Polestar Boss Says Modern Car Design Is Too Arrogant

Car executives are proving to be the most vocal and entertaining players in the automotive segment this week. First, a French design boss called touchscreens stupid, and now Polestar's CEO has criticized modern car design for being too shouty.

In a recent interview, Polestar's CEO Thomas Ingenlath spoke with Top Gear about car design. Ingenlath is qualified to comment on design, having worked in Volvo and Volkswagen's design departments.

"It's been, and still is, a phase where there's an amazing overemphasis of expressiveness," said Ingenlath. "You walk through a street where lots of cars are parked, and all of them are shouting at you. It's a very arrogant attitude, to actually molest people with these expressions. You feel like, 'come on, have a certain decency.' Some class would be appropriate."

Those are some savage words from Ingenlath, who, unfortunately, doesn't name and shame the manufacturers he's referring to. Instead, he mentions designs he likes, like the new Range Rover and Land Rover Defender, Renault's overall strategy, and Lucid.

As mentioned earlier, Ingenlath wants to see more class in future designs. He's likely referring to the old-school definition of the word, which we commonly refer to as elegant.

"Generally, the Scandinavian style is more along those lines," said Ingenlath. "As much as sustainability questions become much more relevant, different generations actually are asking more and more for that. It's definitely something that is changing. What was hip yesterday might suddenly look very old."

Looking at the design of the Polestar 1, you have to agree with the man. It's arguably one of the best-looking cars ever made, even though it's one of the oldest body styles in the automotive world.