By nature, we’re skeptics. It’s in the job description.

Thus, while it’s hard not to fall in love with the idea of Volvo’s new 2020 Polestar 1 offspring — I mean, just look at it — we also know how hard it is to kickstart a new luxury brand, regardless of whether Polestar wants to sit far outside the luxury mainstream or right at the heart of the matter. We can’t help but wonder whether the Polestar 1 is not representative of the ideal luxury brand launch.

As doubters, as pessimists, as cynics, as preternatural killjoys, as wary realists, we have questions about this new upstart premium automotive entity. Many questions.

The Polestar 1 looks like the most attractive anonymous coupe to ever star in an insurance advertisement: why is there no badge in the grille? The Polestar 1 will be “sold” exclusively through the same kind of Care by Volvo program Volvo is launching with the XC40 — what if I just want to own it? It looks like a Volvo inside and out, so why isn’t the Polestar 1 a Volvo? Does the Polestar 1 look so much like a Volvo because it (along with its Polestar 2 and Polestar 3 successors) is built in China as part of Volvo’s Geely parent company? Because Geely knows a new, exclusively China-built lineup with no visual connection to Volvo might not be as accepted globally? If all of the Polestar brand’s successive models are going to be all-electric vehicles — a Tesla Model 3 rival and an SUV — why is the first Polestar hosting an ICE assistant? Is the limited production run (only 500 per year) caused by Volvo’s knowledge that the brand has proven to be largely unsuccessful at selling coupes over the last few decades? Is “High Modulus CFRP Body/Optimized Carbon Fiber Layout” the most unnecessary badging ever placed on a car’s flanks, and will it be removed for production? It’s not exactly Accord, 4Runner, or Wrangler, let alone Mustang, Quattroporte, 812 Superfast, or Marauder: why couldn’t Volvo/Polestar/Geely come up with any name for the car whatsoever? Honestly, just the 1? Not even the One? Does the u-turn in Polestar’s mission from Volvo tuner to upstart luxo-EV brand mean the Polestar’s racing heritage falls to bits? Why is Polestar so solemn, so gloomy, so dark about the company’s new status as an automaker? The Polestar 1 is a handsome and classy coupe, but will a 737-lb-ft, carbon fiber-bodied, rear and all-wheel-drive opening gamut that lacks typical supercar cues and a supercar profile attract buyers of hi-po coupes? Is Polestar — how can we broach this subject — a mildly inappropriate name for an automotive brand? It’s six inches shorter than the BMW 4 Series coupe, or about the length of a Honda Civic: is that too tidy for a halo car?

[Images: Polestar]

Timothy Cain is a contributing analyst at The Truth About Cars and Autofocus.ca and the founder and former editor of GoodCarBadCar.net. Follow on Twitter @timcaincars and Instagram.