Carfreax

TOKYO MOTOR SHOW PART III

Are you ready? Damn right we are! This is the 42nd Tokyo Motor Show and we are here to soak up the energy. Japan, a country with a positive and sympathetic attitude. The tsunami earlier this year had a major impact. Still one can feel the the aftermath of the catastrophe reverbing. The annual motor show as a kind of catharsis.

I have always thought of Japan and France being the most creative cultures to push new concepts of mobility. Playful, full of humor and daring. The Tokyo experience seems to underline this hypothesis. For hours we bump from one strange thought dressed up as means of mobility into the other. An eclectic mix of style and technology.

After the obvious we move to the west halls for some haute couture. Projects seen somewhere else before perfectly tangent to the asian thought of mobility. Off beat, out of sync, over here, nothing is impossible.Wooden cars, a link to tradition, strange packages. The olympic games of the industry. Let's go crazy and be proud of it.

This is your usual press days hectic, but with a different taste. The difference is in the detail. Why do we so many wind deflectors on cars over here. The use of the climate controls is local and so is the atmosphere. Breathing masks, eye for detail, taking pictures with a strange perspective. We adapt as we move on.

After a long day I am loaded with impressions. Japan, the country of the hybrid, the mould breaking approach, the friendly and the technological, the robot and the  manga. It is all summed up at the motor show. It is five o'clock as we call it an automotive day. Let's hit the streets of Tokyo to inhale reality while we still have time.

-Matt.

TOKYO MOTOR SHOW PART II

A stroll over the Tokyo Motor Show. What is served by the big three of Japan? I have a soft spot for Honda. This is the brand of the spaghetti exhausted '67 Formula One racer, the Monkey motor cycle, the groundbreaking Jazz and the Senna inspired NSX. The  asian brand can be seen as the BMW of the east, innovative and still independent. A spyder concept loaded with carbon, a foldable scooter, a mobility concept and a racy livered motor cycle. A range of heritage dressed up for today. Inspiring.

Suzuki shows a bunch of rather quirky concepts, based on tomorrows  needs and sustainability. The green car is classic, strange, organic and pixelated at the same time.A blend of efficiency and nu-tech. I have to get used to my cup of tea with a chai flavor.

Toyota. The biggest player on a global scale seems to have re-invented itself from a rather dull overall brand to a more lively identity. The Tokyo Motor Show as a reset button. Positive, colorful, playful and human. Fun to drive again, Jean Reno included. We stand in front of a concept with projected graphics on a body side, waiting for a change. After five minutes we give up, realizing this innovative idea is rather static. Reborn? Not yet.

-Matt.

TOKYO MOTOR SHOW PART I

I have never been here before, and yet I feel at home. The Tokyo Motor Show, it has always been on top of my list since I was a kid. One of the grand slams of automotive car shows and probably the most exotic in the pack. The Asian view on things. Finally a check mark after all those years. Hardly I have put this event in context before we hit the floors of the quiet compact compound. With a group of colleagues we have touched down on Japanese ground and are still lost in translation.

To get in contact we start with the oblivious. The German side of the show. The Audi corporate identity suits the location. Clean, professional and with a local touch. Love the graphics on the soccer edition Audi A1. Neat colored detailing inside of the head lamps.

Tokyo seems to be a good opportunity to take a second and more intense glance at concepts I have seen in Frankfurt before. The rounded and also edgy Smart concept feels more at home in this urban environment. Formed in a different medium, plastics can be formed so precise and crisp, inside and out. This compact car is loaded with innovative ideas. The big and blobby Mercer fits the Tokyo approach. Let's show a crazy vision of the future.

We walk the floors of the show as we hear the touching speech of the European biggest CEO, addressing the power and innovation of Japanese car culture and its role in the automotive industry. Put aside all the novelties this is also a kind of resurrection of a country after the Fukushima disaster. The team from Wolfsburg surprises with a cross over coupe, based on a new platform. It looks great in overall stance and detailing. One of my Tokyo high lights. 

Another Wolfsburg premiere is a special edition Beetle, featuring a rather rock and roll in your face theme. Volkswagen goes guitar hero with the Stratocaster. The wood inlays are fake, but hey, this is Tokyo!

-Matt.

ONE GR8 SUMMER - PART ONE

My summer of speed kicked off at the beginning of July with Goodwood, followed just a week later by Pass Masters (previously reported by Mattijs) that was my first chance to have a proper blast with my new R8.

Yes! I did say MY! R8, admittedly a company car and only for the next 6 months, but still MINE! And Dude! Was I going to use it?

I’d been planning a mega road trip to the U.K. for some time and now I had the right tool for the job!  

Leaving Münich at 6.00a.m one misty Sunday morning in August, I literally flew across Germany, often seeing speeds hovering on the edge of 300 km/h. Rapidly dispatched Holland and France I hit the Channel tunnel only 8 hours later. The fly splattered, hot and ticking R8 deserving a well earned rest on the train ride under the sea.

First pilgrimage in the U.K. was to be the Black Mountains located on the West side of the Brecon Beacons National Park in Wales. The Black Mountain road’s are favorite test routes for the U.K’s Car Magazines and especially the A4069 which has become very popular ever since it featured on BBC’s Top Gear, with Jeremy Clarkson hammering an AMG SLK along it’s route. I quickly discovered why? Long winding roads greeted me, challenging corners, a good mix of fast and tight sections all linked by a good road surface and when you reached the hairpins you were rewarded with views to die for. You just had to beware of the pesky sheep everywhere!

I spent several hours discovering the aural delights of the R8’s responsive engine and the forgiving handling. The R8 is enormously capable, with scary amounts of grip on these tight and twisting roads, but when you lift off the tail will come around and you can drift gently through the turns in beautifully predictable slides.

I was expecting to meet lot’s of other performance cars enjoying these dream roads and conditions, but I hardly saw anybody else during my time up there, this was my playground today! My Driving Nirvana!

The roads in the valleys on the North side weren’t bad either, long straights and fast sweeping bends, many snaking their way through tunnels of over-hanging trees. As the sun began to go down and with the navigation switched off! I just followed the roads where they took me.

Next stop Brooklands and a return to Goodwood, this time not just to look, but to drive!   

 

DAUPHIN COLLECTION

Have we been here before? Virtually yes, but let's hit it one more time. Another CFX visit to a place full of hidden pleasures. It is the beginning of december and to top off an exciting year with a dose of inspiration we have decided to head north, direction Nuernberg. Somewhere in a little village we hit our target, dressed up your average industrial complex. Here one would expect a company specialized in milling machines, elevators perhaps or even tooling parts for the industry.

Behind these doors you will be blown back by a tsunami of heavenly metal. To cut it short, we are visiting the Dauphin Collection, a private party, an oasis of car history, packed, cramped, stuffed into a 21st century barn. The cars are lined up side to side. This is not not your usual museum tour or car show. A collection of cars, ranging from German, Italian to British. A feast for the eye and a hard one for the man behind the camera. One hundred cars in the first our and after that a walk through the second floor, filled up with more than 250 motorcycles. Details, details, details. A photo impression. Enjoy.

- Matt.

DUTCH DESIGN WEEK - PART SIX

Saturday morning, collecting the last bits of the DDW, rounding of four inspiring days in Eindhoven. Any white spots on the full flavored map that I have missed? Sure enough haven't I seen everything yet. Back to the "Witte Dame". First floor, MU, "After the bit rush". The theme is about the post digital age. Bits and bytes, or not? 

Square pushing, low poly, scanning, reproducing, digital esthetics meets the analogue. Designing hardware like software. Is this about the high tech component I have missed so far, or is it beyond that? Inspiring it is for sure.

A final walk along the pearl necklace called DDW. A look behind main street, zig zagging through the industrial blocks down town. Follow the arrows. Atelier Dorp, Zona Ventosa, left, right. Blind walls, graffiti, tags. A painter behind a barred window. There are still some creative corners to discover. Close to the local football stadium I finally find the entrance to TAC, the temporary art center.

Inside the building a last blast of art and design. Ceramics seen somewhere else a year before, precise and angular, paper cut. My cup of tea has moved, the virus continues to spread. One of the rooms is filled with a selection of Slovakian design. Another indication that the Dutch Design Week has entered the international stage. Go visit next year!

- Matt.

DUTCH DESIGN WEEK - PART FIVE

A power nap was exactly what I needed. A little time out to reset the brain and save the impressions to my hard disc. After that straight back to Eindhoven to finish the untouched areas of Strijp T. A step inside an anonymous building reveals a surprisingly white and light exhibition. The theme: 10 Makers & 10 stages. Beautiful and precise paintings on cowhide. Fashion, patterns, installations and the obligatory filled wine glasses in the corner. The music rounds of the atmosphere. A surprise.

One of the reasons to visit this section of the Dutch Design Week once again is to take a look at the new studio of Kiki & Joost. They have made the move from S to T and are settling down in an sixties building with a high ceiling. A place with potential. Workshop and museum in one. Impressive!

With some colleague creatives they have organized a, what's in the name, T-party. A nice gathering of friends at the end of the week, hand cut fries as a down to earth appetizer. It will be a late night in Eindhoven. I am still not finished and might come back tomorrow for the final bits.

- Matt.

DUTCH DESIGN WEEK - PART FOUR

A look behind the scenes. The friday starts with a typical dutch breakfast. At a restaurant in Strijp S we enjoy some great sandwiches. We have been invited by the direction of the DDW. Views on design and the automotive world are shared with a group of fantastic people in a relaxed atmosphere. These are the men and women who have put Eindhoven on the map. This week is their highlight after months of hard labour.

My colleagues have other commitments later this day. "If you have still a little time left, go visit the Dutch Invertuals, it's worth it! Soon after we enter the industrial complex near the railway station. Last year the EDHV group had a fantastic themed exhibition about old wood, this year it is all about fragility. A very coherent show exploring balance and vulnerability. One of the projects is about a synthetic bullet proof skin based on spider webs. Crazy, stylish and down to earth. Put it on your list for next year.

Pushing the envelope. Moving east through Eindhoven on the axis of design. The edge of the Dutch Design Week. Strijp S will be filled with lofts, the creative community has moved in alphabetical order. Strijp T is this years hot spot. The formal Philips building a bit more sixties, the terrain less exposed. If you find your way up to here you will be surprised.

Strijp T, an Area with potential. We enter an anonymous building and are blown away with a collection of projects. Some of them have escaped the floors of the academy since last years graduation show. The same idea brought to the market. The DDW as a virus, spreading concepts. Lots of mash ups, samplism and wit.

One thing becomes clear once again. The big industrial player has left town and has given unlimited opportunities to the creatives. The dead buildings are filled with energy and action. A canvas overpainted with a new story.

Time is ticking. A friday afternoon surrounded by ideas. We need a break after this overdose of input. Scanning the city for a couple of days wears you out. There is too much to see and embrace. Rough and refined, industrial and individual, big pictures and neat details. Contrasts with a local flavor.

- Matt.

DUTCH DESIGN WEEK - PART THREE

An afternoon at the Design Academy at the annual graduation show. A couple of floors are filled with fresh student work. Before we hit the floor we are warmly welcomed by one of my former mentors. Later on she takes us to the upper floor. "From here on you are on your own, pick your own high lights, it's impossible to see everything anyway".

As every year the Dutch Design Week takes place when the whole region enjoys the autumn holidays. It seems everyone these days is a design expert. The place is packed and we slowly move from one stand to the other. For me it's homecoming, my colleagues have never been here before. One highlight we agree on is the app that shows where you have never been before in your own city. Your home town re-discovered. Strong, smart, simple, in your face.

In Eindhoven you might need a second look to understand the students work. Subtle concepts and storytelling. The brief summaries are sometimes the eye opener. In general we sense a more serious and mental approach, away from the happy, witty and arty projects we have seen the last ten years. Yes, the emphasis is still on the material exploration and the manual handling of it. A bit more high tech would not hurt.

Well being, wood, ceramics, taste, senses, metal, sustainable, simplicity, global issues, back to the roots.The boundaries between the different departments seem to blend into each other. Hard to say if these young designers have specialized during their studies. The designer as a practical intellectual. Will it be enough for tomorrows questions? We will see. Eindhoven has character and that is what counts.

My highlight, and also the winner of some prices, is a big sphere made out of bamboo and plastics. A product for real needs. It showcases the Design Academy in a nutshell. Personal storytelling meets ingenuity. A low tech, simple to build mine field cleaner, propelled by the wind. In combination with a GPS device its random movements will be documented. As a child the designer lost his wind mobiles in the mine fields of the Far East. Circle closed.

- Matt.

DUTCH DESIGN WEEK - PART TWO

Day two in Eindhoven is fully programmed. We start at the far corner of the event map. Striijp T. Slowly we roll through an old industrial complex. Lots of glass and early morning activity behind it. This place is one of the hot spots of the DDW. Piet Hein Eeks facility has opened exactly one year ago. Our first impression: things are still under development. "Living close to design". Film and Design. What will be next?

This is not your usual studio or furniture shop. This place is a world. A world according to the man we are about to meet. At ten o'clock we enter the building and ask for our host. A few moment later he turns up with a warm cup of tea, followed closely by a bunch of colleagues. "I will be right with you". Some instant decisions have to made first. "Take that bolt instead of the other one, use it and keep it simple". Eek in a nutshell. Straight forward and honest.

"That cup of tea has to wait at my desk, let's start". Our little group from Germany gets the personal walk through. For almost a hour we follow the designer through his self created paradise. A story about the big picture, the small details that matter, transparency and efficiency. Most of all it is about passion and a strong motivation to hang on to your own vision. Its is also a personal story about scaling up and staying flexible at the same time.

The thing that ties this place together is the mindset that abundance should be banned and there are no such things as left overs. The designs of Eek are reflected in the architecture of the building. Simple and elegant, transparent with a personal taste. A smile on our faces turns up when we find out the difference between the 99.3% and the 99.7% metal shelve. "The bigger one has the same amount of stamped holes, but proportionally seen we have less waste in production because these holes have the same dimension".

Piet Hein Eek, he was the first and is still the original. His design method can be learned, but the feeling is hard to copy. The story behind the objects is crystal clear, the proportions, subtle changes in color, The contrast between rough an subtlety, the whole composition of this world, it is highly unique. When you walk in this place for a couple of hours you feel at home, comfortable and inspired, somewhere between past and future. Your brain does the thinking, your heart will be way ahead of it.

- Matt.

DUTCH DESIGN WEEK - PART ONE

Wednesday afternoon. After a smooth ride from Germany we arrive in the centre of Eindhoven. Last years report on the Dutch Design Week had its impact in Ingolstadt. Close to Italy the Bavarians normally look south for inspiration. Milano is just a couple of hours drive. This year it is different. We travel in a pack to the city of lights. The coming days I guide my colleagues through the vast amount of design related exhibitions and ateliers. A plan by the minute, full of interesting meets and greets, inspiration and spontaneous happenings, trying to get a grip on what's dutch.

Eindhoven. Energy. A city on the move. A wide spread section of the city formally in the firm hands of a local industrial player called Philips has turned into a playground for start ups and creative heads. Once again, a comparison with Berlin turns up. An urban landscape that re-invents it self every year. Ateliers today, lofts tomorrow. As we park our car in Strijp S, we take a look at the bobcats stripping down an industrial compound that housed one of last years events. Next year this place will be "exciting lofts at the epicenter of a creative environment". Your bio, herbal, tea to-go will be served around the corner, located a bricked building block of the industrial era.

Strijp S, it will be our pivot point the coming days. On the axis of design this is the professional business location of the Dutch Design Week. On the other hand a perfect place to witness an event that has turned into an experience, hence the emphasis on eateries and lunch opportunities.

What is on our menu for a starter? The Clock Building turns out to be the right thing to dive into the DDW. A wide array of impressions, tied to each other by labyrinth of minimalistic white canvasses. What we see in between is a summary of Dutch design now!

Craftsmanship meets tech. Material explorations. Witty statements with a tongue in cheek approach.  Scale up, invert, surprise, the classical tools of the Dutch attitude. Wood, glass, colors. Say cheese. Mix, sample, re-invent.

To cut it short the exhibition is all about design led by technology with a strong human or personal touch. The bias tends to the customized and crafty. Laser cut, check, bio degradable, check, one offs, double check. The story behind the object is in the foreground.

Concepts I have seen last year have been transformed into new objects. "Why are you taking a picture of my cupboard?" Because of the birch finishing! A continuation of a theme. Visiting the DDW for a couple of years means seeing the shifting tectonic plates. Last year the seat, this year the table. Talking directly to the makers and their intensions is what is the the interesting part.

Meeting designers. Proudly they present their work.  Every now an then I bump into people I have seen before during my academy years. I have turn left, they right.  A bright yellow bench made of fire hoses. Broken pottery glued together with gold, keeping the sweet memory of heritage and childhood alive. The  phenomenon of magnetism turns a lamp into an attractive toy. Simplicity works!

Connections are the glue in the design equation. Re-connecting used materials, steel, wood, ceramics, paper. After a couple of hours my camera is filled with images and impressions. There is so much to see. What I miss in general is a high tech, industrial approach. It is the individual, low tech, crafty things that turn heads in Eindhoven. This is just the beginning  so let's wait for the final judgement.

The end of day one. The weather is mild and the sun sets. We discover another building that is close before its  final tear down. A relaxed atmosphere and cheap drinks. The theme is about City Hacking. Beautiful installations displaying the urban landscape, presented in statistics, models and pure poetry. The DJ plays a jazzy tune as we walk from room to room.

The improvised meets architecture. An almost anarchist feeling, comfy and disturbing at the same time. Creativity needs destruction. Welcome to Eindhoven. A city on the move! Next year this place might be your loft,. Let's enjoy the time in the meanwhile.

- Matt.

BIG RED

Hold on... did I just see..?

YUP a Holden! In all her redness; I just became the proud owner of this Australian grafter!

You will have seen the epic TopGear videos of the Vauxhall VXR8 and the VXR8 Bathurst, these masterpieces of cinematography pointed me towards the VXR8 a few years ago. I have been in love ever since! Especially its racing pedigree in the Australian V8 Supercar Championship scored a lot of points as I believe this series ranks amongst the best in the world, if not THE best in the world.

Star of the show down under is officially the VXR8's twin brother - the Holden Commodore as run by the TOLL HRT Racing Team (winners of the 2011 Bathurst 1000) and Triple Eight Race Engineering.

So finally after years of searching, watching V8 Supercars, YouTube and selling kidneys on the black-market I finally found MY VXR8 6.2 V8 – why not the 6.0? Simply; bigger is better. 

And boy was I right! ‘Big Red’ – her nickname – is everything I have ever dreamt of … she is big (BMW 7-series big inside), she is loud (with the Walkinshaw Performance Exhaust 92 dB @ 6,000 RPM), she is red (with go-faster stripes!!!), she is in your face (hard to not notice the picnic-table on the boot lid), but most of all … boy she is quick! With 470 BHP and 600 Nm worth of pull she seriously tests you in the trouser department…

I have owned her for a week now – by now have had to fill her up, so yes that price-hike in crude oil last Wednesday was due to me filling up – and she has been rocking my world ever since! 
Don’t get me wrong, I know fast – I also own a 260 BHP VX220/Speedster Turbo – but the ease and the readiness at which this power is available is second to none! The smooth delivery is a startling display of American muscle. The tabs have been opened quite frequently – I mean: if you can … you must! –, however this does make me worry about the wear rate of the side-windows as I find myself looking out of them rather often determining my headings.

So if you see some dimwit driving/siding around, laughing out loud in a big, intrepid, scarlet car: worry not! It is me … probably on my way to find a cheap oilfield and rubber tree plantation to buy, because her respect for Mother Nature’s resources leaves a bit to be desired…

- Geert P.

DUTCH TREAT

It's that time of year again - the days are getting darker and temperatures are dropping.

But not in this town, they're not. Eindhoven is the place of the action and the City of Light is warming up to welcome another Dutch Design Week - the tenth edition this year!

The old Philips manufacturing- and R&D site Strijp-S has undergone serious changes in recent years. Formerly known as Eindhoven's own Forbidden City, the glorious past of this holy ground is clearly taken seriously by the local council, which obviously cherishes its cultural and architectural treasures that are so closely connected to the Dutch megabrand. Exclusive lofts are for rent, next to uniquely historical buildings with names like the 'Clock building', 'Machine room' and 'Boiler house'.

With the 'Design on Wheels' workshop as our main target for today (not in the last place for its fun social aspect - catching up with friends and colleagues), most of the visit evolves around this area of the DDW. Surely, other carfreax will report on the Graduation Show of the Design Academy later on - carfreak Rik and I stick to browsing the events on Strijp-S today.

On this breeding ground of the Dutch lightbulb industry, it is only natural that a lot of work refers to lighting, often ornamental but sometimes rightfully clever. The smart and practical ideas are displayed side-by-side with the whimsically silly or totally crazy - but all are great to watch.

We see beautiful interpretations of patterns and structures, in various materials, from fragile folded paperwork to intricate hand-made jewelry - and a massive orange taped-up airplane. 

The aspiration of authenticity is still all over the place. Honest materials - and usage thereof. Recyclability. C2C. What you see is what you get. 

And wood is still hot. Literally. Maarten Baas' burnt furniture is newly interpreted. The material is used everywhere, to great extent, sometimes meticulously and skilfully painted, but often shown with its natural grain visible, seemingly unfinished.

Other local hero Piet Hein Eek still has a clear impact on what seem to be many of his disciples here. His tried and tested pattern of tied-together stacks of furniture is also still present if you look for it. But newly interpreted. Evolution of revolutionary ideas.

Craftsmanship is shown in most of the one-offs we see. A questionable trend, with the cost of labour being anything but competitive in Europe. Will it last?

Of course there is also fantastic and acclaimed consumer product design presented here, as there is attention for leading edge technologies. The biggest thrill of 'Eindhoven' however, is the combination of the traditionally optimistic and often audacious student work and one-(wo)man startups. 

We hear that Milan is the place to be if you want to know what's going on - yet, Eindhoven will show you what to expect ...in two years' time in Milan.

Of course we believe the hype :)

- Geert.

FRANKFURT PART FIVE

These are my final five cents for this years Frankfurt show, part five. An Escher-esque perspective on the status quo, the end is the beginning. We enter the fair at the south side and stumble into the BMW show. The first impressions of the day, we are excited and glare at the displayed products. The Bavarian brand puts us into to the automotive loop, visitors at a circus full of energy rather than consumers of metal dreams. Is Frankfurt all about metal or is it the story telling, the car culture, what it's all about these days?

Next to the all new One series the guys from Munich have enough stories to tell. Conceptually it is all about dotting the i, and yes I dig these fairy tales. Two cars, two book ends. Siblings with their own character, but connected by a strong formal formula. One is soft and fluent, the other more industrial and pragmatic or functional.  Respect goes out to the underlaying blueprint that must have been the starting point of this adventure, design inside out, a throughout vision of what might be the future. And yes, I really like that I3 steering column for its smart and optical light weight appearance.

Free form butterfly glass doors anyone? We will have to see and wait what will reach the market. In a  far corner of our first hall we see a clean stand of BMW Individual. Clean lights and lots of reference from the world of design. Eames here, B&O there. Window dressing or philosophy? First lesson in Frankfurt; it is all about context!

-Matt.

FRANKFURT PART FOUR

Surf's up dude! In the German media landscape the brand from Wolfburg has drawn a lot of attention during the weeks ahead of the Frankfurt show. A new small car for the folks, compact, efficient  and affordable, the real new beetle? A bold move back to the roots. Many thought  the name would change from Up to Lupo, following the strategic sneaky peaky hocus pocus way the new Sc-Iroc-co made it to the market. This time the friendly, almost Pixar-esque name will stay, Up! Plus one so far. And yet, at introduction time Volkswagen displays a wide array of possibilities. Love the tucked down GTI version. The urban Nils car is a welcoming side kick, very producty, nimble and white.

Surf's up and some unforeseen guests join the waves. Greenpeace bashes the party. We never before have seen political statements unfold during an auto show, this year it all comes together at the VW stand. The dark force enters the stage for the big pay back. Is this easy money? The peeps from V dub take it this chin in cheek positive, knowing that they have redrawn the big picture .....of a small car.

- Matt.