und-sport.de/...ls-markenzeichen-3087449.html#fotoshow_item=1

 

[Gianclaudio]

This is why the E-Class, even though it shares the current trend of very complex and brutal forms very much, has more cohesion to me, as it all follows one path: Extreme angled/wedge in all aspects, all focusing and wrapping into the very angular and imposing front end.

+1!
That's why it doesn't work without the AMG sport package. (What were they thinking when they put those round dual foglights in the SE trim? )

The CLS, SL, SLK don't have that cohesion, with their smooth, round asses and angualr faces.

And the ponton lines on the W212 work b/c they're a homage to the W120, but what's the reason behind those fuzzy lines in the CLS and B Class?
Mercedes designers should realize that they're working for oldest, most respected car maker and not for Hyundai.

 

[K-A]

I agree. To me the W212 was the limit as to how "expressive" M-B should go with the lines. At least on that car, they're rigid, strong, and straight, which keep up with the classic M-B ideals.

Then the CLS comes out with a line practically oddly placed onto the side, starting from a completely pointlessly random place on its rear fender bulge, and the B-Class is just preposterous with the line-play. Wagener said things will get "calmer as you move up the model line".... One can only hope.

I also like the Ponton line on the W212 and think that they work. The Hyundai comparison is spot on because Hyundai are actually at the forefront right now of fuzzy lines-play. M-B wants to copy that?

 

[Gianclaudio]

And don't forget Hyundai's bulbous, protuberant headlights that seems to have influenced SL's and SLK's headlights. You can see the light casing when viewing the car from the rear 3/4's

IMHO, the CLS's rear doors with all those crashing lines is Merc's worse design EVER.

Regards!

 

[K-A]

And don't forget Hyundai's bulbous, protuberant headlights that seems to have influenced SL's and SLK's headlights. You can see the light casing when viewing the car from the rear 3/4's

IMHO, the CLS's rear doors with all those crashing lines is Merc's worse design EVER.

Regards!

Wow, we think very alike my friend!!!! LOL.

I agree about the CLS's rear doors!! WORST DAMN DESIGN ELEMENT!! Completely amateur. Sad thing is, I love the CLS other than that little but huge detail! "Crashing lines": Perfect way to put it, I couldn't have said it better myself. Completely throws off the side view of the car, and makes it look shorter and stubbier to boot (worst thing you can do really).

I can't believe you can see the headlights of the SL/SLK from the 3/4 view?! One thing I always pay VERY close attention too, regarding M-B headlights are how they are always slim and flush. Japanese/Korean/American generic cars ALL have these hideously bulbous lights that protrude out. I never got how that in any way can be perceived as sexy or stylish in the least. It is very said to hear that M-B is embarking on that? I gotta analyze them now and hope that M-B's approach to that "look" is somehow different.

 

[Wolfgang]

A few more bulbous lights may be in the pipeline already with the new A-Class (W176), which should be the last model of the Peter Pfeiffer area of Mercedes design, before we'll supposedly see the new design created under Gorden Wagener.

The pictures are from the patents leaked earlier.

 

[K-A]

Holy crap, I can't believe it. Generically cheap bulbous Japanese-esque lights have made their way onto Mercedes-Benzes. Antithesis to Teutonic design.

 

[Gianclaudio]

Lol, yeah K-A.

I'm searching the SLK pics where the protruding headlights are easy to identify, but I saw the car IRL at a local fair last september. Believe me it looks so Toyota Land Cruiser it almost hurt my eyes. (And even worse, the dealer brought a non AMG version, with very small rims and that pig ugly front fender)

Here is a picture of the SL where you can manage to see the bulbous lights:


And what's even worse, there seems to be a lot of space between the led stripe and the glass housing, which will make the housing look even bigger:

Hyundai/Toyota design to their finest

PS1: Thanks Wolfgang for the pics, they exactly show what I'm trying to explain.
PS2: The "crashing lines" phrase came from my neighbor's E90 BMW, which has just been hit in the rear door and the result looks a lot like a CLS's door, haha.

 

[K-A]

Lol. Someone I know actually said that at a certain angle it looks like the CLS got struck at the rear of the door.

Same actually can apply to the E-Class, with its hard indents, however, at least on the E-Class the indents look more uniformed.

 

[klier]

Here is a picture of the SL where you can manage to see the bulbous lights:

It won't be noticeable in real life, and I think it serves an aerodynamic purpose. Lots of cars have it, yet you don't notice it in real life. This is a BMW 5er:

 

[K-A]

The 5ers isn't very bad. I'm talking about those definitely un-functional, protruding/clunky/mutant headlights you see on Hondas and Toyotas and the like. They're like "designed" to be clunky for some stupid reason. I do prefer a more shallow/flush look, but the example of the 5er is ok in my book. It's still a smooth piece without any stylistic bulges, etc. that shouldn't be on premium headlights.

 

[Wolfgang]

The GL shows a slight bulge as well from certain angles. Not bad IMHO.

 

[Wolfgang]

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[Wolfgang]

Compact product manager Natanael Sijanta explained the new headlights in an interview on Motor-Talk.
Says they have 'Fackel - Optik' because they glow like a torch with daylight high beam?
Other models may receive similar lights in the future.

 

[Gianclaudio]

This is a nightmare! When they're going to stop?

 

[Sovereign]

I think that bulge on headlights was first introduced by Mercedes Benz with W220. It was subtle compared to todays interpretations but the light clusters were protuding outside and were not flush like on previous Mercedes models. In my opinion the Japanese and Koreans not only copied W220 light clusters design on their model but took it to extreme which unfortunatelynow Merc is copying back in extreme form. W220 light clusters were beautifuuly styled by Mr. Sacco's team. The new cluster designs doesnt suit Mercedes at all and I dislike their every new model that is coming out. Every other carmaker from far east used to copy Mercedes designs and now its the exact opposite....what a pity in my humble opinion.

 

[Wolfgang]

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