22 Jun 2016 – Driven To Write

Theme: Material – Decay

Cars start decaying the moment they are built. Some manage to accumulate character while most don’t. What do you do?

One response is obsessive polishing and maintenance. The other is stoic acceptance. For many the response is to oscillate in between the two, starting with careful stewardship of the new possession. Why do people fight physics? And why is it that cars don’t last longer? Continue reading “Theme: Material – Decay”

Starship Benz

“A wholly new motoring experience” said Mercedes in 2006, but the R-Class not only fell between two stools, it also fell well short of expectations.

2005 Mercedes Vision R. Image: mercedes-benz-community-weebly — 2005 Mercedes Vision R. Image: mercedes-benz-community-weekly

Product planning is an unholy art, akin to sticking a wetted finger in the air to see which way the wind is blowing – scientific it ‘aint. Showing a marked similarity in conceptual terms to Giugiaro’s Maserati Kubang proposal of 2003, Mercedes-Benz showed their Vision GST (Grand Sports Tourer) concept in 2004, (the work of amongst others, Steve Mattin and Gorden Wagener), a window into the Swabians’ plans to Continue reading “Starship Benz”

Driven To Write is a collective of writers, fuelled by a passion for the motor car, its culture, its people and their stories. Our aim is to provide a distinctive voice and a diversity of automotive writing you may not find elsewhere. We hope you will join us on the journey.

DTW is non-commercial, self-funded, and contains no advertising.

All original content (words and images) hosted on this site remain the sole copyright of the authors and may not be reproduced or re-purposed in whole or in part without their written permission.