DO Mercedes Simply copy others and lack design innovation?

[The Boss]

Over the recent years, the styling cues of, for example BMW and Mercedes seem to become so similar, i question if the whole world is fooled by the 2 companies... when rumours of a future alliance have emerged over the last 6 months, i question if there is some underlining synergy already??

and what about lack of design flair and innovation. mercedes was at the leading egde of style, innovation and sophistication.. but today.. it looks like either their styling budget has disappeared or they are simply copy cats

some examples of styling cue clones from other marques into Mercs...

bmw came out with this styling theme, Guess who absorded it into their theme...

audi came out with the led lighting design... guess who followed...

bmw came out with the radical interior... guess who followed...

bentleys continental gt has a wonderfu rear arch.. guess who added a watered down version...

lexus, as pointed out by one forum member has this rear profile... wow.. look at the e class coupe... hmmm..

so do mercedes Lead or do they follow... you decide!

 

[Shude]

Mercedes came up with the motorcar, the rest are copies IMHO

You are wrong to post pics of the 7-series boot in comparison with the s-class when the Maybach concepts had the same bootlid profile a LONG time before BMW models had them. Practically all new cars have LEDs in the head or tail lamps, the S-class interior looks like the F200 concept from the mid-90s and as for the wheel arches and rear haunches, they look like retro or period shapes taken from models from the 50s and 60s which lots of cars were sporting back then.

It's called fashion I think!

 

[Will]

Mercedes put airbags outside - Yahoo! Cars

Hmm - I'd say that MB on the whole were quite innovative.

And lets be honest, we must all admire them for one reason or another or we all wouldn't be on here!

Will

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

You'd be surprised just how few top class car designers there are in the world.

Like any other job or industry they take ideas - and dare I say it files and more - with them to new employers.

They're influenced by similar things. They're told similar things by customer focus groups. They tread a fine line between individuality and conformity.

Hardly a surprise that patterns and trends emerge.

And just like anything in this world, there is little that is genuinely unique. Most things are an evolution of something else.

Try sketching a car, that is truly unique, whilst having some mass market appeal.

Difficult init.

 

[KillerHERTZ]

Its soon to be a legal EU requirement for daytime running lights. As LEDs draw less power & are the future of all light bulbs LEDs will be used.

What about wing mirror repeators? only BMW/Lexus do not have them... as for that interior shot, it is also a requirment to have any Sat nav/dash controls as close to the windscreen as possible - meant to prevent you keeping you eyes off the road.

In 20 years time, all cars will look virtually indentical, due to crash test requirements. This can be seen today with small cars like Corsa's, Fiesta's etc - just look at the side profiles.

6000th Post


Edit, See what I mean? they all look alike with the same shape, designers have less and less space to add there own personal mark - its unavoidable that cars 'copy' each other:

 

[vincenz]

I think its invetiable manufacturers borrow each others ideas, fundamentally all cars have 4 wheels and an engine and some styling cues will get borrowed from time to time.

The CGT was not the first to have flared arches and will not be the last.

I don't deny there is a striking similarity between the two dashboards above but I think the merc one is classier,

The new 7 though looks like:

http://www.luxuo.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/2009-bmw-7-series-individual_1.jpg

So have BMW now upped the game?

Manufacturers regularly run styling clinics and sample their target market and ask what customers like about competitors products, so if BMW found that people like the S Class features they will try and incorporate them with their own twist.

Good point raised above about how safety now plays a massive part in the exterior of a car, hence all the now slanted nosed cars for pedestrian safety.

 

[hawk20]

Over the recent years, the styling cues of, for example BMW and Mercedes seem to become so similar, i question if the whole world is fooled by the 2 companies... when rumours of a future alliance have emerged over the last 6 months, i question if there is some underlining synergy already??

!

You are quite wrong about the boot on the 7 series being copied by the S class. In fact Mercedes showed this type of boot at the Detroit show in 1998 on the prototype Maybach. And it was copied by BMW.

The current E class (211 series) looks absolutely nothing like the BMW 5 series. Thank God.

And the SL (before the recent facelift), CLK, and the old C class (203)were unique and truly beautiful designs.

Bruno Sacco was one of the greatest car designers of all time.

 

[The Boss]

Killer... congrats on popping your 6000th Cherry... YOU are Legend! lol

 

[wemorgan]

It's right to say that current pedestrian impact tests are influencing the front-end style. Bonnet angles have been increased to offer more of an air gap beneath for head impacts. Overhangs are longer to absorb leg impacts.

But I feel these are temporary measures. OEMs have looked for the cheapest solution to solve these problems. But as investment increases and new materials and technologies arrive greater design freedom will return.

I hope the first OEM to arrive at this will be rewarded with greater sales, as roads filled with homogonous designs are rather dull.

 

[verytalldave]

Mercedes cars IMHO tend to look better for longer than most cars.
Take the Mondeo for example.
Early models look VERY dated and tired.
The newer models look OK, but WILL go the same way as their older brothers.
As will many other models and makes.
Mercedes (and BMW for the most part) seem to manage to make cars that look good for a long time.
I would honestly have to dig way back to think of a Mercedes car that still doesnt look good - even when 20/30/40 years old.
And there are very few other marques you could say that about.

 

[grober]

Conservative with a small C

Mercedes have always been "conservative" with a small c in comparison to other manufacturers because that's the demographic they are aiming at. This doesn't apply to the technology under the surface however and Mercedes have been "first adopters" of several technologies primarily with safety in mind. Unfortunately this has not always been to their customers advantage witness the Sensotronic Brake Control debacle. Mercedes owners in the main don't want to be "test pilots" best to leave that to the F1 guys with the unlimited budgets. Your poll should really contain a third "bit of both" category to cover styling/no-- inovative engineering/yes

 

[bpsorrel]

I totally agree! Old Mercedes just seem to get better, as if they're "maturing", whereas other more "radical" designs ((previous Megane?) just age quickly and badly. However, I'm not so sure about the current designs, especially the facelift on the SL, whether they will age quite so well....time will tell!

 

[Howard]

Anyone seen the little cinema show at MBWorld on the top floor where they show you the 'Mercedes Firsts Timeline' ?

Quite an eye opener , and well worth seeing if you doubt that MB are innovative

 

[J400uk]

I don't think Merc copy, most the lineup is pretty original.

 

[Adam230K]

The bmw 7 series / S-class 'copy' statement was hilarious because of the following:


EDIT: I probably should have used the 7-series rear shot that was used in the beginning of the discussion, but you can still see the resemblence.

 

[The Boss]

Anyone seen the little cinema show at MBWorld on the top floor where they show you the 'Mercedes Firsts Timeline' ?

Quite an eye opener , and well worth seeing if you doubt that MB are innovative

Its on youtube in a 6min promo video, seen it.. dont disagree with the heritage... or history of innovation

I was talking of the modern era..

[YOUTUBE]5m_x1MlMR-Y[/YOUTUBE]

 

[The Boss]

I totally agree! Old Mercedes just seem to get better, as if they're "maturing", whereas other more "radical" designs ((previous Megane?) just age quickly and badly. However, I'm not so sure about the current designs, especially the facelift on the SL, whether they will age quite so well....time will tell!

How was the affair last week with the black model?? Looked good with her top off lol

 

[recycled]

mercedes started the wing indicators. everyone copied

 

[MPG]

I think all car manufacturers are guilty of a degree of plagiarism. It's no bad thing as it gives a degree of uniformity when we look back & certainly makes a product look like it belonged to a specific point in time.
On a related topic, I know daytime running lights are due to become compulsory (I assume because once again we're pandering to the lowest common denominator who can't judge for themselves when lights are actually needed). I also know that LED lights make sense for this purpose as they take a very low current drain...BUT....they really do look so very very naff......

 

[Mr E]

Car design is a bit like biorhythms - sometimes they come together in-synch whilst at other times they can be poles apart.

Especially as design teams change and new leaders come in, they want to make their mark. Sometimes the demands of the brand change. Take MB for example - in the days of a simpler model line-up it was much easier to keep the "family" style cues consistent. When you have a range that includes compacts, coupes, saloons, SUVs, MPVs, etc, it becomes much more difficult.

Yes, fashion dictates a lot of things - see the current vogue for rising waist lines and strongly defined arches - and regulations put a lot of constraints into the picture too. But the new W212 contains many consistant design cues - diagonal cut on rear lights, c-pillar shape - and the sharper shape to the nose (the "arrow" as it's being called) seems to be coming in as the common denominator.

It is incredibly rare for a mainstream car design to be totally radical - most european marques seem to be able to maintain their identity without getting lost in the herd.