A Gran (Coupe) Affair: Surprises from BMW Design Night
BMW Design Night in Beijing took place Friday evening as the grand finale of the first press day of Auto China in Beijing. And what a grand finale it was. Not only was it the world premiere of BMW’s Gran Coupe concept, but it was also an interesting and educational look at how BMW approaches design.
The event took place at the opulent Park Hyatt Hotel in the Chaoyang District of Beijing.; Local and international media, gathered with BMW engineers, designers and board members under the soaring ceilings of the Hyatt’s moodily styled ballroom.
BMW’s development chief (and member of the board) Dr. Klaus Draeger kicked off the evening with some insight into how important design is to BMW. “Design is access to the customer,” said Draeger, before describing how over 10,000 engineers work hand-in-hand with 300 designers at BMW Group’s headquarters in Munich.
Draeger then called upon BMW’s director of design, Adrian von Hooydonk (AvH) to elaborate on the fundamentals of BMW design. For those who love cars, this was an excellent primer into how car designers think and an opportunity to see the world through the eyes of one the industry’s most import taste makers.
BMW Design DNA is comprised of three elements: proportions, surfaces, and details.; Using the ballroom’s large video screen and some animated elementary shapes (boxes and circles), AvH artfully illustrated how simply moving a cars’ boxy greenhouse backwards can create forward-moving tension and how stretching the wheelbase gives an appearance of stability.
To highlight the importance of surfacing and details, AvH discussed some of the principles of BMW design — design icons he called them. Most of them you already know, like the double kidney grille in combination with double round headlamps. Body-length crease lines and the signature Hofmeister kink of the greenhouse are additional reasons why “a five-year old can recognize a BMW in traffic,” says AvH.
But when you really start to look at the differences in the surfacing and details between BMW models, it becomes clear that designers are not just carrying over things like headlights and grilles for brand identity, but as a way to highlight the individuality of the specific model as well.
Buicks New Baby: Due For US In Late 2011 With A New Name
he new Buick Excelle compact looks set to continue the once-moribund GM brand’s astonishing success story in China. GM China Group president and managing director Kevin Wale says more than 8400 Excelles have been sold since the car’s launch in February. Buick sales in China topped 447,000 units in 2009, and first quarter sales for 2010 are up 50 percent year on year. More than 80 percent of all Buicks made are now sold in China.
“Without China we probably wouldn’t have Buick,” concedes Buick product marketing manager Craig Bierley. But it’s more than just maintaining a storied nameplate — Buick’s success in China is helping GM re-invent the brand in the U.S. Cars like the new LaCrosse, which was partly designed in China, have helped lower the average age of American Buick buyers from 72 to 65. Nearly half those buyers are trading non-GM brands, says Bierley, and 60 percent of those trades are of imports.
The new Regal is expected to lower the average age of Buick in the U.S. even further, though the brand still has a long way to go before it matches China, where the average buyer is a college-educated professional in his low 30s. But Bierley expects the launch of a U.S. market version of the Ford Focus-sized Excelle to accelerate the process.
Like the Regal, the Excelle is based on an Opel design — in this case the C-segment Astra. The Excelle shown in Beijing is a four door hatch, but the U.S. market version will be a four door sedan with uprated powertrains and suspension tuning, and will be built in North America. The U.S. market Excelle will also be renamed, though not with one recycled from the Buick back catalogue. “We have a name,” says Bierley. “It’s a new name.”
Dining on 900 miles of India in a Ferrari 612 Scaglietti
Just last year, Ferrari celebrated its 60th anniversary, a commemoration that included some of the world’s most seductive and imposing road and racecars. From such production models as the 375 MM, 365 GTB4, Testarossa, and 599 GTB Fiorano to such race venues and series as Le Mans, Daytona, IMSA, and Formula 1, Ferrari has had a memorable and triumphant six decades. Suffice it to say, it is an automaker rich in tradition.
It should come as no surprise, then, that, following its China 15,000 Red Miles tour in 2005 and Panamerican 20,000km slog in 2006 — a trek that stretched from Brazil to New York — Ferrari would keep alive its tradition of expeditions. The P.R. journey for 2008? None other than South Asia, namely the Magic India Discovery Tour, an 8200-mile journey that starts in Mumbai on February 25 and, after 12 stages, 50 journalists, and 74 days circumnavigating nearly the entire country, will return to Mumbai.
We’re invited along for stage five, a leg that spans the states of Tamil Nadu to Andhra Pradesh, covering 900-plus miles of southern India. Our journey begins in the coastal city of Chennai, India’s fourth largest metropolis and one that nestles against the Bay of Bengal, about 200 miles due north of Sri Lanka. After departing Chennai, we’ll head inland to the hustle and bustle of the IT mecca of Bengaluru and then north to the city of Hyderabad before making our way back to the eastern seaboard, to the coastal town of Vishakhapatnam.
And the transporter? A 612 Scaglietti, Ferrari’s most luxurious Gran Turismo. Freshened for 2008 with a panoramic electrochromic glass roof, an F1 SuperFast gearbox, and a revised steering wheel adorned with an engine start button and a three-position manettino switch — the latter to adjust the transmission and stability-control system — the 612 received minor but vital alterations for duty in India. The modifications include a slightly raised suspension — about 0.6 inch — to withstand the rough and bumpy roads; a 4mm-thick aluminum underbody protector to guard the mechanicals; and a fine-mesh grille to shield the radiator from debris. Other than that, the two 612s relegated for the undertaking came as stock as those in Beverly Hills and Miami showrooms.
So if you’re ready to explore the magic of India behind the wheel of a Ferrari, please join us for this unforgettable ride. And don’t forget to check back for updates, replete with photo and video highlights.
2008 Nissan GT-R in the wild…and on sale
After the whirlwind couple of days that was the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show, I took the weekend off to hang out with some family that was also visiting Japan.; On a rainy Saturday, we met up at o’dark thirty to check out the legendary Tsukiji fish market. After the freshest sushi breakfast ever, my compadres and I headed to Ginza, the renowned luxury shopping district comparable to Beverly Hills’ Rode Drive.
As we had coffee at Le Cafe Dutor and waited for the Mitsukoshi and Matsuzukaya department stores to open, I noticed some activity at the Nissan Gallery across the street. Nissan is the only major auto manufacturer to keep showroom space on Ginza’s main drag and when I passed through the area a few days earlier, their window display featured the Skyline Coupe (our Infiniti G37).; Today however, the red G37 was gone and in its place were two new sports cars.; Yup, 2008 Nissan GT-Rs.
The showroom wouldn’t open for another hour, so we waited and took note of the setup and activity.; Though it was raining steady, workers hurried tidied up outside and in as best they could – sweeping up the floor and wiping down each car.
In the prime window spot was a GT-R in Ultimate Metal Silver.; Behind it, but still in plain view was another in Vibrant Red.; Above them both, hovered a large lighted sign with a massive stacked GT-R logo and the phrase “The Legend is Real.”
In situations like this, the Japanese say, “Sugoi!”
As we window shopped, we noticed several other people taking notice of the new arrivals as well.; Passersby lingered in the rain with cellphone cameras out; — some staying longer to press up upon the glass.; As the clocked ticked down to the 10am opening time, a small crowd of people gathered by the entrance.; We were among them.
Once inside, I expected to be assaulted by the small army of showroom personnel on hand – don’t touch this, don’t touch that.; Instead, everyone was very friendly and low key.; There was but one sign on display apologizing for any delays that may occur due to crowds, and imploring that any “test rides” (getting inside the car to examine the interior) be done as quickly as possible.
Behind the GT-R sign on the back wall was a large screen showing several action clips and interviews with the father of the GT-R – program manager and chief engineer, Kazutoshi Mizuno.; Once action clip was particularly sexy — the GT-R’s uncut, full length record breaking run at the Nurburgring — all 7 minutes and 38 seconds of it.; I swear I could have watched that all day.
The rest of the show room was pretty clean and tight.; This is Ginza and space doesn’t come cheap.; On the curved aluminum walls, were placards with the pricing information for the three different GT-R trim levels. Between the cars, sat a small display showing the different colors available.; Tucked away upstairs looked to be a small conference room — perhaps for ordering or signing the documents to secure a GT-R straight away?; Probably.
We lingered for a while — taking turns getting in and out of both cars, poking around under hood, and shooting photos until our digicam and biological memory cards were full.; Then we slipped back out in the rain for some more Japanese sightseeing.
The Nissan GT-R goes on sale in the US in June 2008.; I encourage you to be the first to visit the showroom when it arrives.; It’s definitely worth checking out in person.
