New directions in design: OEM designers discuss the risks and rewards of changing brand image

Automotive Industries, Dec, 2003 by Gary Witzenburg

Previous to today's new look, the only criticism leveled at BMW's designs was that its sedans were essentially alike except for size ... the same "sausage" cut to different lengths. "We had such a clear knowledge of what the famous BMW 'sausage' was," Bangle says, "that all we had to do was work around that. Now, not only do we have to solve some problems with each car, we have to solve the problem of how it fits into the whole new world of cars. By the time we go to the Board, we have reduced this down to a reasonable selection of models that should fulfill both of those criteria."

He describes BMW's Board as a "seriously sharp" group of people who are not easy to sell on new ideas. "They're all engineers, they know the cars inside and out and drive them all the time [and] have a long-range commitment to the company, the product and the customer. They may say, "OK, we understand that these [models] are closer to fulfilling the criteria than something else, but they've got these problems from our point of view.'

"Then we'll go through another loop, an elimination process that's competitive, like in any design studio, and go down from six models to four, to three, to two, to one. When it comes to making management decisions, there's an enormous amount of direct hardware interrelationship that is part and parcel of the process."

The Risk

Knowing what's at stake--the success or failure of a critically important product, perhaps the very future of their companies--can these creative leaders sleep well at night? Yes, because they enjoy a high level of confidence in their own judgment and in the capabilities of the people around them, from the designers and sculptors in their studios to the decision-makers who will make the final calls.

"You've got to believe that what you're doing is the right thing to do," GM's Cherry asserts. "[In the case of Cadillac's bold new direction], I think we did, and we had the support of management. A number of people were very concerned, a number were not on board with this, as you can imagine in any large company with a move like this, but John and I had support from some of the key top people in the company that they were committed to make this happen."

"Our corporate mission," Chrysler's Creed says, "is to provide the company with products that are distinctively designed. That's what Wolfgang and Dieter expect of me, and it's written into my goals and objectives each year. They don't tell me how to do it, but they give me carte blanche to do distinctive design. There are lots of examples of people in this industry who have taken risk and people who have taken no risk. Chrysler has taken big risk in the past, and we'll continue to, because that's the nature of our company. Others have taken no risk and have gotten basically nowhere. So I prefer to take the risk.

"You may start out thinking, 'Wow, this really is a risk.' And as time evolves, there are enough checks and balances in the system for us to hear people say things like, 'You know, when I first saw that, I wasn't sure whether I liked it. But now I really like it.' Sometimes things that start out to be risks are less risky than you think."