I need to thank fellow autojourno Rob Stumpf for stumpfling across these images and posting them to Twitter, which is where I was alerted to their existence:
Y’all these are actual press images and I’m screaming. I need more of this kind of Big Volvo Energy in press releases. pic.twitter.com/O8XNeoYxML — Rob Stumpf (@RobDrivesCars) June 24, 2022 Man, you really need a moment just to really drink these images in. Ostensibly, the whole press 2006 release is about highlighting Studio Chief Designer Simon Lamaare’s Quebecois heritage, but the pictures tell a very different story. I mean, look:
There are a lot more than being from Canada going on here, unless maybe you’re telling people at your middle school you have a taillight in Canada you’ve been seeing. The taillight is from a car Lamaare worked on, the Volvo C30. Lamaare discusses the C30’s design in the press release: And, if you look at the C30, with its Volvo P1800ES-like glass rear hatch, you can see that the taillight design plays a huge role in the car’s dramatic look: “I definitely enjoy working on something that isn’t mainstream,” says Lamarre. “But the C30 was extra fun because it was stepping away from what people would normally perceive as a Volvo.” Lamarre explains that Volvo Cars has typically been a family-focused company with vehicles designed to accommodate both parents and children. The C30, on the other hand, is designed to appeal to the single crowd or couples. He says this new direction not only created excitement and high expectations for the car within the company, it also fed his enthusiasm for the project. “I wanted to create something that’s different, but would still be perceived as a Volvo,” he recalls. He says it was a mandate that required a delicate touch and adds it’s a reason why he feels the automobile represents the ultimate design challenge. “Designing a car is all about finding a balance between many different aspects,” he says. “You have to consider manufacturing capabilities, it has to look good, be useful and be economically viable. On top of that, you have government regulations to consider.” But the biggest challenge to automotive designers is how people interpret their work. “You can quantify engineering, but you can’t quantify design,” he says. “To me, good design makes a statement without screaming at you. So I try to keep my design work simple with simple shapes, no excessive folds in the sheet metal and no ornamentation.”
They effectively are the C-pillars of the car, framing the showcase element, the glass hatch, and emphasizing the “shoulders” of the car as well. These taillights are Big Deal to this design, and, based on these photos, to Simon as well.
Look at those pictures up there. They’re not the usual publicity photos of an all-powerful designer and the Art that they breathed into being; this is a photo of partners, the designer and the designed, equal participants in the demanding game of translating metal and plastic into something that stirs people, deep inside. There’s love in these pictures, and if you can’t see that, then you have my pity, as you live in a dark, joyless world. There’s confidence, too, born from a security that only comes from genuine respect given freely, openly, from all parties. How else can you explain this image, where the taillight is given center stage, and the designer is happy to recede into the background, proud of his creation and confident enough to let it exist on its own merits?
This isn’t really a press release about Quebec or Simon Lamaare or Volvo. It’s a love letter masquerading as a press release, a bold, unflinching reminder that taillights are red because they pull their essence from deep within us, from the CHMSL-red blood that pumps in our hearts, and the pride of someone who helped bring a new taillight into the dark world, to illuminate reverse progress, to pulsate amberly as a turn is indicated, to glow a crimson warning of an impending halt – this is what matters. It seems that at least once in 2006, Volvo and at least one of their designers understood this, deeply. I hope Lmaare and his taillight are still together and happy to this very day. UPDATE: A commenter, Jack Trade, thoughtfully pointed out something I neglected to mention: the setting. This isn’t a studio shot. This isn’t by the car. This isn’t in the design studio. It appears to be out on a…hiking trail? The base of a mountain? It’s not just posed photos with a beloved taillight, it’s photos of a lovely day out in nature with a beloved taillight! It’s so much, so good. (Photos: Volvo, incredibly) However, when taken off the car and held lovingly in the arms of their designer, for some reason the only thing I can see is the head of a cute cartoon ant that tragically succumbed to that parasitic fungus that turns them into zombies. Simon’s smile is bittersweet as he remembers the good times they had together, before the inevitable cordyceps-inflicted decline takes hold. Material-wise, there’s no reason this tail light should be any more than any other (maybe a little more – that’s a lot of plastic) . #TeamRightLights He’s not standing close to the taillight on a a car just rolled off the line or displayed on an autoshow style pedestal, he’s taking the light itself hiking in the woods. No doubt followed by a picnic. Reminds me of one of the funniest band promo photos ever, put out by stoner rockers Sleep back in 2012 https://cms.kerrang.com/images/sleeppress2-copy.jpg “with its Volvo P1800ES-like glass rear hatch” There was never such thing as a P1800ES. You should know wince you owned a P1800! The letters represent which series of production the car falls in and the ‘P’ designation was just the early ones. The shooting brake 1800 was called the 1800ES. I understand it’s difficult to run a website on your own but the constant readability problems in the articles are getting to me. For instance: “There are a lot more than being from Canada going on here” This was one of the small issues that won’t be picked up with spellcheck but can easily be discerned by having a human read it over before print. I don’t expect even close to perfection but these errors seem to be increasing. Either way, good luck with the Autopian! Just chill and enjoy it, bruh https://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/cars-for-sale/volvo/p1800es I always thought the taillight assembly looked like the profile of an over-designed dining chair. Another case of a good car let down by a shitty dealer network. I had dreams of the factory delivery program, but I didn’t ever get to see what the details of that actually were. I went to the only dealer local to me at the time, one that loudly advertised NO HYPE!, and asked for a test drive. The salesman obliged, but insisted I take out a loaded R-design in red. I protested that I wasn’t going to spend the money for the top trim and I didn’t like the color. He persisted, so I drove it. Afterwards I spent two hours in his office trying to get him to sell me a car I wanted, while he kept trying to find different ways to lease me the red R design I had no interest in and was pretty clear that I couldn’t afford. I, exasperatedly, said enough at the two hour mark and walked over to the VW dealership that happened to be next door. The VW dealer happened to have a one year used GTI in the showroom for a bit less than I had budgeted for a C30. In about half an hour, and after remarkably little bullshit, I was signing papers, and have been an almost unwaveringly loyal VW driver since. I then drove the R32, with the salesman (a senior member of the family whose name was on the dealership) to their Volvo store on the other side of town. Drove the C30 and it made my decision easy. The C30 was smooth, comfortable, beautiful and unusual. It, like the R32, was discounted about $7,500 off sticker (remember those days), so I got into it new for around $22,500 + tax & tags. I had them remove the stupid Red Sox logos before delivery. I kept the C30 for 9 years then sold it to a coworker who’s still dailying it today. If you visit DT anytime soon, just give 4 hours notice, and I will gladly drive my C30, with its GLORIOUS taillights, over to DT’s for you to see in person and to salivate over. 😉 (Yes, I am serious, I only live 12 miles from DT’s house of Iron Oxide) Always thought it would make an awesome rally car–strip it down, throw in a rear axle electric motor (with just enough battery for ~50-100 all out KM) for awd/mid-weight distro, toss on a different suspension, and tear up some gravel roads in style. https://live.staticflickr.com/5281/5261571854_44d70b81d5_b.jpg I often wonder if Jason’s obsession with taillights is somehow sexual given that so many of them look like places to put phalli into. 😀 Your prose would bring Shakespeare joy & envy. Whatever the impetus, keep it up: I sorely missed WTFriday First, please correct his name. It’s Lamarre, not Lamaare (although I’ll give you that looks Swedish, it ain’t french though), as in the press quote. The inspiration for this taillight design does indeed have to do with his heritage. You see, I remember reading in a local car article back in the day that his inspiration for the taillight shape was Montreal’s Olympic Stadium tower, a unique design in its own right. (French Architect Roger Tallibert). When you look at them next to each other it’s pretty clear. I’ve only ever seen that since.
