We came up with a little design element identification game today, involving the four near-identical taillamps you see above. This collage is compiled from four different vehicles. Can you tell which is which?
Get your image search fingers ready.
It’s true, designers have limits. However, after looking at the images above, one can only conclude someone drew Landwind levels of inspiration from another car’s design. Either that, or all designers have a limited “vocabulary.”
Give us your guesses for vehicles 1 to 4, and in the near future the answers will appear; your burning curiosity sated. Do your research and make your choices carefully.
Shooting from the hip:
Jaguar, Fiat, Mercedes, Bentley?
MKS – Rio5 – Quattroporte – Amanti
For the pedantic, ’09-12 Lincoln MKS – ’06-10 Kia Rio5 – ’03-’08 Maserati Quattroporte – ’07-’10 Kia Amanti
ding ding ding!
Wow!
I was going to reverse the Amanti and Quattroporte. You are however correct.
Brian was not supposed to show up in 10 minutes and obliterate the challenge!
I’ll 24hr handicap myself for the next challenge!
This. I recognized the MKS and Amanti, couldn’t place the others.
*golf clap*
Left to right:
Lincoln, Kia, Maserati, Jaguar.
Lincoln should have kept that tail lamp assembly compared to the `13 till death unit.
I can’t even think in my mind what it looks like presently.
Garbage.
I was glad to get that car out of here.
It’s the Lincoln version of the Ford Taurus.
I actually think the ’13-death unit looks better. The old one just looked so generic.
Exactly.
Front grill nice change as well as enlarging trunk opening….but shoulda kept the rear lights
Yeah, mine is a ’14, so it has the later unit. The trunk layout is much improved, although you do need to reach down to the license plate area on the bumper to use the latch-release button. Lincoln did change the trunk one more time, for MY2016 only (along with changing out MyFord Touch for SYNC3). That version of the decklid has “L I N C O L N” spelled across it, and the latch-release button relocated to the lid.”
Maybe-No-Yes-No
IIRC Mercedes was the first to come up with the triangular taillight and everybody and his brother copied them.
“Mercedes was the first to come up with the triangular taillight” — are you talking about the 1st generation C class? The 1970 Citroen GS (albeit with a slight curve at the outside top) and the 1974 VW Passat Variant (Dasher or maybe Audi Fox wagon to you) with its as-triangular-as-they-get taillights would beat that by decades.
Instantly recognized 1, 2, and 4 (the Rio hatch first) but not the Quattroporte. I’ll win this game any day, as long as the cars are under $50k!
Now do Lexus ES, Mazda 6, Hyundai Sonata, and Honda Accord.
All 2017s: Hyundai Azera, Toyota Avalon, Kia Cadenza, Lexus ES350
When I was a kid, I used to drive my sister nuts by being able to identify cars coming at us from a fair distance away. Of course, that was in the 70s and I grew up in Germany. Things were a tad easier to differentiate. Now I drive my daughter nuts by pointing out nearly every car we see to the point she begs me to stop because it annoys her. But dang, looking at those four pictures it really is kind of amazing at how similar some of the design language is. That said, the tail lights are only one point of the design. It’d be easier to ID the car in full view (well, some true badge-engineered vehicles may require a double-look from time to time!).
Fun game!
Lincoln MKS – Kia Rio Hatch MK2 – Maserati Quattroporte MK5 – Kia Opirus
I could have sworn #2 was a Lancia hatchback.
Lincoln MKS, Kia Rio5, I don’t know, Kia Amanti
The comments have spoiled it, but I recognized 1-3. I honestly thought 4 was some type of French car, since I can’t remember the last time I was behind an Amanti.
The bigger question is why do so many automotive designers all play “me too” at the same time? This is a good example of that, as is the proliferation of hideous ground-to-hood grilles on VW, Audi, Lexus, etc.
1 Lincoln Mks. 2. Kia rio 5 3. Hyundai xg 350 4 Chrysler 300????
I thought this game woulda been more fun using 4 cars that use the ACTUAL same taillight, like the Hella one that was on Diablos, Saleen S7s, and I think some Spykers and early Paganis among others. And that comes with the benefits of looking at ass ends of exotics and not Kias.