More Italian innovation and design

Recently, we weaved a path through the strategy and marketing approaches of a few vehicle marques. From Porsche to Ferrari to Fiat we went.

Along the way, we also highlighted "Italian design" as a crucial part of Ferrari's two-pronged strategy and "Italian sassiness" being part of Fiat's gestalt.

Let's now take a further look at Italian "La Dolce Vita", innovation and design.

Alfa Romeo

Alfa Romeo has to be part of any post that discusses Italian vehicles. Yet, let's just briefly note the following assessment of the Alfa Romeo Brera from Jeremy Clarkson:

"Think of it as Angelina Jolie.
You’ve heard she’s mad and eats nothing but wallpaper paste.
But you would, wouldn’t you?"

I.e., when it comes to Italian products, form often trumps function. Yet, the 'form' (i.e. innovation and design) is so great that we will forgive imperfections in the 'function'. Clarkson's last line is the clincher.

Vespa

So, that brings us to Piaggio's Vespa - the ultimate masterclass in innovation and design that (as assessed by this non-petrol-head, at least) outclasses all other vehicular beauty. The Vespa will, forever, be the King, or is it Queen(?), of beautiful innovation and design. And this is so, even if some may ascribe Angelina Jolie qualities to Vespa's functional aspects. (1) The design was innovative, yet timeless, (2) has hardly changed since the first Vespa soon after WW2, and (3) will probably never ever change much.

We'll leave it to 'bart' on Youtube to describe just exactly how great the innovation in the Vespa's design was.

Let's add, to the above, just another (hundred-billionth?) comment about how wonderfully beautiful a product this is. This really is a case of where even copycat products are generally very good-looking. The concept (form, balance, curves, proportions, wheel-sizes, etc.) is the key.

And, lastly, we will note how another style/elegance/glamour (yet-relatable) icon, Audrey Hepburn first made the Vespa a household name and bestseller. This was as a result of the movie Roman Holiday. She of many sources of style-derived fame such as the iconic Pixie Haircut, Little Black Dress / Black Givenchy dress, and many more.

Vespa - and only Vespa

We recently posted a Google Maps image of a short stretch of road in Dubai where we counted several parked Teslas. From that image's viewpoint, turn around 180 degrees, walk a short distance, and you will arrive at a top-end Vintage Supercar dealer (one of many in Dubai).

We took only one mobile phone photo there.
Here it is.

The photo's main focus is the Vespa (and derivatives) collection against the wall; not the Supercars. And, yes, we do have witnesses that there were no further photos taken there. Just this one. For this photographer, the superstars of the show easily outclassed a whole floor's worth of vintage supercars.

As an aside, in a manner of speaking (if you will forgive this analogy) we acted like Julius Caesar when he visited the tomb of Alexander The Great and refused an offer to view Ptolemy's tomb too. "...he abruptly dismisses the suggestion, saying that 'he wanted to see a king, not some corpses".

Even so, one has to admit that the cars on display, at that dealer, were very beautiful 'corpses'.

Good old RSA?

South Africa?
What is our biggest strength?

The saying "'n Boer Maak 'n Plan" may, possibly, have some unwanted connotations to many people. Yet, if one looks at our chequered history, some type of derivative of that statement probably applies to all of the different groups of people in this country - however you wish to define 'group'.

We are a resourceful nation, and one simply has to go to a place like Dubai where there are countless successful South Africans - of every type of background that you can imagine - to see evidence thereof. And, unless you are a unrepentant Afro-pessimist, the same applies here, in our country, too.

Maak-'n-plan equals innovation.
Full stop.
Let us innovate a lot more then.