This is a subject that has been on my mind of late. I grew up lusting after American cars. Not the shit boxes of the 80’s but the 60’s Lincolns, 40-late 60’s Caddy’s, all those beautiful Mopar Muscle cars, and so on. So my question is what happened to American design? Think of the Streamlined traines of the 1920-60’s.

Now that is design. Think about the old Lincolns and Ford’s

There was emotion, passion, innovation in those designs. They were either HOT or not. There is something about that huge clean slightly crowned slab side of sheet metal that makes the Lincoln just ooz sex. It is subtle yet brutal. The detailing is just right. Everything is exposed, not hidden behind plastic. Minimal yet detailed. That was an era when America was not afraid to make a statement. They were saying this is AMERICAN, this is what we think about design, and we don’t care if you like it, it suites us just fine.

Now American design is more about pleasing everyone, and apealing to no one. What happened to knowing you were right and going with it? Global econ, massive tooling costs, and so on and so on. No that is not it, we have become fat like the Romans on our own excesses. You can make a car just good enough that is sells, and well that is OK because everyone gave it there best try. We put men on the moon, we dropped the Atom Bomb, but in 2007 America the great can not produce automobiles that people want to buy.

There is some hope though, and I am happy to say we like what we are seeing. American compaines have realized that the Europeans do European design better then we do. The Asian companies do their design better then we do. So where does that leave us?………. That leaves America producing American cars for the world. I do not hear Renault apoligizing for producing quirkey French cars, and neither should we.

My hope has come from

Ford, and their New Interceptor, Fusion, and Edge

There are many more examples both from GM and DCX ( even though DCX is now German Owned) We are not there yet, but if some of the more relevent concepts get built, I forsee a bright future for the American car.

Always lead never follow.

Scott Digital