Yet again, here is another Ridgeline fighter. This time it is GMC’s turn to take a stab at it. Dodge, Mitsubishi and recently Toyota took a turn and have done nothing with it, could GM actually follow through? They did with the Camaro.

The funny thing is that the Ridgeline doesn’t sell that well. Of course it could be the styling that is stunting its growth. Is there a market to go after? Must be since companies keep trying to copy it. Question is, who will be the “second” to build their concept and show Honda how it should have been done.

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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 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.”

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

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 more

There is some more info on the A-BAT at carbodydesign.com. They have a good background to the design theme as well as sketch development. Toyota has a good 3 step process showing the original concept sketch (above) and the final design.

After looking at more pics of this truck, I think it will definitely be production ready with a few changes. As wild as the FJ was at first it made it through and so will this. Toyota as conservative as they are seem to be really pushing some boundaries with design.

Autoblog also has a ton of pics posted.

With America’s ever increasing waist line cars keep getting bigger from their previous generation. The same is true for compact pick ups. The Ford Ranger is the only truck that has retained its small size ( only because Ford has not redesigned it twenty years). Me having had a Toyota pick up in high school am excited to see their modern take on this tiny Yoter.

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At long last, Mazda remembers that they once had a winning LeMans car team… by introducing the Furai concept vehicle. And one thing is certain: it looks like no other LeMans car out there!

The first thing we notice about the Furai is it’s decidedly “melting” aesthetic… an extreme variant of their new/future design theme (eg. Nagare, Taiki, etc). Meant to imitate wind and motion (the name literally means “the sound of wind”) the Furai’s aesthetic certainly captures that “movement while standing still” idea.

While not the sexiest of vehicles, it does dabble in anime-inspired forms and shapes, and harkens back to the days of watching Akira in our dorm rooms.

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Holy hotness, Batman! A Land Rover so sizzling that it’ll make Ford rethink it’s plans to drop the brand!

Well, not quite, but the LRX concept (set to debut in Detroit) is what we in the business call “hot”. But don’t take my word for it, read the crit and make up your own minds, and then let us know how badly we judged this vehicle by posting your love or displeasure in our comments.

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Check out the New Camaro site that GM has put together. It is very NICE!
Lets hope they keep pumping out nice designs like the New Camaro.