Peugeot revealed the 10 winning entries of their yearly car design contest, and once more, we are witnessing how car designers can be isolated in their own - and static - world.
What we see promoted here as the top 10 proposals are on a track known too well for some years now and clearly not in line with the recent concerns regarding the car industry*.
The imagination of car designers looks like it's stuck in a sci-fi world were cars only race against each others, formally stating their adrenal and testosterone inner selves. They are on a mission to upgrade the Fast and the Furious cast, and the real world doesn't seem to interfere. But road have speed limits, oil prices are up - not likely to go down, and two seaters are not really comfortable for a family of four. This might sound familiar to you, but I thought, just in case.
I'm not saying that Peugeot execs or the jury could be that blind : it's obvious this contest is not an actual search for tomorrow's car and more a marketing campaign to drag attraction at a good price. So I can understand they are going for the wow. My point is that it's sad to teach and reward this kind of thinking in the car design field today. It's a waste of time, sensitive and IQ power. The shift will have to happen one day in how we imagine transportation for the years to come, so why not now ? Can the car's magic happen without the horsepower and the speed call ? Will it be possible to enjoy curvy roads without burning pricey gas ? The potential talent of these guys should aim at answering this kind of questions rather than the eternal "how can make I my Frankfurter look bigger" one.
*The 910 is standing out though.