I am German and
I have an Italian
friend. My sister
had made some
chocolate chips
cookies (My dad
always asked her,
where are the
chocolate chips?
Needless to say,
her cookies are
loaded with many
chocolate chips!).
I gave my friend
a few of her cookies exclaiming to the Italian “they are the best.” He ate one
of the cookies, but replied that his mother’s were better. I thought – how could
that be? Well, my sister’s cookies are thick with many chocolate chips. On
the other hand, my friends mother’s cookies were thinner. So this German
likes them thick and that Italian preferred them thin. Go figure!
So what happens in the car world when you combine German determination
(some call it bullheadedness, and indeed it can be quite thick!) with the Italian
‘passion’ of design? Wow!
Volkswagen has made no secret of wanting to become the largest automaker
in the world by 2018. To do so, it needs not only great engineering but also
great design that few others can do like the Italians.
On May 25, 2010 Volkswagen AG announced that it will be
purchasing a 90.1 percent stake in Italdesign Giugiaro S.p.A. through
Audi’s (Audi is part of the Volkswagen group) Italian subsidiary
Lamborghini Holding S.p.A..
Italiandesign is a 975 employee styling and development firm located
in Moncalieri, near Turin, and it was founded by internationally renowned
design masters Giorgetto Giugiaro and Aldo Mantovani.
The connection between Giugiaro and VW goes back to the 1970s
when Giugiaro designed the first generation of the VW Golf, Rabbit,
Scirocco, Dasher, Passat, and Audi 80/4000. And currently, the design
firm and VW are working on the upcoming VW Up! family of
city cars. See my previous article: VW Up!
The purchase by Volkswagen gives the German automaker control
of the Italian design company’s brand name, rights and patents. The
Giugiaro family will retain the remaining shares of the company.
Regarding the deal, Giugiaro told Hemmings Sports and Exotic Car,
“Entering Volkswagen means to open up a promising perspective for
the company.” Furthermore, VW COE, Dr. Martin Winterkorn told
the magazine, “Italdesign is the flagship for creative Italian automobile
design and has been instrumental in shaping the face of the automobile
industry worldwide.” For additional information and details visit:
www.italdesign.it.
And what do I think about the Germans and Italians coming together
regarding vehicle design? It will be one great looking cookie indeed!
Have an auto question or comment? You can email it to me at
Kbusch3@verizon.net. Kyle Busch is the author of “Drive the Best
for the Price…” www.DriveTheBestBook.com.
