Chute Gerdeman

Responding to the growing customer demand for environmentally friendly cars, Germain Lexus of Dublin has launched a new showroom display, developed in collaboration with Chute Gerdeman Retail, the Columbus, OH-based retail branding and design firm.

The three-dimensional showroom experience dramatically focuses attention on the hybrid vehicles, communicating the performance, state-of-the-art technology and engineering of the new Lexus Hybrid HS 250h.

Collaborating with the Lexus executive team, Chute Gerdeman designed and built a flexible and modular communications system that builds in detail as the customer walks though the showroom, explaining the features and benefits of owning and driving a hybrid vehicle. The display is a system of components that provides ample flexibility to update and incorporate information about each new hybrid model and coordinates with the marketing materials.

Guests are drawn back to the main focal by a graphic leaf trail suspended from the ceiling. The display is a larger than life backdrop to the featured HS 250h car. Large dimensional letters and a floating leaf element support the focal’s up market hybrid message. 

A key design challenge was how to best illustrate, in an easy to understand manner, the intricate interplay of gas and electric systems within the car’s engine. A series of acrylic panels were placed in front of the HS 250h, with gas components shown in blue and electric shown in green—creating a dramatic X-ray effect. Behind the car, educational content described in consumer-friendly language highlights the many advantages of hybrid technology and vehicle performance specs. The system speaks to today’s consumers, telling Lexus’s compelling story of the “marriage between gas and electric.”

“The display really starts the conversation with customers,” said Rick Germain. “It instantly opens the door to discussing hybrid technology.”

“Germain is one of the most respected Lexus dealerships in the country and we were able to work ‘hands on’ with Rick during the project development,” says Denny Gerdeman, Chute Gerdeman Founder and CEO.