I'm glad my explanation was helpful ....I sometimes fear that I am very misinterpreted.

I think things are changing .....the market is becoming more and more open to new ideas. The connections being made with what is happening in other aspects of art and culture are now clearly pointed out in advertising and marketing from these manufacturers. We often see press photos with vehicles parked outside high-profile landmark buildings (including the manufacturer's own) ...and designers like Pfeiffer and Bangle are far more visible and vocal in the Media about their 'ideas' than their predecessors.

I think consumers are far more informed about, and interested in, design than in the past -- this is changing the types of products they want to own -- and this partly explains why Mercedes has become very progressive with its design in recent times.

Sacco transformed the significance of design for the Mercedes-Benz brand ...making it integral to the entire philosophy of the marque. Sacco was a very formal designer, schooled in post-WW2 Modernist ideology (he was an engineer by training); Pfeiffer is a different generation, he is a true post-modernist -- under him, Mercedes design has become much more expressive and emotive -- and also encompasses the marketing/image of the brand (right through the design process) far more than ever before.