| Citroen’s Anti Retro battle with MINI |
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I was somewhat surprised to see that Citroen was promoting its new DS3 at last month’s MPH Show with the slogan ‘Anti Retro’. Clearly a reference to the car’s contemporary design in stark contrast to that of its key intended competitor - the MINI. I find this odd on two fronts: Firstly, Citroen is trading on a retro nameplate with DS. Granted, the car bears no resemblance to the original, but the company is happy for customers to make the positive connection with the iconic Bertoni-designed saloon from the 1950s. Secondly, I would argue that Citroen’s latest concept car, the Revolte, unveiled at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show (and previewed beforehand on Facebook), showed some rather distinctly retro traits, although admittedly it stopped short of simply becoming a caricature of the 2CV. At last year’s Geneva Show, in response to rumours and a slick ‘leaked’ digital image of just such a car, I put the question to Mark Lloyd, Citroen’s Design Chief responsible for both the DS3 and the new C3 (which share a platform incidentally), as to whether retro designs such as the MINI and the Fiat 500, were merely a cop-out - an admission that a design team couldn’t come up with anything new and appealing. Lloyd’s response was quite resolute: “Our job [as designers] is to create cars that people want to buy.” In principle, if the demand is there for such vehicles, then why not? He went on to point out that the MINI, ignoring its design, was fundamentally a good car. If it were a bad car, then the design would be unlikely to save it. So what’s the deal? Is the Anti-Retro slogan simply part of a very targeted advertising campaign against BMW’s updated interpretation of Issigonis’ masterpiece, or are we likely to see Citroen go Pro-Retro if the public’s reaction to the Revolte is deemed to be positive? Citroen’s official line is no to retro, but given Lloyd’s unwillingness to rule out the possibility, I’m banking on the latter. Watch this space.
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Citroen is the best car that nobody knows about. Do they sell them, even, in the U.S? Today’s car buyer is geared to saving money and want low maintenance cost. To get that, you gotta know something about the car. It’s not an experimental car market these days, if you know what I mean.
Regards,
Rob
Rob | 04 Jan 10 - 4:43Citreon are treading on thin ice using this misdefinition of retro. Yes some retro things are rubbish I dont particularly like the old CVs and their not worth much either but if some one badmouths my old but highly stylish and valuable bubble chair or Atari arcarde machine because of this slogan, which they will, I will kill them.
sour mongerers | 23 Feb 10 - 1:58These guys are as high tech like a pair of “hi tec” trainers.
Get a sports car.
I don’t think its necessarily a ‘misdefinition’ of retro, I think its just Citroen playing word games. I think they are referring to the new contemporary design of the DS3 along with poking a bit of fun at the competition. In anyways, I think its a great looking car, but knowing Citroen it will probably have an uninspired selection of engines.
motoring news | 05 Jan 11 - 20:41