The Designers Pt2 – Mark Adams, General Motors
Mark Adams, VP of design at GM Europe, talks us through his design philosophy for Europe, and how this will evolve as a host of new products come to market over the next few years.
I returned to GM Europe in Germany more than a year ago but even in my prior role in the US I was still in charge of the design via remote control. I never let go of the reigns. With the focus on our 2022 strategy I needed to be back here to drive the next wave of product that’s coming. During the week I’m in Russelheim which is the main design and engineering center for us, but I live just outside London with my family. I’m a commuter but use an airplane instead of a train and car.
There’s far more clarity now. Opel and Vauxhall are now at the center of General Motors in Europe as Chevrolet will no longer be sold there. We have a mountain of vehicles coming through and are working on some very cool stuff. Our products are much better than people give us credit for. Maybe they are thinking of how things were in the past. I see it as a long journey from the Insignia which was a real marker in the sand for consistency but in a very emotional way. That cycle, now finished, I called 1.0.
The Monza concept at 2013’s Frankfurt show was cycle 2.0 and really shows the next 7-8 years of where we are going. Another point of the Monza concept was to inspire us internally. Well over a year before we showed the car I put it in the center of the production studio so it’s been there for two and a half years now and I told the team we are going to get the essence of this car in everything we are doing, no matter what vehicle. In a few motorshows’ time I promise you will see the connection.
“There’s far more clarity. Opel and Vauxhall are now at the center of General Motors in Europe… we are working on some very cool stuff”
The Opel / Buick thing is working brilliantly for us – the Insignia and the Regal. The Regal sells great in China and really does a lot for the Buick brand in the US with younger and more dynamic customers. Everything you see is basically the same after the grilles and badges but the way they’re tuned, and some color and trim options, are based on local tastes. As long as you think of those things from ‘day one’ and do not dilute what the brands stand for, don’t do badge-engineering, then it’s a strategic plan. I don’t see it as an issue at all.
The European vehicle landscape used to be easily segmented. Now I see it as almost a continuum. There’s almost no such thing as an A segment or B segment car. You’re starting to see all these different fragments, like for us the Adam Rocks and Adam S and I believe it’s only going to get even more blurred. It’s about finding those areas of space. The key, particularly for mainstream brands like we have, is not building all these different things on top of each other so you end up having huge overlaps or cannibalization of sales. I think the Corsa, the Adam and the Mokka are good examples. They are all small cars, not that dissimilar in size but have different personalities so they appeal to very different customers. We have to be very careful how we position these things.
We want to focus on great design – cultural artistry meets German precision – and on infotainment and interaction. There are quite a few cars on my wishlist to make, including halo models, but I’m not going to tell you what they are yet. The trouble is, when the European market is the way it is, we need to make sure that all of our fundamental core vehicles are really good. You have to build from the core up before you can do a halo.
The world wants different things now to what they did in the past and we have to also find things that make sense from a business perspective. Because if a halo is disconnected from your brand too much it doesn’t make sense so we have to find the right balance.
At this year’s Geneva Motor Show, Car Design News launched its second Car Design Review yearbook, featuring the production and concept cars our judges voted as best designs of the past year.
As last year, we’ll be publishing world-exclusive interviews with the 13 design judges who decided on the recipient of each of our awards, featuring their individual votes, their views on the year just gone plus their hopes for the year ahead.
If you’re interested in buying a copy of the yearbook this interview appears in, alongside trend reports, bespoke car design infographics and a special feature on our Lifetime Achievement Award winner, Giorgetto Giugiaro, Car Design Review 2 can be purchased here.
Mark Adams
Role VP design, GM Europe
Age, nationality 53, English
Location Russelsheim, Germany
Education Royal College of Art, London
Mark’s cars of 2014
Concept
1. Maserati Alfieri
2. Audi Prologue
3. BMW Vision Future Luxury
Production
1. Mercedes-AMG GT
2. Citroën C4 Cactus
3. Audi TT