The Truth About Cars » Design

Remember The Aztek!

Edward Niedermeyer — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:02:05 +0000

When Pontiac’s infamously retina-searing Aztek pops up in popular auto industry analysis, it’s usually as little more than a throwaway punchline. So credit Thebigmoney.com’s Matthew DeBord for trying to leave the Thesaurus entry for “ugly” out of a recent piece dedicated entirely to one of the great modern styling miscalculations. Unfortunately, his admirable restraint serves [...]

Auto Stylists Search For Inspiration… In China?

Edward Niedermeyer — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:21:27 +0000

China is the perfect place to think about the future shape of mobility. It’s my job here to push my staff to push the envelope and think about the global automotive future from Beijing Mercedes designer Olivier Boulay, explains his inspiration migration from Japan’s chauffeur-car culture to the streets of Beijing. The Wall Street Journal puts [...]

VW: 60 Models, One Platform

Edward Niedermeyer — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 20:07:47 +0000

Volkswagen will continue its pioneering work testing the boundaries between platform-sharing and brand-engineering, reports Autocar, with a new platform destined to underpin some 60 models globally. The modularen querbaukasten (modular transverse engine, or MQB) architecture will form the basis of models ranging from the sub-Golf Lupo to the Sharan MPV, starting with the next-gen Audi [...]

How To Talk About A Rebadge

Edward Niedermeyer — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 22:45:24 +0000

Ask The Best And Brightest: Benchmark Interior?

Edward Niedermeyer — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 22:44:40 +0000

Ryv asks: Whenever I read a TTAC car review or read comments I see nothing but complaints of hard plastics and ill fits. It made me wonder, is there some ideal vehicle interior out there being held as the standard to all others? I sat in a Lamborghini Gallardo at last years NAIAS and thought the [...]

Infiniti Blows Off LA Auto Show for China

John Horner — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 14:21:12 +0000

The New York Times has an update on Infiniti’s Essence concept car. Since the sexy little thing’s March coming out party in Geneva, Essence has been on a tour of Louis Vitton stores in high-end shopping malls for VIP visitors and the commoners. “Guests were invited by the automaker and were typically loyal customers, said [...]

Honda Going Back To The Basics?

Edward Niedermeyer — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 15:31:57 +0000

Honda has been getting flack on these pages for some time now for succumbing to size and weight bloating, a criticism that carries a special sting for an automaker that clawed its way into the mainstream by offering inexpensive, efficient models. And it seems that a little bashing may have helped. Automotive News [sub] reports [...]

Industrial Espionage: Not Just For China Anymore

Edward Niedermeyer — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 15:02:36 +0000

The recent arrest of a Ford employee on charges of industrial espionage may have been enough to scuttle Ford’s sale of Volvo to Chinese firm Geely. Or, as Bertel Schmitt reports, perhaps the spy story was just a convenient excuse to get more money out of the deal. But whether as a legitimate concern or [...]

Volt Birth Watch 170: The Color Of Money

Edward Niedermeyer — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 15:52:33 +0000

GM’s styling department was originally called “Art and Colour,” an indication of the importance The General has always placed on color. And since the Volt hype campaign is leaving no gimmick unturned, GM is offering fans an opportunity to name the greenish-silver color that debuted with the first production-look Volt. The prize? An early test-drive [...]

Regal On Facebook: I’m Not Chinese And I’m Not The Crosstour

Edward Niedermeyer — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 19:56:20 +0000

The US-spec Buick Regal is receiving a better-than-Crosstour reception at Facebook, where official photos are showing some slight visual differences from the Chinese-market model. Against all the odds, the US-spec Buick appears to have dropped the Chinese version’s aftermarket-worthy fender vent. A more-subtle grille is another unexpected but welcome maturation. Or is that regression? This [...]

Ten Concept Cars That Woulda Coulda Maybe Even Shoulda

Robert Farago — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 17:45:38 +0000

1. The Cadillac V16 Concept – If GM had dared take the brand way up market, where it belongs, things would have been different for the “standard of the world.” But the nettle was not grasped, and the brand continued—and continues—its long march downmarket, into extinction. 2. The Lincoln Continental concept – There was a time [...]

What’s Wrong With This Picture: Fit For A King Edition

Edward Niedermeyer — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 22:06:10 +0000

In our Regal-welcoming thread, Martin Schwoerer noted that the Insignia is smaller inside than the Cruze. And guess what? He’s right (trust but verify). The German-market Cruze has 963 mm (37.9 inches) of rear kopffreiheit, while Insignia comes in at 910 cm (35.8 inches) according (PDF) to the guys at motor-talk.de (who cite sources ). [...]

Chrysler’s 14-Person Product Turnaround

Edward Niedermeyer — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 16:20:04 +0000

A few weeks ago we heard that Chrysler would be rehiring designers and engineers to help kick-start the companies product refresh-a-thon. After all, seven major reskins in 18 months weren’t going to happen with Chrysler’s bankruptcy-level staffing, which saw some departments covered by “only a few people.” Well, according to the Freep, Chrysler has hired [...]

What’s Wrong With This Picture: Tomorrow’s Golf Today Edition

Edward Niedermeyer — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 22:26:29 +0000

A video promo for VW’s One Liter Concept accidentally reveals that which keeps Mr De Silva up at night: The 2012 Golf VII.

Quote of the Day: Car Designer As Rock Star Edition

Edward Niedermeyer — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 21:46:29 +0000

In the past two years I have spent more time with (VW group CEO) Dr. Winterkorn than with my wife So sayeth VW Group Design Boss Walter De Silva in Automotive News [sub]. “When I think about the Golf VII, I do not sleep at night,” he adds. Considering that, as head of styling for Audi, [...]

Tweet-In Reveals More GM Concepts

Edward Niedermeyer — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 19:44:32 +0000

Select media, Twitterati and fanboys are taking in the very best of GM hype today at a “tweet-but-don’t-photograph” event. But 140-character messages of hope, renewal and awesome are a bit thin to draw real conclusions from. Not that such semantics stop the faithful from trying. Apparently GM has an ATS concept, based on the mythical [...]

MotorLegends.com: Let There Be Light!

David Holzman — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 12:10:07 +0000

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After Decades Of Jaguar XJ Styling Stasis…

Edward Niedermeyer — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 14:53:42 +0000

MT Fans Mustang Suspension Flames

Edward Niedermeyer — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 15:11:03 +0000

Motor Trend’s Angus MacKenzie recently got some seat time in the new Shelby GT500, and calls it “a pretty impressive piece — fast, loud, and blessed with the best steering ever in an American Car.” “But,” writes MacKenzie, “the thing that annoys me most about the GT500 — about the whole 2010 Mustang range, for [...]

Tesla Discusses the Least Relevant Aspects of the Model S

Edward Niedermeyer — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 16:29:46 +0000

Prius Styling To Influence Toyota Lineup

Edward Niedermeyer — Wed, 20 May 2009 15:30:43 +0000

Toyota’s Prius will extend its domination of the auto design zeitgeist, according to an Automotive News (via Autoweek) interview with Toyota global design chief Wahei Hirai. The third-generation Prius rocks ToMoCo’s latest “free-form geometrics” design language, an “avant-garde, high-tech look that also screams green.” The new Prius has improved its Cd from .26 to .25, [...]

New Jaguar Sedan: Down With Heritage

Edward Niedermeyer — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 17:29:35 +0000

The remnants of the British automotive industry offer a wealth of important lessons for America’s declining industry, having made the hero-to-zero leap a few decades ago. And though British Leyland would certainly constitute the major lesson from the fall of the British Automotive Empire, the overemphasis on “heritage” among survivors of the BL experiment offers [...]

WardsAuto Blesses 11 Cars with “Interior of the Year”

Robert Farago — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 19:56:04 +0000

Fair disclosure: I’ve just finished an e-mail correspondence a Ward’s employee who insulted my professional honor. On her or off her? Definitely on her. That’s the best offer I’ve had all week. But seriously folks, if my expense account hadn’t suddenly disappeared, I’d send these guys the animated version of Atlas Shrugged. As Dash Parr [...]

Ask the Best and Brightest: Panameramania?

Robert Farago — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 00:51:46 +0000

Eyal Binshtock is the unlikely name of the web slinger who’s constantly on my NSFW to create a regular Bestcovery feature (and permanent link) on TTAC. And so we shall. Meanwhile, his best bud took these snaps of the new Porsche Panamera on the PCH. I’ve yet to see one in the flesh, but I [...]

Nissan’s Designing Cars for Old Folks

Robert Farago — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 18:37:19 +0000

[Thanks to Beth Tucker at Global Post for the link]

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