I HEART CARS

5-Speed Cuff-links

2010-11-01T22:13:00.000-04:00

Picked up this pair of cuff-links this weekend at the Kenneth Cole Outlet. It says I'm a car guy, but I'm also stylish. I'd say they're a little more sophisticated than the airbrushed muscle car t-shirts.

They don't seem to be available anywhere online, but the 6-speed variation and a few other automotive inspired cuff-links can be found here.

First Retro Car?

2010-10-25T23:57:00.000-04:00

I came across the Nissan Figaro this evening while browsing classic Japanese cars. I've seen this before, but I never realized how old it is. 1989 is when this debuted at the Tokyo Auto Show. 20,000 of them were built in 1991, two years before Plymouth debuted the Prowler concept.

Vanning

2010-10-18T21:57:00.001-04:00

Listen, I'm not new to this whole "internet" thing. I know I'm a little late to the party on this one, but I've ignored it long enough. This is ridiculous. This is called "vanning." It's quite popular in Japan. I find it hard to believe that these are off the shelf parts like the unpainted body kits plaguing Hondas everywhere, but if they're not, this is some serious fabrication skills. A few other examples here.

Travis Clark Harley Davidson Concept - Core77

2010-10-17T21:43:00.001-04:00

This caught my eye over on Core77. Really nice concept. While much sportier than any current Harley, I could certainly see this fit really well in the lineup between the Sportster and the discontinued Buell. You can check out the rest of Travis Clark's portfolio here.

Cadillac Commercial

2010-10-15T23:25:00.000-04:00

I love this commercial. It's so well done, and it really speaks to me. It reminds me of a time that we anxiously awaited the unveiling of the new model year. Back when a new car would just make you stop what you were doing so that you could watch it role by, nearly in slow motion as you memorized it's character lines, striking awe in our minds, hearts, and souls.

click: Cadillac Commercial.

Mazda 5: When Good Design Goes Bad

2010-01-22T14:58:00.000-05:00

This is the newest Mazda 5. It follows the rest of the fleet with the new "Nagare" design cues. Nagare is the Japanese word for "flow." And flow it does. No other word could better describe the way each line dances with the next. The highlights and shadows created by the flowing lines draw your eyes around each corner and through each body panel. They create interesting negative spaces with the enormous Peugeot-like grille, the wheel arches, and the cabin windows. I like the blacked out B and C pillars, and the completely hidden D pillar. This really smooths out the windows, making them into one element instead of 9 divided windows.

But is it necessary? Most commenters over on Jalopnik didn't think so. Some even compared the lines to the Pontiac's excessive use of the "guard rail" on the side of every car to make them look "sporty." I disagree with the comparison because every Pontiac ended up looking heavier, and the bulk was added to every car regardless, as if it was a brand standard to make every car worse looking than its competition. The Nagare lines literally make the Mazda 5 look smaller and lighter. It moves while standing still. I'm torn, because I think it's very well done. I can point towards countless examples when excess lines, curves, bumps, or vents make me roll my eyes. But this doesn't fit into that category. It is so well executed, I think liking it or not is a matter of taste rather than a critique on its design.

I think that Mazda shocked us all by actually implementing elements from its concepts.

Z4 No Longer Just a Fancy Miata

2009-12-31T14:00:00.000-05:00

I finally saw a newer Z4 on the road the other day. At first glance, the tail lights looked more like a 6 series, but I quickly realized it was the new Z4. See, the last time I took note of the new Z4, it was in featured in a blog in the "baby boomer beige" color. It had instantly made am impression on me that it was no longer a sports car, but just a luxury convertible. I would like to say that the old adage,"you never get a second chance to make a first impression," does not apply to the automobile.

I first notice how much smoother and sleeker it is overall. It still has some very nicely chiseled lines, but they don't interrupt the body like on the previous model. I am particularly fond of the sweeping character line that starts with the curve of the bonnet, and dives towards the rear wheel to meet with the muscular, yet sexy wheel arch. The lower line between the wheels angles up nicely, and helps accentuate a slight coke bottle curve behind the front wheel. Above that, the vent gets thinner and pointer, yet still looks like it serves a purpose. The BMW roundel no longer serves as a turn signal. It was clever, but is too clunky for this Z4.

I can't forget to mention the retractable hardtop. It's not incredibly obvious that it's a convertible. Not many do that well. Whether it fools you or not, the roof line, shape and proportions are so undeniably classic, that I can't help but compare the silhouette to a Jaguar e-type or a Ferrari GTO 250. Too soon? Okay, maybe I got just a little too excited.

There's not much that I don't love about this new car. And, in nearly every way, I think it is superior to it's predecessor in design and sex appeal. Unless it's in beige.

I heart back to the future

2009-12-12T13:49:00.000-05:00

Man am I a sucker for gullwing doors. Sure, the practicality is questionable, but I like them because they're sexy. Sometimes, that's what design is all about. Sometimes you need to throw practicality, value engineering, and even sometimes ergonomics aside to design a true piece of art. I'm not saying this is a true piece of art, but I certainly admire the designer's uncompromising vision.

Besides the doors, I'm not sure I like it. It certainly mixes well with the other Mercedes in the line up, which I tend to like in some, if not most cases. The BMW Z8 was a near perfect example, in form, of what Mercedes should have emulated, but at some point, there were too many air ducts, and they just kept on going. There are so many interruptions in each body panel that the over all form is lost.

If I ever see one of these on the road, I may just follow it to it's destination, just to see the doors in action. Hopefully Michael J. Fox will be inside. It's a predictable upgrade from the DeLorean.

FIAT 500

2009-06-30T16:24:00.005-04:00

Pictured here is the 2009 FIAT 500 Abarth. Unfortunately, this trim will probably not come to the US anytime soon, but that's a shame. This small little car is on it's way to the US market in four trims, including a convertible and a "sporty hatchback." I'll settle for the sporty hatchback, because FIAT has racing in it's blood.

The 500 has really balanced proportions including a very wide track. It has a bump on it's nose that really stands out to me, and I think about what it would look like if there was a grille there. It would probably look just like a Mini. If the bump was smoothed out, it would look too cute. It looks like a boxer's nose that's been broken a few times, and now he's looking ready to scrap again.

The lights that are below, and to the outside of the headlights are a little weird. Are they turn signals? Do they need to be that large?

At 11 inches shorter than the Yaris, the FIAT 500 will really fill a void in the US market for a small car that people actually want. I hope Chrysler looks at the success of small performance cars in Europe before they introduce the 500 over here. It's important to remember that people enjoy driving fun cars.

The Nissan Cube

2009-05-11T22:48:00.003-04:00

...

The Nissan Cube. I don't know where to start. If it was pink and was branded with Hello Kitty, then I could excuse the asymmetry and all the rounded corners in the glass, but this is not Hello Kitty. This is a Nissan. The same company that has brought us the Z, the 240sx, the 510, the SE-R, (and did I mention the Z?), has given us an asymmetrical cube. This cube is more confusing than the Rubik's cube, but this cube can never be solved. Not in a million years.

Asymmetry aside, I can't find any design elements that I like. I could maybe stand to see a total re-design around the tail lights. Nissan should have designed an xB. The xB is obviously popular, and although not universally accepted as aesthetically pleasing, it is an example of good design. Nissan could have rocked the box off Scion with it's own version of a sports tuned compact box.

Keep an eye on my art blog to see more of my thoughts on this.

Chevrolet Spark. Isn't it so freakin' cute!?

2009-04-30T23:09:00.005-04:00

Okay, I'd never drive it, but it is kinda cute.

Even smaller than the Aveo, the Spark will possibly be here for the 2011 model year. But it's not going to look like this. This is just to get people excited about the car. When it drops, I'm willing to bet we'll see a lot less wheel and a lot more wheel gap. I'm sure that integrated tailpipe won't make the cut either. It's already been beaten into submission from the original concept.

There's no reason GM shouldn't be releasing a car that looks like this. EXACTLY like this. This is what GM needs to keep up with the Toyota Yaris, the Honda Fit, The Scion Xd, and the Smart.

Now go ahead and scroll back up to the other images. Looks like an Aveo again doesn't it?

Hiatus

2009-04-30T22:41:00.002-04:00

The first rule of blogging is that you should blog regularly. Give your readers a routine of sorts. The second rule of blogging is that you don't talk about fight club. No wait.... The second rule of blogging is that you never write,"Sorry it's been so long!"

So I'll end this hiatus by letting you know what's been on my mind...

This isn't an informative blog. I don't have an inside scoop, and I don't try to be the first to show you a new car. I am an automotive design critic, whose opinions don't make a whole lot of difference in today's climate of autoacalypse. But I've decided to get over that inner dilemma that I've been facing, and continue to offer up my blunt and sometimes rude opinions on all things aesthetic in yesterday's, today's, and tomorrow's cars.

Kickin' butt and taking names.

Greg

Pontiac Solstice Coupe

2009-01-24T15:08:00.011-05:00

There's a problem with convertibles. Unless you live where it's always warm, you can count on having the top up most the time. Most convertible soft tops in the up position leave much to be desired when it comes to sex appeal. The Solstice didn't fare much better. While the two humps behind the headrests looked cool with the top down, this forced the soft top to be oddly shaped and ended up looking like it didn't fit quite right.

Much like the Z3 coupe and the Z4 coupe, the hardtop changes everything, but it still has a removable targa top. That's the best of both worlds. Pontiac 1, BMW 0. The shape is instantly classic, reminiscent of the Jaguar E-type, but instead of having a British flare, it has a hot rod attitude, truly embracing Pontiac's "driving excitement" slogan. There's one design element that really exemplifies this attitude: the side windows. They look chopped. No one else can own that look. It is very American, and very hot rod. You might as well be driving the Batmobile (Micheal Keaton) as far as visiblity goes, but this blog isn't about ergonomics, it's about aesthetics, and this thing is pretty. That forward slopping line is what separates the Solstice from other "cute" convertibles.

On to the criticisms, I would have liked to see the third brake light integrated into the spoiler. Speaking of the spoiler, I like it from the side view, but not the rear 3/4 view. Other than that, the car looks great from every angle. Unless it's yellow. In which case, it's best viewed from below. Or at night. In a dark alley.

I am really impressed by this fine example of American design. It's not trying to be Japanese or European, and even more impressively, it's not retro. Yet, it embodies the elements of what makes our retro hot rods so appealing. It's raw. It's aggressive. It's unapoligetic. It's driving excitement.

2010 Toyota Prius. Not just for hippies.

2009-01-12T16:12:00.011-05:00

The Toyota Prius is the world's first and most popular hybrid vehicle despite looking like a hybrid vehicle. Of course, when you drive a hybrid, you want all of your friends to know. That's an easy task if your car is the Prius. Perhaps the only car that's better at making ugly hip, was the Honda Insight with it's futuristic rear wheel skirts.

The blessing in disguise here is that despite it being such an ugly car, it's the most easily recognized hybrid on the market. So why would Toyota want to change that?

The 2010 Prius does a pretty good job at both pushing for a more pleasing design, and keeping it recognizable to it's core market. They have chiseled the edges at the front and back and sculpted a nice aggresive line from front to back. The wheels fill the wheel wells better than before, and help the proportions dramatically. The A piller dives into the headlights, and the C piller wraps around the taillight nicely, making the car look shorter in height by flattening the appearance of the roofline. The cockpit is really futuristic looking. It still looks like a concept car inside. If Han Solo was sitting in a Prius, it would have been way more convincing than all of those blinking lights in the Millenium Falcon.

The Prius has grown out of it's awkward teenage years. The subtle tweaks to the Prius this year have transformed the Prius into a great looking hatch that happens to get close to 50mpg.

Pontiac G8. A worthy sports sedan

2009-01-11T20:26:00.008-05:00

Pontiac is driving excitement. Well, it's been a while since it's lived up to it. Remember, this blog isn't about horsepower or handling. It's about design. Simply, a product's aesthetic should clearly represent it's intended purpose. A sports sedan should NOT look like a jelly bean on wheels. Fortunately, the G8 does not look like a jelly bean.

The GXP model shown above as well as the GT, have a very aggressive front end. It keeps the standard Pontiac "kidney grille" and surrounds it with narrow blacked out dual headlights. The top and bottom of the inner lights are cropped just enough to give them a menacing look. The front wheels are very close to the nose, and the flared fenders hug the perfectly sized wheel and tire combination. The rear of the car is also well designed. While some might say the little tiny round taillights are a little quirky, I think it's a bold step in the right direction for the Pontiac aesthetic. Well done with the subtle spoiler too. Someone had to sneak an unnecessary detail in there though. It just wouldn't be a Pontiac without an unnecessary detail. The hood scoops. Ugh. We all know they're fake. They're well placed, but I just think it would have looked a lot less cluttered without them.

Remember when all Pontiacs had "guard rails" on the side. It seems like it took forever for them to finally let them go. Less is more. That's what I always say.* I'm glad to see Pontiac make something sportier by making it simpler.

*Except when more is more. As in horsepower.

Porsche Panamera.

2009-01-04T15:51:00.004-05:00

Happy New Year everybody! With the economy the way it is, I figure I should go buy a practical sports car. You know, one with four doors. Okay, that's a lie. Even if it wasn't, I wouldn't buy the Porsche Panamera. Maybe it sounded like a good idea to take a 911 and just make it longer, but the result looks more like a Photoshop than the real deal.

The front is right on brand. You really can't argue with an aesthetic that Porsche has been pulling off for over 50 years. However, it really falls apart in the back. They got so caught up trying to make it look like a Porsche, that they made it look like, well, a Porsche. But not in a good way. It reminds me of seeing a knock off of your favorite mp3 player at Linens 'N Things. In contrast, the BMW four door M3, the Aston Martin Rapide concept, as well as the Lamborghini four door concept all fit well within the brand's line-up.

I think Porsche may be a one trick pony. That's not a bad thing if you're the best at what you do. So just keep designing the best looking mid/rear engine sports cars out there and quit diluting your brand with stuff like this.

Wheels Make the Ride: Part II

2008-12-07T23:51:00.011-05:00

My fascination with wheels continues this week in a brief overview of how the wheels can make or break the ride. In nearly all cases, by the time the concept car hits the streets, the wheels have been reduced to roller skate wheels with hubcaps. I understand that in some cases, I am showing special editions or sport editions next to base models. The special editions should get special wheels, but raise the bar. Anything less than a well designed, properly sized wheel only brings down the entire car to mediocrity.

Wheels make the Ride

2008-12-04T23:10:00.004-05:00

The wrong wheels on a car can have a huge impact on the over all look of a car. The right wheels really set if off. There have been rare successes of OEM wheels doing the trick. Here are some pictures of my favorite wheels. I can't bring myself to make a top 10 list because I know I've forgotten a few. Feel free to sound off on the ones I've left out.

BMW 325is Basketweave Wheels. Weaves have been on so many cars, but they look best on a bimmer. I should note that I drive an 88 325is with basketweaves. I'm a bit partial.

Lamborghini Countach - I just love how deep those rear wheels are. This is the only car I ever drew in the fourth grade.

1963 Ferrari 250 classic wire wheels with tri bar knock offs. Wire wheels were on plenty of sportscars in the day, but none wore them like this Ferrari.

late 80s Corvette. I think they call these "sawblades." Very iconic.

1977 Trans-Am with the two tone "snowflake" wheels. Smokey and the Bandit!

Classic Porsche 911 Carrera. Rocking black wheels with a polished lip for over 30 years.

Alpina wheels on a sexy BMW 635csi back when 17 inch wheels were HUGE!!

Jaguar XF

2008-11-23T19:53:00.006-05:00

This is the 2009 Jaguar XF. I'm not an expert on Jaguars, but I do know enough that it's not pronounced (Jag-wire) as many Americans pronounce it, the Jaguar E-type is one of the sexiest cars ever, and this car looks more like a Chrysler Sebring than a Jaguar.

It's not a bad looking car, but really, this is what the Chrysler Sebring should have looked like. While just about everything says "luxury sedan," nothing about this car says "Jaguar" to me. Whether it's the X-type or the S-type, the Jaguar sedans have always had 4 headlights, and the coupes have always had a wide narrow grille like the classic and iconic E-type. So any Jag you've ever seen has had the design cues that make it unmistakably, a Jaguar. Until this one.

Proper Jaguars can be seen below.

New Blog: I Heart Drawing Cars

2008-11-21T09:10:00.001-05:00

Just last night, I launched my "Art Blog." Check it out.

-Greg

2010 Mustang Images Released

2008-11-18T12:36:00.005-05:00

I don't normally blog during lunch, but I just couldn't wait to post this. We've waited a long time and endured many teaser photos, and finally today, I got my hands on it. Not literally. I mean, I don't get to test drive one. I'd like to. Just sayin'. Ford didn't send me these photos. I'm not on the inside. I got these photos from Jalopnik.

I'm debating on whether or not to comment on it yet. I like to see cars in the flesh, and even then, I like to chew on it for a bit. Maybe this post should just be for your viewing pleasure. Well okay, I'll throw out a few of my first thoughts.

I think this is a great progression from the current design. Changes of note: Check out the rear quarter panel arches, the rear tail lights, and the lack of a hard lined arch around the wheels. I like the turn signals tucked in next to the head lights, and I like how the top of the lights are all "cut off" for a more menacing look. The newest Mustang has taken a step away from being "retro," but not away from it's heritage.

Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione - I Heart Italians

2008-11-11T12:50:00.010-05:00

This Alfa Romeo Competizione is a 2007 model, but just recently, the first one to make it to U.S. soil was sold.

The Alfa Romeo Competizione is a fine example of Italian Design. It has the kind of shape that we all drew when we were kids. Mine always looked like an early eighties Corvette. Always. But Wolfgang Egger was able to take the classic high wheel arches and a small canopy behind a long bonnet and make it really sexy in an Alfa Romeo kind of way.I've always liked Alfas, but no one is on the fence when it comes to the shield style grille.

I have one major critisism. Why does the front of the car get a separate bulb for every possible lighting function, ie. low beam, high beam, turn signal, fog lights, while the back gets just one round light. Where is the turn signal? Okay, the single light can act as a light, brake light, and a turn signal. But the reverse light? It's tucked down near the bottom, only balanced by the bright red rear fog/anti-crash light. Did they pick those up at Autozone? I think the reverse light could have been incorporated into the center like the Ford GT. It certainly deserved more consideration than what was given to them. I do actually really like the "afterburner" led tail lights.

The Alfa is distinctively Italian. An instant classic. Well, come to think of it, The 8C was almost a classic before it even got here. The concept appeared in 2003, but it wasn't until this month that one finally sold in the U.S.

Welcome to the States.

Special Edition Camaro at SEMA

2008-11-04T22:02:00.008-05:00

I've noted before that I'm not a huge fan of the new Camaro. I'll use this opportunity to mention that I'm not a fan of Dale Earnhardt Jr. or NASCAR in general. Enter the Dale Earnhardt Jr. Edition Camaro being shown at SEMA. I love it.

Subtle aesthetic tweaks really enhance the Camaro. I love the two tone paint. The chisled edges separating the top from the rest of the car makes for a perfect opportunity for a two tone paint job. It's really a comfortable break, and there really aren't that many cars that can pull off a two tone paint job. The special edition grille should really be put on every single new Camaro. Hopefully this grille will be made available by the aftermarket. Immediately. The rest of the ground effects kit is subtle as well, but is just enough to muscle up the car. Something that the production model doesn't have enough of.

If you want to see the other three SEMA concpets and other specs please go check out http://www.bushautoblog.com/ for more details. Thanks Adam.

Cadillac CTS

2008-10-19T21:55:00.002-04:00

A few years back, Cadillac's commercials featured a Led Zeppelin tune that reminded their core customer exactly how old they are. Maybe it was an attempt to take them back to their youth. A time that they would want nothing to do with a Cadillac.

Enter the new CTS. It seems to be a reasonable design progression from the previous design, but this car finally offered something truly new and exciting instead of predictable. New in a classic caddy kind of way.

I think Cadillac has truly done a great job of designing an American car. Big chrome and vertical fins. Sound familiar? Look familiar? I'm not saying this is a retro design, but this Cadillac is created from the same DNA that made American cars from the 50s and 60s classics today.

Vanilla gets all the toppings!

2008-10-07T21:36:00.005-04:00

The Honda Accord has long been a vanilla car. It has never been offensive, but it's never been the topic of conversation. The new Accord sedan is no exception. Ah, but the coupe has caught my eye. The coupe has always been marginally better looking. Vanilla, but with sprinkles. This time around, it gets all the toppings.

The new Honda Accord coupe finally looks like a coupe, rather than a sedan with less headroom in the back seat. The body sits in a forward rake, with accentuated character lines lifting the back of the car. All of the lines lead your eyes to the back, which is the best angle to view the car from. Too often is the rear neglected in the design process. The wheels fill out the wheel wells appropriately and proportionately. Finally, I like how the headlights aggressively wrap around onto the front quarter panels without appearing too big and without housing an offensive amount of chrome.

The only thing that misses, is the front grille. Honda could have looked only as far as their own luxury brand and brought in a resemblance to the Acura TL front grille to make the new Accord really come together. Even without a nice smile, the Honda Accord coupe steps up along side the Infinity G35 coupe and Nissan Altima coupe as a tasty two door sports sedan.

Chysler Sebring

2008-09-09T21:17:00.005-04:00

I like to hand it to Chrysler for taking risks. Their cars are certainly not bland. They don't always hit their mark, but they like to go for the gold. This is an example of neither going for the gold, or hitting the mark. If you don't aim high, then you can't miss.

I really don't know where to start, except the first thing that makes me want to scratch my eyes out is the execution of the convertible top. If there's ever been a car that looks like it was designed as a hardtop first, and a convertible as an after thought, this is it.

Then I forget all about the roof when I see those grooves in the hood, that may have looked good once on a concept car back in 2000.

When the top is down, it hides nicely under a beautifully sculpted, well proportioned rear trunk lid. But since they couldn't leave well enough alone, they put the antenna right in the middle. If it was any larger, you might confuse it for a life size radio controlled car.

I must say that I like the interior quite a bit. Judging by the number of these I see out on the road, the interior must make up for the entire rest of the car, but who would be willing to approach this hideous thing to find out?

A Pirate's car? Toyota YAAARis

2008-09-07T22:29:00.005-04:00

My first post about the Aveo drew a comparison to the Yaris from a commenter, so naturally, I needed to follow up. Unlike the Aveo, I think this car has a lot of personality. Can a bug have a personality?

To design a car that looks like a bug and still expect people to drive it, you can't mess anything up. You start with a good stance. Check. You couldn't shove those wheels any further out if you tried. Make it sporty. Check. The car has a serious forward rake, which is accentuated by the angle of the rear lift gate, and the wheels are a good stock size. All the movement lines curve towards the front of the car helping the car move while it's standing still. Check out the lines that move down the hood and wrap the grill, and the sill line that dives forward below the level of the hood. The wheel wells have a respectable amount of flare too. My favorite little detail here is the Toyota badge on the front grill. Below the oval T, there is a cutout in the lower part of the grill that matches the curve of the badge as if it's opening its mouth. This car is nothing short of goofy looking. Seriously. It looks like it was designed at Disney. The proportions are very cartoon like.

Now that I think about it, I think the Toyota Yaris should star in a movie opposite Johnny Depp (there's that pirate reference that you all have been waiting for.) Maybe it would make a random beeps that only Johnny Depp could understand. You know, like R2D2? Oh, just imagine the trouble those two could get themselves into.

The sum of all parts is greater than the whole

2008-09-02T23:06:00.004-04:00

That's how I feel about the new Ford Focus. Every time I see one on the road I wonder what happened to it. I actually used to drive a 2002 Ford Focus ZX3. That's the 3 door hatchback. It looked like an egg. It had lots of details that drove me nuts as a designer. The new Focus has a lot of details that are well crafted. So why does it look so offensive? The past few years, the Focus has fallen completely out of my cardar. That's my car radar. You heard it here first. Anyways, what I am saying is that it was so bland and boring the past few years that I couldn't draw one during a game of Pictionary Car Edition. Now, this Focus has certainly caught my eye, like a train wreck, cheetah print, or a girl with a muffin top that for some reason, you just can't look away from no matter how much it pains you to keep looking. No one else has that problem?

Get on with it!

I'll comment on the things I like about this car. I'll start at the front.

1. I like how the headlights integrate well with the grill. I don't like the headlights or the grill, but I like the way they integrate with each other. I like how the fog lights follow that hard line down around the front of the car.

2. I like the body work as it relates to the fake air vent. The top of the cutout connects the front and the rear of the car well. I don't like the "chrome" piece that fills it. It stops too abruptly at the door line. It feels like they forced the piece into too small of an area.

3. I like the dash board. I don't know how much you'll like that brushed aluminum finish when it's reflecting the sun in your eyes, but from a purely aesthetic point of view, I like how it frames everything. The controls look very balanced. Even the steering wheel looks integrated well from the angle the picture was taken from.

4. The back end... Well I don't like anything about the back end. Except maybe the blinking third brake light that my wife pointed out to me.

So as a whole, the car somehow fails. It's too tall, the wheels look too small, the tail lights are too small for such a big back end, and the grill is a weak interpretation of Ford's new beefy horizontal grill treatment that seems to work great on all of it's other cars. Overall, the car just has weird proportions that keep it from looking sporty, sophisticated, bland, or cute. But I'll keep looking at it when I pass one on the road, not understanding what captures my attention. The beauty is in the details if you can make yourself stare long enough to see them.

Yeah, the Mini too

2008-08-29T17:59:00.008-04:00

I didn't mean to imply that last week's "Who does retro right?" post was about any and all car manufacturers that are pulling off the retro thing. It's just that those three cars are soon to be in the same segment and needed to be compared. The Mini stands alone. Just like the cheese.

The redesigned Mini in 2001 is so much bigger than it's father, it's hard to believe that they pulled it off. When you see one on the road, you marvel at how much it looks just like the old one. Well don't stare at them for too long or you'll be disappointed how poorly your memory serves you.

Don't get me wrong, there are so many details that are so beautifully executed that the details themselves are great examples of retro design. The roof line, mirrors, wheels and instrument panel are careful modern interpretations of the originals. The headlights are filled with turn signals and projection beams, but are simplified to an oval (which viewed from straight on, are circles). A white roof, racing stripes and grille mounted driving lights are among the other details that are inspired by the car's heritage.

There's really nothing that I don't like about the design. All the details are well thought out, even though so many of those details designed themselves. So the only criticism I can give is that there's nothing ground breaking about the aesthetic. It's been done before. I think it was called the Mini. And that's why designers typically don't like retro designs. Retro designers get credit for beautiful interpretations of classic designs, but the argument can be made that it's only half as difficult to redesign a car as it is to design something from scratch.

who does retro right?

2008-08-21T21:42:00.000-04:00

Finally, the big three here in the states are competing again in the pony car market. Ford has had all the fun since the release of the redesigned mustang in 2005 (model year). Now, every Tom, Dick and Harry has one. I was afraid of that. So, fashionably late to the party, comes the Chevy Camaro and the Dodge Challenger. Now, just to be clear, I'm not going to go over horsepower, suspension, gas mileage, or any other details that will help you decide which car is right for you. I'm just talking aesthetics here. It's kinda my thing. Who has succeeded in faithfully capturing the spirit of the original classics in new sheet metal?

We'll start with the Ford Mustang.

It's hard to pin down exactly what year in the late 1960s that this new generation of Mustang came from, and that's the idea. There's really nothing about this car that I don't like. Except that every Tom, Dick and Harry has them. I've already mentioned that. But, being that there's so many of them out there, we've seen how the aftermarket has made nearly every GT out there unique. Scouring the net for images of late 60s Mustangs, it was very hard to find one that was stock.

I give this a 9.5 in honor of the olympics.

Next, let's look at the Chevy Camaro.

It's easier to put your finger on the 68 or 69 model year, except this is a much more modern interpretation of the classic. I applaud GM for pushing the envelope on this, but why mess with a winning recipe? There were sketches floating around the web of what the Camaro might look like that were just as exciting as the Mustang, but the final product is polarizing. No one seems to be indifferent, and I for one am not a fan. It looks squished, and has some angles that seem to be arbitrary.

I'll give it a 8.7. It scores low marks in "badass"

Last, but not least, the Dodge Challenger.

Again, it's pretty easy to see that the Challenger is the offspring of the 1970 pictured here. Both cars score huge marks in "badass". Staying true to the concept as both the Mustang and the Camaro did, (don't split hairs with me here people,) the Dodge has really muscular lines, and fantastic design cues from the classic.

I give it a 9.8. Retro, badass, and great attention to detail makes the Challenger the gold medal winner.

Chevy Aveo. Really?

2008-08-19T12:44:00.000-04:00

this is the Chevy Aveo. it's a subcompact that appeals to... um... well, nobody.

i think this is how the conversation went.
"we need a more fuel efficient vehicle for our line up."
"how about an H4?"
"no, something smaller. we need more than 30MPG."
"what red blooded american wants a car like that when they can have a truck?"
"good question. how about we make it as ugly as we can, and that way, no one will buy one and we will have the numbers to prove that americans don't want little cars."
"great idea."

well i couldn't help but to offer some suggestions. the changes below have made it a little more aggressive and purposeful. note the wider c-piller like the new vw rabbit and gti. the front gets chevy's new huge grille, and the feet get bigger. this isn't a sports car, but why can't it look like the little brother of a sporty compact?