PASSING THE HOUSE where Mike Oldfield composed Tubular Bells, listening to Pink Floyd and driving a Genesis is surely the holy trinity for any fan of 1970s prog rock music. And the nuances and quirks of both the complex structure of that musical genre and the dramatic features in the Genesis GV60 were not lost on me as I passed by Oldfield's former home in east London a few weeks ago.
Like prog rock, cars increasingly employ all kinds of eye-catching trinkets in order to elevate themselves above what came before. The GV60's equivalent of prog rock's dry ice is a gear selector that rotates to reveal an illuminated crystal-like dome when the car is switched off. Its noodling guitar solos are replaced by pop-out door handles. And its Hammond organ is its fingerprint and facial recognition security systems.
But also like prog rock, features like this can be an acquired taste. My kids love the 'spinny' gear selector, and a driver's seat that slides back automatically when the car is switched off (to aid exit and entry) holds a strange appeal for them. Me? I'm not so taken with such theatrics, because I prefer to just get into a car and go.
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