‘Earth car’ marketing man leaves Honda

Posted on

| Written by

Alistair Watkins, Honda’s marketing director who oversaw the team radical ‘Earth Car’ design for the 2007, is leaving the team.

Are the company going to ditch the environmental awareness concept created with Simon Fuller’s 19 Entertainment company?

Related links

Tags: / / / /

Author information

Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

Got a potential story, tip or enquiry? Find out more about RaceFans and contact us here.

10 comments on “‘Earth car’ marketing man leaves Honda”

  1. I suspect that the design will be retained for the balance of this year (too good a concept, and besides too much bad press if it’s removed early). However, the new marketing director will almost certainly be told to come up with a discreet design for 2008 in the hope of utilising the Law of Inverted Hype – the lower-profile you are before the start of the season, the better your in-season performance will be…

  2. It would be interesting if they did change the design this year, however. Who knows, it might even make the cars competitive again… :D

  3. I hate to say this, but after hearing Toro Rosso want to ditch the big bull sticker and replace it with paint, it makes me think the microprinted screening on Honda’s livery has to be adding quite a bit of dead weight.

    A diplomatic solution may be to paint the globe scheme on without the microprinted signatures, but it’d be somewhat refreshing to see a truly blank livery in formula 1 as well… I expect most of you to know the origin of Mercedes’ Brushed Aluminum look.

  4. Honda’s colour scheme has obviously caused some trouble for the team, the right front wing has Argentina on it and the left front wing has Japan and we all know that that pair can’t work side by side. That whole “earth environment” scheme is a political statement and politics don’t belong in sports. And if you think a screwed up colour scheme has no effect on the car and/or team…….you’d better have another look at Renault’s colour scheme and their standing this year! I’m an old goat that goes back to the time when F1 cars were run in their “National Colours” and that’s the way it should be. But I’m also a smart goat and realize and reluctantly accept the “good old days” are gone forever! I’m THANKFUL I lived them! Concerning the Honda earth scheme……I can’t imagine it changing this year the backlash would be far worse than any good it has earned them (if any), next year they will go back to something near “normal”.

  5. Number 38, don’t lie. Politics have been firmly entrenched in sport since the creation of the IOC.

    Seriously, though, paint adds weight and does not add spectators. I’m pretty sure you’d be hard pressed to find someone that watches for the decals.

  6. Hello chunter….I didn’t LIE……my statement reads, “the (Honda earth) scheme is a political statement and politics don’t belong in sports.”
    Even if politics have been involved since the begining of time ….. my statement is still CORRECT !!!
    Politics don’t belong in sports.
    And if the cars were run in “National Colours” we wouldn’t be distracted by
    ‘decals’. Thanks for the response, this is a good site and ALL responses are welcome.

  7. “Lie” was a harsh word, I meant it tongue in cheek :P

    I think a more understandable way to comment is, politics try to inject themselves everywhere possible and have done so for as long as we’ve called someone ‘chief’. There will be no getting rid of it.

    When complaints are made about Max and Bernie, those too are politics.

    I should add that I don’t find any of the paint schemes distracting at all this year, and though I think the teams are a bit too international to decorate like flags (should Schumacher’s Ferrari have been black, yellow, and red for Germany, or Red, White, and Green for Italy? I think the orange Spyker and red and white Toyota and Super Aguri teams answer that a little) I do admit the flag schemes on A1GP cars look cool, and frankly, I love the terseness of virtually no ads on their cars.

  8. Hi chunter…….your okay, but I suspect you’re too young to remember “National Colours”.
    “National Colours” as first applied to F1 racing was NOT flags, Germany’s colour was SILVER! England green, France blue, Belguim yellow, Sweden black, Italy red, USA white with a blue stripe, etc. There was NO commerical advertising on the cars in those days. The drivers
    all had distinctive personal pattern helmets, they didn’t need their name on the car!
    We could SEE the driver driving……ah, you’ve brought back thoughts of a finer time. THANK YOU.

  9. I think I understand,… like the strips in international football. :)

Comments are closed.