Caprica is the only new show my wife and I watch every week – and if we miss it, you can bet we’ll be watching it on demand the following evening. This Battlestar Galactica spin-off is as notable for its design as it is for its acting. The Caprican society is technologically advanced, with their virtual reality clubs and robot butlers. But this high-tech look is cleverly balanced with some inspired prop choices.
Full disclosure: The designer of this car, David McIntosh, inspired me to become a car designer. So naturally, my analysis will be less than objective. Having said that, the much-maligned Buick Reatta definitely qualifies as a misunderstood classic. Think of it as an 80s version of the Studebaker Avanti.
Being an F1 fan, I’ve always been familiar with the name Ligier. Their French blue cars were a fixture on the Grand Prix circuit for years. Turns out they also made a production sports car: The Ligier JS2.
Every premium brand has at least one black sheep. For Ferrari, it’s the 308 GT4. For Jag, it’s the XJS. For Porsche, it would have to be the ol’ 928. I’ve never been a Porsche aficionado, but this car has always piqued my interest. I’m disappointed that even after 30+ years, it still isn’t held in high regard.
One of my favorite movies is The French Connection. William Friedkin’s Oscar-winning masterpiece is so many things: Gritty, exciting, violent, dark, authentic, even funny at times. So much has been said about the cast of this film, but I feel not enough has been said about one key character: The brown Lincoln. Whenever I see a Continental Mark III at a show (which is rare), I can hear Gene Hackman in the back of my head saying, “That car’s dirty, Cloudy. We’re gonna sit here all night if we have to.”
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.
I still have a copy of the Hardcastle and McCormick pilot on VHS. The quality is poor and I have to fast forward through the commercials, but I don’t mind. It’s a UHF time capsule that I unearth once in a while — okay, more than once in a while. Like the Bricklin, the focal point of this TV series is a guilty pleasure I keep coming back to. Yes, it’s a kit car, and the revving engine was a sound effect. So?
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And the Eyes on Design Award for Best Silver Car Reference goes to…
If there were ever an easy target for the peanut gallery, this is it. Polarizing shape + negative name = turkey shoot. It’s just too tempting. And anytime a website compiles an ugly car list, you can bet your life the poor Gremlin will be in the top five. Is this car really that offensive? I mean, really? Why don’t we declare a momentary cease fire and have a look at the context surrounding this design…
