#design

Almost every day I go for a walk that takes me up the hill behind my apartment. And on that route, I pass by a black, base model Nissan Kicks parked in my neighbor’s driveway. A value special, for sure, and one with a decent amount of attributes — its starting price being topmost among them.

In a country far, far away, Nissan just introduced an altogether different Kicks, and at least one part of it should make its way stateside.

A Spanish Instagram account seemingly leaked photos of an uncovered next-generation Mercedes-Benz S-Class late Tuesday, showing off the flagship’s new face and caboose and revealing something far more noteworthy: a screen-heavy cockpit that throws tradition to the wind.

Last night’s online conversation about bad General Motors vehicles wasn’t the first of its kind, and it’ll surely not be the last. More important than restful sleep, wee-hours back-and-forths about rattly but somehow indestructible GM J-bodies are an important part of staying sane as lockdown measures remain in place on both sides of the Detroit River.

Naturally, thoughts of Cavalier soon turned to CALAIS, and from there to an aspect of that particular era that’s always bothered yours truly: rooflines.

The man behind the expressive designs rolling out of Hyundai and the newly sporty elegance of the fledgling Genesis brand is leaving the company. As reported by Automotive News, Luc Donckerwolke, who joined the automaker in 2015 after a prestigious career at Volkswagen Group, is stepping down as chief designer.

The automaker cites “personal reasons” for the resignation.

We continue our conversation on automotive design from the recently ended 2010s this week. Prior installments in this series have covered the best and worst affordable SUVs and CUVs, and last week, the best of the not so affordable.

In today’s entry, we’ll discuss the worst upscale 2010s designs to ever grace the driveways of North America.

Ever been to a party where the most interesting person wasn’t the life of the room, but the quiet person in the corner, calmly — perhaps a little shyly — sipping their drink and taking in all the things occurring before them?

Vehicle designers seem like that person. The braggadocious CEOs and upper-level execs can have their carefully scripted buzzwords and future-minded visions of a soulless future filled with robot cars and never not working, but a designer will want to talk about emotion. A feeling. A simple pleasure. A small feature with outsized importance.

Jaguar’s design boss likes to talk about those things, but he’s not afraid to raise the errors of the past.

We continue our discussion of SUV and CUV design from the 2010s today with our third question entry of the series. The first and second editions covered the best and worst parts of affordable SUV/CUV design, with a strict price ceiling of $48,000.

Today we head upscale and only consider really expensive rides.

Last Wednesday we pondered the best exterior styling found on SUVs and CUVs of the 2010s. This week, flip the question and consider the visually challenged rides of the past decade instead.

If I recall those distant 2010s correctly, there are plenty of designs upon which one might spill some Haterade.

Awards mean damn little around here, as most “official” accolades foisted upon various models carry as much weight as a gnat. The GM X-body once boasted a well-stocked trophy case.

And that’s the way it remains, for now and forever, though the recipient of the most recent big-ticket award deserves mention, if only because it reinforces a conclusion this writer landed on months ago.

We return to the 2010s today to conduct more design evaluations. Previously in this series we covered the best and worst standard car designs, then did the same for upscale cars. Today we consider the 10-year span when the SUV and other SUV-like things strengthened their grasp on consumer sales, then choked out nearly everything that wasn’t a pickup truck.

In this time of stress, fear, and uncertainty, please forgive the gendered headline, online Millennials. It applies to all genders.

Having said that, this week’s release of the 2021 Hyundai Elantra, a bread-and-butter product for the Korean brand, got this author thinking about design. Specifically, the decisions taken by design teams between major styling revamps.

If the Allemano name sounds familiar, it might be because we featured one of the coachbuilder’s two-door creations previously: a 1959 Abarth 2200. While that Rare Ride was a sporty and luxurious touring coupe, today’s Allemano is for a much more relaxed customer.

Presenting the 1100 Allemano cabriolet.

Nothing says Hollywood like the compact Hyundai Elantra, apparently. That’s where the next-generation Elantra sedan will make its debut, and you can bet hand sanitizer will be on hand at the March 17th world premiere. Global audiences are invited to tune in from their hermetically sealed apartments.

As you can see here, the automaker’s best-selling model stands to gain no shortage of creases in its bid to reclaim customers.

We’ve talked in the past about models that left a bad first impression, then grew into themselves over successive years and generations — eventually earning our respect, and perhaps even our desire. My choice in that exercise was the Mercedes-Benz CLS, a model that aged like Robert Downey Jr. over its 20-year lifespan.

For the uninformed among us, that’s a good thing.

That particular change in perception was the result of fastidious German designers. This time around, let’s find examples where it isn’t the model that’s changed — it’s us. In short order, our initial disdain turned into something altogether different. Same car, same generation, but a different view.

Lexus has the spindle grille, BMW has kidneys, and Genesis now has twin horizontal streaks as its signature styling cue. Front and back and even on the sides, illuminated parallel lines are the next-generation G80 sedan’s defining design flourish.

Revealed late Wednesday on Instagram (a coronavirus-free but still virulent venue), the upcoming midsize sedan looks to its larger siblings for inspiration.