What helps, according to Mr Bischoff, is that the brand has a soul and that it is shared by all involved in creating the next Volkswagen. This applies to the entire team including Walter Da Silva, another Design God in his own right.
He went on to instruct me that the entire design process represents only 3% of the total manpower required to "make" a new car.
My next question went something like this: "What then, is more important, for Volkswagen on its way to becoming #1? The design or the drive of the Volkswagen?".
"Design and drive are strongly connected." answered Mr Bischoff. Clearly, if VW's next car resembles a Volkswagen yet drives like a John Deere, or vice versa, the group from Wolfsburg might as well shut down the entire operation now.
Looking forward, I asked Mr Bischoff if the common design theme throughout a brand is no more than a passing phase, if it will get old. His answer was twofold. First, he said: "One design level creates a full portfolio". It is true that placing a Polo next to Golf next to Passat and so on and so forth does produce an image of continuity, a complete set.
He added that design is on the move: "The Bulli concept could be a new direction for appearances." "In the future, one design theme will remain but it will be divided into groups: SUVs, sedans, performance cars, etc." "Each will have its own identity but all will be recognizable as Volkswagens". From what he tells me, this will begin to happen sometime between 2014 and 2016.
As we carried on this point, he explained to me what "visually perfected" means. This term was used in the 2012 Tiguan's press release. This is how he described VW's future design classifications. "The strategy will be from the top down. This will enriches [the "lower" car] by going from the Touareg to the Tiguan, for example".
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| Photo: Mathieu St-Pierre/Auto123.com |
He went on to instruct me that the entire design process represents only 3% of the total manpower required to "make" a new car.
My next question went something like this: "What then, is more important, for Volkswagen on its way to becoming #1? The design or the drive of the Volkswagen?".
"Design and drive are strongly connected." answered Mr Bischoff. Clearly, if VW's next car resembles a Volkswagen yet drives like a John Deere, or vice versa, the group from Wolfsburg might as well shut down the entire operation now.
Looking forward, I asked Mr Bischoff if the common design theme throughout a brand is no more than a passing phase, if it will get old. His answer was twofold. First, he said: "One design level creates a full portfolio". It is true that placing a Polo next to Golf next to Passat and so on and so forth does produce an image of continuity, a complete set.
He added that design is on the move: "The Bulli concept could be a new direction for appearances." "In the future, one design theme will remain but it will be divided into groups: SUVs, sedans, performance cars, etc." "Each will have its own identity but all will be recognizable as Volkswagens". From what he tells me, this will begin to happen sometime between 2014 and 2016.
As we carried on this point, he explained to me what "visually perfected" means. This term was used in the 2012 Tiguan's press release. This is how he described VW's future design classifications. "The strategy will be from the top down. This will enriches [the "lower" car] by going from the Touareg to the Tiguan, for example".
 |
| Photo: Mathieu St-Pierre/Auto123.com |