A few weeks back there was a fantastic Will Wright profile in the New Yorker. Since I saw him talking at EG this summer he's become one of my heroes and this profile is full of more great thinking. But the bit that really leaped out at me was this little aside about his car:
"He drove a black two-door BMW with a fancy radar detector. The car was a mess, inside and out; Wright never washes it, because he wants it to look like one of the banged-up starships in “Star Wars.”
(And I presume he doesn't mean like this.) I immediately had to read this out to Anne because I realised that's what I feel about our car. I'm not never cleaning it because I'm lazy (honest) but because I want it to look vaguely like something from Star Wars. And I can't be alone in this, surely. There's must be millions of people out there who's aesthetic judgement was somewhat influenced by beat-up spacecraft. Yet the car industry completely ignore them.
Which made me think that there's probably loads of other fairly mainstream sets of tastes and inclinations that get ignored by the automotive industry. Like Goth. Goth is a huge, pervasive influence on youth and mainstream culture but what would a goth drive? There's not a car that does goth is there?
I've always thought that's a mistake the hybrid/electric manufacturers are making. They're either trying to make their vehicles look normal, or slightly different and space-agey, but in a not-remarkable BBC scif-fi way (ie we've stuck a slightly stranger shell on an existing chasis). Or they're trying to make a convincing sports car, firmly in the existing car aesthetic.
What if they also tried to create a new approach to the exterior, one that was more about appreciating and revealing the character of wear and tear of driving life and that didn't have the instant, built-in depreciation of shiny metal? (I guess it's a version of beausage.) Maybe that would encourage a more sustainable relationship with our vehicles. Even if it doesn't, I'm personally more likely to drive a hybrid vehicle that makes me feel slightly like Boba Fett than slightly like Jensen Button.
you're spot on. part of the thing about customising a car with a fancy paint job or external ad-ons is that it ends up devaluing your car which is a real shame if you are ever thinking of reselling it.
what would be cool would be some kind of whole body wraps which could be removed when you want to sell your car. i'm sure it's possible to get them. i wonder where though and how much they'd cost.
Posted by: funkypancake | December 02, 2006 at 01:45 PM
and of course what do i find but this:
http://www.baekdal.com/articles/Branding/carads/
Posted by: funkypancake | December 02, 2006 at 01:48 PM
i think goths are supposed to drive hurses or really old black towncars
Posted by: Kevin R | December 02, 2006 at 04:43 PM
If you're 17 and work full-time at Hot Topic, it's most likely that Scion-B you're eyeing is outside your price range. Behold the burgundy 1996 Honda Accord.
For Goths, it's not about the car; hell, the reason you went Goth in the first place is because your parents weren't the kind to buy you a spanking new 3 series for your mtv-broadcasted sweet 16 party; it's about the slew of Korn stickers on the rear window that sets you apart from that cheerleader.
Posted by: David | December 02, 2006 at 05:30 PM
Loved this post. I think this sort of idea has been catching on, or at least becoming relevant, in the American bicycle industry for the last few years: http://zacharyrshow.blogspot.com/2006/12/bikes-with-beausage.html
Posted by: Zach | December 02, 2006 at 11:38 PM
What happens when new cars come with a factory matte finish AND they look like something out of the background of an early (late) Star Wars flick?
http://www.bmwboard.com/articles/view.asp?linkid=442
Posted by: Diego | December 03, 2006 at 02:12 AM
Hi Russell, if you want to consider an expensive car, please see this post http://oakieoakie.blogspot.com/2006/12/luxurious-cars.html Thanks
Posted by: oakie | December 03, 2006 at 07:34 AM
Interestingly Hummer have cottoned onto this and now produce the H3x which comes with "mo' chrome and fat rims" as standard.
Posted by: nathan | December 04, 2006 at 01:32 PM
Fantastic concept car came out of the the Royal College of Art summer show this year . Its called the Fiat Scratch, with four layers of paint and no bumpers the more you knock it and wear it the better it looks..you just wouldn't wanna give it up..follow the link and scroll down to find it...
http://www.coolhunting.com/archives/2006/07/royal_college_o.php
Posted by: Matt | December 04, 2006 at 01:59 PM
It's a bit about economics, also. It is very expensive to produce a brand-new, totally radically shaped new car, and having to develop a complete new set of machinery and parts that fit nowhere else.
The interchangeability of platforms and parts among very different cars is one of the trends of auto manufacturers and, in spite of being very un-market oriented, it seems it will not change in the foreseeable future.
Posted by: Ricardo Amaral | December 05, 2006 at 08:36 PM