Comment 
The car industry appears to have reached a point where new launches are, more likely than not, going to be received poorly. At least for the design conscious. I will not be performing a quantitative analysis of global media, but that is certainly my perception of things right now. Why does it feel this way? In my mind, it is a resistance to change, and as balanced as I try to be, I’m not immune to that.
Work has been done to explore the fundamental human factors behind why we like what we like, and in some companies there are even experts embedded within the organisation. We spoke to BMW not long ago about the link between perceived quality and desirability, for example. Alina Braun, who leads Design Research & Psychology there, noted that as humans, “we know if we love it, hate it or want to explore further within milliseconds.” That’s true not only when seeing a new car in the metal, but also from teasers, press shots and b-roll shared online.
All too often, innovative new products – however you define ‘innovative’ – are met with backlash; instant meme material that inevitably draws comparison with the previous generation of that product. Or perhaps even more so, compared to the most ‘iconic’ version of that product. The classic. The original. It is only natural, and as enthusiasts we’ve all done it.
Challenging the decisions of businesses also keeps those organisations honest. This new product will undoubtedly cost more, so are those upgrades worth it? Is it new for the sake of being new, or were we better off with the old model, which is now discontinued? These are all answers that press releases aim to solve, but the damage is already done by the time the first images hit your preferred ‘car leaks’ page. From considered analysis to searing remarks and often simply the ‘being sick’ emoji, most new cars meet a tough a crowd.
Models with clear heritage buck the trend. Think of the Renault 5 revamp as a key example. Or the 4. Or the Twingo. But it can so easily go the other way when handled… differently. The electric Ford Capri did not immediately get design media on side. 
Heritage and familiarity play crucial roles in automotive, perhaps more so than in any other market. Drivers have grown up and bonded with a particular car over the years and feel emotionally connected to that product. In their eyes, it is “the right one… the best one.” Drivers have also become accustomed to how things work, where they are placed, and even the noises they make. A new model might only have minor updates to any of those things – the position of buttons, the order of menus in an infotainment system, even the thickness of a steering wheel or gearshifter – and the notion of familiarity is uprooted. It becomes a foreign object. We are sensitive beings when it comes to cars.
And so we should be. Second only to our homes, a car is typically the most expensive product anyone will buy. Thus, it immediately sets enormous expectations around functionality, reliability, and frankly how it will be perceived. Cars make – sometimes quite loudly – statements about the person behind the wheel. 
The trick is in bringing both existing and potential customers on side while continuing to innovate
Cars are also a functional product. They must be intuitive, reliable and ideally offer moments of delight. Any change to the user experience – even if objectively ‘better’ by the numbers – could cause anxiety around the perceived ease of use. We could look to any number of examples beyond the car. From simple ones – a new layout on the Instagram app – to more significant long-term societal shifts, like the move away from cash. With the former, users will likely get over it in the space of a week. With the latter, it may have taken years for some to get used to contactless payment systems.
But back to automotive, and you can take your pick of any major recent shifts: the introduction of EVs, driver assistance systems and touchscreens have all been sticking points, and often still are for those that do not leave and breathe this stuff for their job. Interior design has evolved as a result, with initially more buttons, then fewer, and in some cases practically none. Some designs might integrate a bigger screen, extra screens, more lights and perhaps lean more heavily into digitalisation than some would desire. Even going the other way, the Tesla Model 3 can divide opinion, labelled as bland rather than minimalistic. Sometimes you can’t win.
It may boil down to the fact that, ultimately, many drivers want what feels familiar. And building familiarity takes time. The trick will be finding ways that bring both existing and potential customers on side while continuing to innovate. Social media means it has never been easier for brands to connect with their audience, educate them on technology or design decisions, and ultimately explain decisions. So why is there still so much friction between enthusiasts and established brands, who anecdotally seem to meet most new launches with confusion, disbelief and often distain.
Through our conversations with designers, much of that storytelling has already been done internally. Designs actively seek to celebrate a brand’s rich heritage (where there is one) while pushing into new territory, and so there is a raft of artwork and moodboards created during the ideation phase that tell the story behind the final product. This is often kept internal. Product explainers and FAQs help – as Porsche has done for the new electric Cayenne – but these listicles feel reactive and lack emotion.
Disgruntled enthusiasts may also react poorly to a launch if they feel unheard or cast aside. They have supported the brand all these years, sharing their hard-earned cash with the company, and now there is a new product that seemingly diverges from what they expect. Brands that clearly explain their design story and rationale for decisions will undoubtedly experience a warmer reception to a new product launch. It may even require highlighting that certain technology or design changes are largely beyond their control owing to evolving industry regulations around safety and emissions. Transparency is the operative word. (I opted for this over ‘education’, as most enthusiasts know  new cars are typically improved over their prior generation. Accepting that is harder when the choices behind it are unclear). 
Humans have always been resistant to change on some level, and the earliest official study into this was carried out in the late 1940s. It is unlikely that this will ever be ‘solved’ but it might serve brands well to rethink their strategy and better utilise the assets created by the design team. 
As a media professional, it is all too common that early sketches, renders or moodboards need to be actively requested alongside the usual studio or driving shots. They do such a strong job of telling the story behind the car, often better than any press release will. The genesis of the idea, the influences from both within and beyond the brand, and importantly the evolution of the design itself. It shows that the team had multiple visions in mind, carefully considering a huge range of different factors and forms, and that they considered many of the questions that might feasibly be asked. It validates the final decision, and helps to answer the chorus of “why have they done that” following the reveal of a new car.
Conversely, the notion that time heals all would suggest that short-term pain may not always come at the expense of long-term gains. Give it a few weeks, and a shocking new design might feel more palatable. Or in the case of the E63 BMW 6 Series, two decades. Plus, once the previous generation of a car is no longer in production, those who want a new model will end up going for the fresh launch regardless. 
There is a principle known as “the mere exposure effect” that describes how we grow to like things over time. On that basis, it would seem prudent to expose customers to “that new thing” a little earlier, leveraging the superpower that is the design studio’s library of artwork and storytellers. 

source