A tree creates some blurry cross-car reflections on the hood of a Rolls Royce. Great material reference.
Category : Autoshows, Production Car
Move over, Bugatti Royale! This long, lovely machine made an appearance at the Meadowbrook Concours d’Elegance in 2007. As you can tell by the ribbon, it was well received. Seriously, pictures do not do this vehicle justice; you must stand next to it to appreciate both its mass and its beauty.
Category : Autoshows, Concept Car, Design
This concept makes a big impression with its paper-cutter doors, but it also gives me a bit of deja vu.
Category : Autoshows, Concept Car, Crit, Design
“Peugeot”. I love saying that word. It’s sexy in that “I have a sexy French accent” kind of way. Birthing forth from Peugeot is the SR1, a turbo-diesel hybrid that anyone living in Twin Peaks would love.
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Category : Autoshows, Concept Car, Crit, Design
The facts: the 918 Spyder is a hybrid electric engine capable of achieving 500HP, 0-60 in 3.2 seconds, and 78 MPG. The downer: it’s just a concept (for now) but Porsche admitted that they, too, are in love enough to potentially pursue the vehicle on the open road.
The Geneva Motor Show is in full swing, with news bites appearing every day. The show, unlike the relatively production-oriented NAIAS Detroit show, straddles the SEMA line to bring some truly outrageous, often ground-breaking concept car design. While there have been some absolute stinkers, what is considered good Design has been truly magnificent at times.
Let’s reiterate the reason that concept cars exist in the first place: they are usually seen as milestones for a company’s Design language and technological goals. For example: while we may not see production cars with glass wheels anytime soon, the idea that the company is targeting light-weighting may be the real focus.
If what we see at Geneva is any indication, studios are now coming to an understanding that it is the sophistication in technology that can drive Design, not just flashy gimmicks.
We’ve compiled a few of our very favorite concept vehicles that will be driving European automotive design for the next several years. We lead off with the excruciatingly wonderful Survolt.
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Category : Autoshows, Crit, Design, Production Car
It’s about time Alfa Romeo revived this legendary name. Alpha-numeric monikers and two syllable words just don’t evoke the sort of grace and emotion that a name like Giulietta does. Let’s analyze the design behind the name, the latest in a series of great themes from the cross-and-snake brigade.
CDF made an appearance on the latest episode (#26, if you’re keeping track) of the RoundAbout show, a podcast about cars, car culture, and news. The gang at RoAb approaches automotive news from a more light-hearted, entertaining angle, so when we were asked to appear on this week’s episode speaking about the “unique” automotive design at the recent Geneva Motor Show we couldn’t say no.
Have a listen, or the Sbarro concept car will come and get you.
The Geneva Motor Show reminded us that just as “less is more,” the inverse is just as, if not more true: more is definitely less. Aston Martin takes a tiny Toyota iQ and decks it out in full luxury garb and yet: somehow worse. Mansory adheres flashy pieces of golden chrome to a blue Rolls-Royce and creates a monstrosity. And the Sbarro Autobau is an abomination worse than Pontiac could have ever dreamed. Plus researchers come up with an ingenious solution to identifying potholes as asphalt disintegrates in our Blind Spot, and our Stupid Car Trick is a vomit-inducing exercise as a 15-year-old gets a brand new Camaro SS.
Click here to visit the main page (with video!) or play the audio below.
Play RoundAbout Episode 26
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Featuring: Colin Bird, Zach Bowman, Dali Dimovski, Eric Trytko
Category : Autoshows, Design, Production Car
When I heard Saab would be “winding down”, the first thing that popped into my head was the new 9-5. All that work. All that development. For nothing? Surely, someone would step in and save the day. Thanks to some last-minute heroics and a lot of money, that someone turned out to be Spyker.
Category : Autoshows, Concept Car, Design
And the Eyes on Design Award for Best Silver Car Reference goes to…