VW Design Bosses: Be Nice and Invest in Fabrics
This year’s news hasn’t been terribly optimistic for the Volkswagen Group. Their year-to-date stock price has fallen roughly 16 percent, while threats from Chinese EV brands and labor conflicts are making headlines. Plans are in place to mitigate their problems, and even their design team got into the spirit of things via an interview with Top Gear.
Christian Schreiber, head of VW design strategy, and Andy Mindt, head of design, discussed several items, but two stuck out: the inclusion of niceness in car design and the embracing of fabrics for nicer interiors.
I believe most people don’t want to be the coolest or appear aggressive in public. They want to have a suit and a good outside appearance while being happy and optimistic. What is the need to be aggressive? Our core is like this: be the nice guys.
Andy Mindt
Nice guys, eh? That almost suggests VW will both respect and reintroduce the good old days of their brand, when the advertisements were cheeky and the cars were downright cute.
That’s a great idea, as “cute” hasn’t been done by a non-Chinese automaker for a while. VW’s heritage ensures they could easily turn that corner, and attract a lot of new customers in the process. From a design perspective, the optimist in me wishes that Schreiber and Mindt are delicately suggesting that their latest efforts will include round or ovoid headlights.
While we covered the retro-themed details in the 2025 VW ID Buzz, its face lacks the requisite approachable and “happy and optimistic” demeanor of the VW products that made the brand a household name. That could be fixed in a mid-cycle refresh, if words from management turn into action.
Aside from the squinty headlights, the ID Buzz isn’t too far off from the original formula. First, slap on some headlights worthy of a 1998 New Beetle. Then ditch the played-out EV lighting signature between the headlights, and instead opt for a lighted emblem paired with a Porsche-style signature inside those new headlights.
Automotive fashion statements are indeed cyclical, so re-making a van that cute isn’t out of the question. Schreiber told Top Gear that, “We will connect directly with Volkswagen’s heritage.” But this quote is even more telling:
“We’re going to try and kick out cheap plastic materials and put the money instead into fabrics and improving quality, which helps save money and means we can use it elsewhere.”
Andy Mindt
More great news! VW has a storied relationship with Tartan (a type of plaid fabric) in their GTI model, and it could easily be transferred to any VW product. And not just the sporty or expensive models, because fabrics have the remarkable ability to add warmth and texture with only modest sacrifices in durability and expense. But don’t take my word for it, because it certainly worked for Chevrolet.
Aside from its distinctly un-American design heritage, I don’t recall anyone having a legitimate beef with the original 2009 Chevrolet Cruze. These mid-size cars were good enough for a Buick badge when new, and didn’t fall apart like many of yesteryear’s Cavaliers as they aged out. But the salient point is the fact that GM designers greenlighted extensive use of fabrics in the interior. And this stuff lasted, looking good for well over a decade even when abused.
VW designers would be wise to take a page from the Cruze. Fabrics can be fun, whimsical and maybe even a “nice guy” in a sea of angry eyed, plastic clad competitors. They absolutely deserve a future outside of spendy GTIs, as they are worthy of any vehicle that doesn’t need a standard leather interior.
While interviews with car designers generally pack a lot of fluff with little substance, there’s enough in this Top Gear interview to suggest that VW understands the problems their vehicles face in today’s competitive landscape. They have a plan to stand out from the crowd, and get people to fall in love with the brand again. Being the market dominator they once were in China might be impossible, but there’s hope for VW and the VW brand if they pull the thread on a piece of tartan fabric and see where it takes their designers.
Material quality matters but so does the look.
Plaids may work in Europe but here ehh.
It doesn’t have to be plaid, although there is an opening for a Steve Martin edition. It wasn’t that long ago that cloth was not only the default, but then leather became the upmarket option. Going further back West of England cloth was really only for high end cars.
For anyone who remembers jumping into a car and burning the back of their legs on vinyl or leather seats would appreciate the coolness of cloth.
You’re not wrong. Back in the ’90s I was driving a convertible Beetle with black vinyl seats. You can bet there were indeed times I jumped in and jumped right back out again! 🙂
Cloth seats have a wonderful history and can indeed provide solid long-term wearability. Whether plaid, herringbone or another type, there are many varities that can be woven nowadays.
Frankly, I miss them on modern cars, as can evoke a luxurious feel if well done: think 1970s and 1980s Toyota, Nissan, Porsche, etc.
In the Chevrolet Volts cloth interiors were standard in both trim levels. I drove a 2012 Volt for almost 8 years and the cloth held up well, looked good and was comfortable. I saw no wear in almost 8 years.
Cloth is SO much better for seats than vinyl or leather: it’s more moderate in temperature, more grippy, and more friendly in appearance. I’d gladly trade my Mustang’s leather seats for cloth seats. My older musclecars get a pass only because that’s how they were and I want them to be as-original.
And that grippiness is the main problem. When trying to slide behind the wheel, many cloth interiors grab one’s pants, and twist and turn them insufferably. I have not bought a new or used (not collectible) car with a cloth interior for almost 20 years, and don’t intend to start now. Years ago, I used to select vinyl instead of cloth, but now it is leather for me!
Can they invest on their interiors and give us some buttons and banish the haptic crap. The haptics and screens for everything have turned me off the VW/Audi group cars.
Bring back velour!
Yeah – let’s go right back to the 1970’s!
I much prefer cloth/fabric seats in my cars. I have a 1995 Nissan PU with fabric seats and they still look great after 200K miles. Leather needs routine care to maintain its functionality or it deteriorates. Not to mention the wild temperature unpleasantness. Please more fabric interiors!
I had a Chevy Cruze. One of the worst things about it, and there were a lot of bad things was the fabric on the dashboard. It had a deep waffle texture and it collected dust like crazy. When you tried to vacuum it, not only would it not get clean but the fibers would start sticking up all over the place. It looked like you ran a piece of sandpaper over it.