Finding Naimo: Peter Schreyer Tackles The National Question
I’d like to think that it’s time the global car industry moved past its old fixation on national characteristics, but apparently the “national question” is still relevant, at least to Peter Schreyer, Kia’s German-born chief designer. Previewing his latest design concept, the Naimo EV, Schreyer tells Automotive News [sub]
A lot of people ask what is the K-factor, what is the Koreaness, in the cars, which is hard to answer because there isn’t any really. To be honest, we don’t want the cars to look Korea.
This one we did with the inspiration of using Koreaness. So it will have some clues in it coming from Korean crafts and art
How so?
Its pale green jade color is derived from that used in Korean Celadon-style pottery. The headliner is made from hand-crafted hanji paper. Korean oak is used to trim the doors and cover the floor, as it is in traditional Korean architecture.
And the rest of the design? Is that supposed to reflect Schreyer’s “Germaness,” or is it a product of his German-based perception of what “Koreaness” is supposed to be? Meanwhile perhaps the most interesting question for Schreyer would be: how do you keep production Kias from “looking Korean”? The national question is one huge can of worms, and it inevitably leads to some awkward conversations. And, in this case anyway, it seems to have even led to an awkward design.
More by Edward Niedermeyer
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Well, the sunroof reminds me of a Nissan Cube's windows laid flat. At least it's appropriately named (square-shaped).
Newer Korean vehicles seem to be going for a "Japanese car with balls" look... sort of how I imagine Toyota would style their cars if they didn't need to appeal to so many people and blandify their top sellers. By the way, does else anyone think people are going to look back on vehicles built around the 2010s as the "melted bar of soap" style? Mercedes seems to have started it with the CLS back in '04, and since then it's become more and more popular (VW CC, Camry, Sonata).