Quote of the Day: Peter Horbury Edition

Last week, our man Thor translated a Q & A with Peter Horbury in Automotorsport.se. Ford’s former global design director was recently demoted to his roots: head of Volvo design. Sadly, Automotorsport failed to discuss Horbury’s career reversal. Equally unfortunate: I had to inform Mr. Johnsen that we can’t lift entire articles. (Automotorsport.se denied our request to republish the piece.) We can, of course, publish excerpts. And Horbury is, like all car designers, a veritable fount of designer-speak. Or not. You’ll see what I mean. Meanwhile, here’s the warm-up for the money shot: “Horbury always missed the sea and the forests surrounding Gothenburg. ‘I like the Bohuslän nature with its clean lines, exactly as I believe car design should be.’ He pauses, thinking. But soon enough he makes a metaphor between U.S. and European design, and how Yanks often exaggerates certain design elements while the European design tradition is more stylish, simpler. . .”

Like a Volvo: you don’t have to bring design elements on each free surface of the bodywork, you should even enjoy the clean, open spaces. As in the coastal landscape here in Bohuslän. Look at Japanese cars, they rarely have any clean surface. As soon as there are, they design a decal, a line or a fold on it. Scandinavian design is cleaner without ornamentation everywhere.

On Lincoln: “The war with GM’s Cadillac is on again. And as before, Cadillac stands for the cheeky, challenging and more spectacular. Lincoln is more prudent in its lines, thrifty with the ornamentation. Discreet luxury.”

Discreet? How discreet can you get?

And now our quote of the day: “Range Rover is nice, Jaguar has through new forms found its soul again, Alfa Romeo looks like Alfa again and Kia Soul looks dashing. In fact, I even like the Renault Megane, that rear is nice.”

Nice?