Car Design Fetish

Concept cars are like Pop Stars. Hot one minute, gone the next. Just like the press puts a spin on what we know about a celebrity, concept cars to reveal only a small part of themselves. There is so much time and thought put into a concept car and all that gets talked about is the big rims, suicide doors and fancy paint. Okay, so I am exaggerating, but there is a lot of features and great design never shown or talked about.

For how much money is spent (over a million per car) why don’t they showcase every aspect of the design? As a designer I am always looking for any more in depth review (hopefully from the designer) of a design. I am not trying to get to any kind of answer here, but I do know that with car styling not wowing anyone right now, maybe showing their sense of design detail will help retain value in the product.

Here is an example of a vehicle with more thought put into then was ever shown.

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I know what is on all of your minds: What did a pair of designers working for a designer-run website think about the autos at this year’s NAIAS?

Don’t wait to read the answer… hear it on our swanky podcast! (and make sure you subscribe via iTunes by clicking the button below)

 Car Design Fetish Episode 009 - The NAIAS Recap Edition [33:04m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (645)

I recently read an article on the top 10 trends from the Tokyo Auto Salon.  The most notable one is the move away from big diameter chrome rims.  The days of DUB are gone.  New colors, materials and finishing processes are the trend.  Hopefully we will see this influence in the production world before cars begin to fly.  How long until we have colored tires?

As noted last year, wheel size is not the main priority for the Japanese aftermarket. The main trend is continual improvements in quality, design and weight loss. There is less chrome shine and an increasing amount of paint and anodizing, resulting in wheels that are “colored bling” rather than “mirror bling.”

I visited the Cleveland Institute of Art the other day and was reminded of the fun and stress of being in school. The fun of drawing what you want and making it look hot. Then the stress of hoping the OEM’s like it and you get a job.

There was not a lot of work up since the semester just started, but there was some left overs of the previous project and some early beginnings of this semester’s GM sponsored project. The new GM project is for a global car with sports in mind and a year unattainable.

Oh, the days of school where an engineer or costing person isn’t on your back. Here are a few pics to show what the kiddies are up to at the CIA. I’ll post more as the semester goes on.

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While at NAIAS last week, we had an up-close look at the Chinese studio-designed Buick Riviera concept.

While many Chinese-developed vehicles were in the downstairs area of COBO (aka the “basement”) and were at times unbearable, this vehicle was quite the opposite: beautiful design, and pure Buick. The exterior lines all worked together nicely, accentuating only the bare minimals of the side profile with a crisp rear “haunch” fender flare and a front shoulder line that tails off towards the rear.

The front fascia has quite a bit of Lexus influence, especially in the floating headlamps that nearly reach all the way back to the side mirrors. The rear end keeps it clean and simple by utilizing some simple graphic lines to break up the space. The lines and forms wrap from the back onto the sides and down into the rear fenders, creating a pseudo-boat tail appearance. We will probably be seeing more of this styling in future Buick concepts.

The interior continues the crisp flowing lines and delivers a fairly traditional concept. However, the selling point isn’t necessarily the design, but the execution. The craftsmanship is extremely well-done, and appears light-years beyond anything else we see coming out of China thus far (and is on par, or better than, what we see out of many Korean vehicles).

The vehicle is a statement that Chinese design is coming on very strong, and under proper guidance will become quite a force to reckon with.

Have a lookee at our NEW gallery for the photos.

Gallery

We have had a few days now to digest what all went on last week and thought we would give our “best of” for the show. The funny thing is, after having a long weekend not thinking about the show, we couldn’t even come up with our favorites. To say the least the show this year was underwhelming. Nothing really sticks in our head as jaw dropping or I can’t wait to see it. Don’t get me wrong, all of the concepts looked really “good.”

With the industry in such tough times one could expect the conservative uproach to concept cars, but what better way to create some excitement and show that you still “got it.”

Anyway on to the awards……

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Funny thing about CES booth babes… When traveling to other vendors’ booths, they are actually allowed to have fun.

And subsequently, we can take photos and video.

 CES Booth Babe [0:06m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (385)

Another MacWorld, another jaw-dropping announcement by Steve Jobs. This time, Apple introduces the MacBook Air, the new ultra-thin addition to the best-selling line of laptops.

It’s difficult to testify at how utterly gorgeous of a product this is. The aluminum case reminds us that this is, in fact, an Apple. The new form factor that Apple introduced in the iPod Classic is here: the subtle curvature of the underside, the softened edges, and an almost tear-drop shaped side profile give this laptop a great look and feel.

Read on for full info, pics, and all the Apple-y fun you can handle.

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The concepts are rolling out and there have been some surprises. Chrysler is out in front with the most risk taking concepts. Whether good, bad or indifferent, it is nice to see something new. The domestics seem to be holding strong with unique styling and innovative design (Dodge Ram) while the imports are all about reaching into new categories and spreading their wealth. I will wait to give much of a design critique until I see the cars in person on Wednesday at the Design Forum. But here are some quick jabs at the newborns of first impressions.

List of top picks after the jump…. Read the rest of this entry »

Ahh, the Tata Nano: the $2500 car that has sent the world a-spinning. Not content with their upcoming acquisition of luxury brands Land Rover and Jaguar, Tata Motors (of India) is off-setting the higher cost vehicles with this ultra-low cost “peoples’ car”.

So, does styling & quality hold up? Methinks it’s time for a crit.

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