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BMW’s Neue Klasse: Soft Power, Therapeutic Mobility, and Cultural Re-Narration

Bo Kampmann Walther

Theory, Culture and Society2026https://doi.org/10.1177/02632764261421035article
AJG 3
Weight
0.50

What the paper says

This article examines the BMW Neue Klasse as a culturally and ideologically charged design object that repositions the automobile as a site of post-traumatic re-narration. Arguing that contemporary car design has shifted from a logic of domination and futurism to one of therapeutic ambience and soft mobility, the text explores how design interfaces, heritage aesthetics, and architectural lineage coalesce into a new spatial politics. Drawing on the legacy of Bauhaus and Brutalism, as well as the aesthetics of ‘Industrie 4.0’, the article traces how these influences are both preserved and transformed. A literary comparison with Haruki Murakami’s short story ‘Drive My Car’ further illustrates how the car becomes a vehicle for memory, quietude, and ideological recalibration. Ultimately, the Neue Klasse is interpreted not simply as a technological artifact, but as a soft epistemological platform – an interface between history, affect, and the politics of motion.

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https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1177/02632764261421035

Or copy a formatted citation

@article{bo2026,
  title        = {{BMW’s Neue Klasse: Soft Power, Therapeutic Mobility, and Cultural Re-Narration}},
  author       = {Bo Kampmann Walther},
  journal      = {Theory, Culture and Society},
  year         = {2026},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1177/02632764261421035},
}

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Evidence weight

0.50

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20
M · momentum0.50 × 0.15 = 0.07
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.