## Chapter 0214: On the Importance of Appearance
The price North Banner offered to Reman Arnold was not low, but these foreigners were not fools. After understanding North Banner's situation and the current state of the domestic industry, they were no longer satisfied with the current compensation.
What made Reman Arnold so arrogant? This issue had to be discussed in the context of car design itself.
For a car, what is the first thing that attracts consumers? Or perhaps it's better to ask: where do people's main impressions of an unfamiliar car come from?
Of course, it's the exterior!
The performance of a car is only known after a long period of experience by the owner. But the exterior determines the consumer's immediate impression.
It's like finding a girlfriend: personality is something you understand after spending a long time together, but looks and figure determine whether you pursue her or not. There's nothing wrong with this statement, right?
Therefore, the beauty of a car greatly influences its reputation in the market.
Looking at the current automotive market, there are countless examples of how appearance determines a car's sales. If we had to list them, the list could fill a page of A4 paper in the smallest font size.
Take the biggest beneficiary of winning the market with appearance: South Korean car brands.
Hyundai's eighth-generation Sonata, which lacks performance and has mediocre technology, owes its market success entirely to its exterior design. The success of this model's appearance directly laid the foundation for its large sales.
After its upgrade, the Sonata leaped from lukewarm sales to being a hot-selling model that year, selling nearly 500,000 units globally. The new Elantra, which extended the design language of the eighth-generation Sonata, garnered more than a million sales worldwide.
Of course, the success of the Elantra is also related to its positioning and price, but the appearance was a major contributing factor to its hot sales.
Then there's Kia's K5, which truly represents the pinnacle of Korean car design. Don't get me wrong, there's no praise here. This car, from its launch, frequently revealed various minor problems, such as persistent noise issues and body panels as fragile as ice cream cones...
Moreover, this is a car with an attitude; how long it lasts without breaking down depends entirely on the owner's luck. The chassis is poor, the handling is bad, and the power is insufficient. Apart from its flashy appearance reminiscent of a K-drama male lead, the entire car has no highlights.
But it was this flashy exterior that caused a storm in the mid-size car market when the K5 was released.
There are even more examples of ugly designs ruining a car.
In the alternate timeline before the changes in the automotive history process, Volkswagen Golf was a car launched in 1974, going through six generations, and standing firm in the European and American markets for over thirty years, occupying sixty percent of the market share in its class in Germany. Classic model, durable, high quality—these words almost exclusively describe this car.
However, upon entering the Chinese market, this European sales champion plummeted from heaven to hell, facing several years of poor performance and even near-halt in production.
Why? Partly because of Volkswagen's suicidal pricing strategy at the time. But the deeper reason was that the Golf's appearance did not meet Chinese aesthetic standards.
To put it bluntly, it was too ugly.
Then there's Suzuki Liana in this timeline. This car was a crucial part of Suzuki's global strategy. Its space performance, fuel economy, practical and rich configurations, and pragmatic overall style were all commendable.
But in China, this car went offline after only two years of sales. Why? Because it was too ugly...
Although Xu Guangsheng had issues with his character, he was still clear-headed. The failure of several previous North Banner models had been analyzed internally by the company. Mediocre design was a constant pain in North Banner's heart.
Now, the wealthy Xu Guangsheng wanted to finally make a comeback by creating a stunningly beautiful model.
That's why he hired Reman Arnold's design team at a high salary, striving to make the C-class model an instant hit with its appearance.
Reman Arnold also knew Xu Guangsheng and North Banner's intentions. Moreover, he knew that currently, the Chinese automotive industry had no notable designers.
So, after two days of passive resistance, he demanded a pay raise.
Xu Guangsheng was infuriated by these grandmasters, but the situation was pressing. To secure the Shengshi project, he had promised the higher-ups that the car would be ready for the market within six months.
So, he had to accept Reman Arnold's escalating demands.
After nearly nine figures of promised compensation, Reman Arnold was finally satisfied. He woke up the drunkards slumped on the office sofas and began working on the new design for the Shengshi C-class model.
To be fair, the team led by Reman Arnold, who had just made a fortune, was highly motivated. In just over a week, they finalized the car's appearance and sent it to Xu Guangsheng.
However, upon seeing the rounded design in the renderings, Xu Guangsheng frowned.
This... looks too dull... Round and chubby, it does look pretty cute.
"Mr. Reman Arnold, isn't this design too rounded? While the Chinese people value moderation, it can't be completely devoid of sharpness."
The translator stood on tiptoe, whispered a few words into the bearded Reman Arnold's ear, translating Xu Guangsheng's words.
"Oh! My dear sir, this is the most popular design language in Europe right now. Observing the changes in car designs, you might notice a cycle from round to square and back to round. Currently, the trend is to use roundness to express the car's smoothness and elegance. Especially for this executive-level car, this design language is just perfect."
Listening to the translation, and matching it with the renderings, Xu Guangsheng indeed found it a bit more pleasing to the eye.
Meanwhile, Reman Arnold continued to boast, according to his description, this car should be designed like this, as if any slight modification would be a blasphemy to beauty and a sign of irresponsibility to the project.
Xu Guangsheng was not a fool either. The contract with Reman Arnold allowed for three unconditional design modifications. The smaller the modifications, the better it was for the design team.
If it were him, he would also insist the design was perfect.
However, Reman Arnold's lengthy speech did have some effect. Xu Guangsheng, looking at the few drawings in front of him, was unsure for a moment.
One point Reman Arnold mentioned that he agreed with was the positioning of the Shengshi C-class.
As a government executive car, it indeed shouldn't be too ostentatious.
Being low-key was appropriate.
In this dilemma, Xu Guangsheng called his secretary.
Since taking over the Shengshi project, the media had repeatedly hyped it, building him into a key figure in the automotive industry. So, following the trend, Xu Guangsheng created his own Weibo account.
However, he didn't spend time on Weibo himself; his secretary managed it, occasionally posting some very professional papers or social comments.
Surprisingly, he garnered nearly a million followers.
Given this, Xu Guangsheng, who loved the limelight, valued it highly.
So, in his indecision, he thought of a solution.
Post the renderings on Weibo and see what netizens think!
NEXT