car design thread

#2: LOL

 

very cool!

 

Best of luck with your goal. Not saying it can't be done, but the costs almost always get wayyy out of control, if you want to do it right.
This can be a very expensive proposition. The reason many of these boutique builders use production cars as the underbody/building block is the cost to make specific sheetmetal, glass, etc costs grow exponentially.
Look at this thread:Carlos Salaff Project Caden in the Special Projects & Concept Cars section. His is being done correctly and I am anxious to see his final product.

Over the yrs there have been a myriad # of individuals & groups that have tried to revive the Duesenburg name. None have made it to fruition.

 

I believe Jeff was trying to make a point.
Of course, every design studio has a different culture & personality.
But like any other profession, other factors weigh in on results: egos, politics, skill sets, influences from Engineering, Marketing, Mfg., Corporate Politics, etc.
It IS a 'team sport' no doubt

 

Brief history lesson of automotive design's beginnings:
The Hollywood Look Runs Deep In Car Design - Petrolicious

 

new Citroen concept vehicle
DS E-TENSE Concept Wins First Place in Car Design Standoff - AutoConception.com
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Mercedes Maybach Concept
Vision Mercedes-Maybach 6 Car Explained by Design VP

 

hey, i just postem', don't ask me!

 

sadly, I think you are correct
however, look at the video I posted above with Stephan Lamm regarding the Mercedes/Maybach
I believe there's still hope

 

French contest.......French car wins? Coincidence?

 

today's Automotive News has an interview with the Chief Designer of the Lincoln Brand
you decide if you believe what he has to say:


Lincoln's lines fall into place

September 24, 2016 @ 12:01 am
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David Woodhouse
Since taking over as Lincoln's design director nearly three years ago, David Woodhouse has launched a design language signified by a unique grille look and classic proportions. He also is overseeing an overhaul of the brand's portfolio.

Woodhouse, now 48, who joined Ford Motor Co. in 1999 after design jobs at BMW Group, Cadillac and Jaguar Land Rover, emphasizes Lincoln's position as a separate and independent company within Ford. He spoke with Automotive News correspondent Jens Meiners.



Q: How goes Lincoln's new design strategy?

A: Let me start by saying how Lincoln is doing nearly five years after re-establishing itself in the luxury market. We made a series of promises at the start and continue to validate our strategy with encouraging progress: four new models in four years, greater name recognition and sales for the brand, establishing a foothold in China as the fastest growing luxury brand and the launch of Black Label.

Lincoln's design is playing a huge role in our advancements. The strategy is rooted in four words that help to separate us from a competitive luxury pack: Beauty, gliding, human and sanctuary -- this is quiet luxury. We are built on a foundation of beautiful products and meaningful client experiences.

Will the sloping shoulder line, upward kink and dropping rear end of the Continental become signature elements of Lincoln?

The elements you mention I see as Continental signatures, especially the falling line to a separated rear haunch. The most important aspects that will influence other Lincolns are great proportions, upper scale relaxed confidence and elegant beauty. One aspect important to convey confident beauty is what I call the "in-flight gesture," namely that the car sits well over its rear wheels in a level or falling attitude to the rear. This is something evident in MKZ and Continental and something I am definitely keen to build upon.

How close is the Navigator Concept to the real thing?

The Navigator Concept is a significant indication to what our next Navigator will be. Gull-wing doors and concertina steps -- perhaps not.

You have some powerful engines in the lineup. Is sportiness a strong factor in Lincoln design?

Effortless performance is part of our Lincoln mantra relating to "quiet luxury." Some have chosen to chase the European luxury manufacturers, but there is a cold, machine-like quality with that path. By contrast, Lincoln is about warm, inviting comforts, amenities and intuitive effortlessness. Our customers want the performance, but it's not the only factor in choosing a luxury automaker. That's why a Continental will have 400-hp available but with so many other attributes. Our clients get a full experience.

What makes Lincoln specifically American?

Lincoln, like the most credible luxury brands, has a definitive and iconic heritage. My favorite quote from someone who owned and loved his Lincoln is Frank Lloyd Wright when he proclaimed the 40s Continental to be "the most beautiful car in the world." Our design language is about exuberant proportions; horizontal emphasis; clean, restrained execution; long flowing lines, harmony and balance. It is these very ingredients that I believe are American. We've studied past products and the competition, analyzing the vehicles that have the most elegant ratios. This influences how we design today, and what we'll be doing in the future.

Do tastes in China and the U.S. differ, and if so is this reflected in Lincoln design?

Clearly, the back seat is a big area of focus for the Chinese customer; but that's not exclusively what they want. More younger clients there want to drive. The image of Lincoln has remained in their minds as the vehicle of presidents and the Hollywood elite. Now we are there, as well as here in North America, with vehicles that fit the modern-day execution of that idea.

You have toyed with the idea of a coupe. Are you re-evaluating new segments?

As you know, we cannot discuss future product. However, the creativity just exhibited by our Navigator Concept, on the heels of announcing the production version of the Continental, is certainly proof we have a deep and thriving well of creativity in the Lincoln studio.

What is the level of Lincoln's integration in the Ford design world when it comes to sharing studios, modeling, etc.?

We have a 100 percent-dedicated Lincoln design studio; it's home to nearly 100 staff members all dedicated to Lincoln with a great mix of creatives: interior, exterior and color and material designers, sculptors, engineers, modelers and program managers. Each of them shares one passion: for beautiful designs.

You can reach Jens Meiners at [email protected]

 

You mean the 'candy apple wheels"?
just in time for Halloween

 

'Designer musical Chairs' is a real phenomenon and this is just one factor I was referring to in an earlier thread regarding the 'Nationality' of different brands.
We live in a Global Society.......and there's no turning back:


China taps Europe's design talent

September 26, 2016 @ 12:01 am
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Warming (left): “Push yourself.” Hildebrand (right): Left “the ivory tower”
When Mini chief designer Anders Warming abruptly bid his employer goodbye in July, it was a surprise -- and it stung.

Warming, now 44, was one of BMW Group's design stars, with a portfolio that includes some of BMW and Mini's most successful cars. The departure set tongues wagging in the German industry.

A few weeks later, the mystery was over: Warming emerged as chief designer and board member of Borgward, the long-forgotten German technology leader that resurfaced at the 2015 Frankfurt auto show more than five decades after its spectacular demise. Today, Borgward Group is a subsidiary of Beiqi Foton and aims to squarely attack the German premium carmakers.

The Chinese auto industry is brimming with new players and investors, and they are seeking design talent from established European carmakers to help them compete successfully.

Talent flow
A sampling of European designers who have taken design jobs with Chinese-owned companies

Page Beermann, Faraday Future (BMW)

Guy Bourgoyne, Geely (Holden)

David Napoleon Genot, Borgward (Audi, Kia)

Gert Hildebrand, Qoros (Mini)

Peter Horbury, Geely (Ford, Volvo)

Benoit Jacob, Future Mobility (BMW)

Ajay Jain, Geely (Renault)

Pierre Leclercq, Great Wall (BMW)

Aditya Mahajan, Geely (Renault)

Olivier Molody, Great Wall (BMW)

Tim Pilsbury, Qoros (VW Group, Nissan America)

Roland Sternmann, Borgward (VW in U.S.)

Kris Tomasson, NEXTEV (BMW)

Anders Warming, Borgward (Mini, BMW)

Andreas Zapatinas, Shangan (Fiat, Subaru)

One of the earliest and most prominent examples of the trend is Gert Hildebrand. The German designer, coincidentally Warming's predecessor at Mini, in 2011 joined Qoros, a joint venture between Chinese carmaker Chery and investor Israel Corp. The German industry was not amused.

"Established players were clearly concerned about losing talent to China," Hildebrand says.

And they had reason to, especially after Audi's acquisition of Italdesign in 2010, a move partially motivated by the desire to block Chinese access to European designers. In fact, it may have achieved the opposite.

"Taking Italdesign off the market was a trigger for Chinese carmakers to aggressively build up their own design departments," Hildebrand says.

The list of international design talent moving to Chinese carmakers features some illustrious names beyond Hildebrand and Warming. What unites them is that they are not second-rate designers but have distinguished records at established carmakers or were in the process of building such a career.

Some designers admit to the lure of career advancement. Others cite a once-in-a-lifetime chance to create a brand identity on a blank sheet of paper. Still others want to work in an atmosphere in which hierarchies are still developing and the painstaking decision-making process of established carmakers has not developed.

And then there is the sheer sense of adventure.

Warming believes that the industry will be reshuffled with the new players: "You have to be daring, to push yourself and remain authentic," he says. But he also cautions that a move like his own may not be for everyone.

Hildebrand agrees. Working for a new carmaker means "being tough and willing to get "down and dirty,'" he says. In his case, that included searching for and securing studio space, working out of motels near suppliers. And there were mundane tasks such as putting up decoration and basic office equipment. "I had to leave the ivory tower," he says.

But Hildebrand says he hasn't regretted the move. "Working at Qoros gave me the opportunity to leave a lasting mark in automotive history," he says.

The appeal of a new opportunity is strong, and established carmakers are beginning to feel the drain.

"There are good and poor Chinese designs, but they are getting better, not least because they hire a lot of designers from the German industry," says Marc Lichte, Audi's head of styling.

"At Audi it's not a problem yet, but it could certainly become one."

You can reach Jens Meiners at [email protected]

 

Today's lesson on sheetmetal forming & design:

The real secret to striking design
Advances in tooling make artistic lines possible

September 26, 2016 @ 12:01 am
Christiaan HetznerTwitter



A high-speed milling machine fashions a drawing die used to stamp Audi fenders.
FRANKFURT -- Even the most beautifully sketched exterior remains just an idea on a piece of paper if, in the end, it can't be pressed into actual metal.

That's where the hard work of production engineers comes in. Their task is to give designers greater artistic leeway by finding technical solutions that guarantee quality while minimizing costs.

Audi exterior designer Matthias Fink thanked his engineers for allowing him to keep the Q2 crossover's distinctive polygonal shape and facetlike edges, including one surface where two crisp shoulder lines on the door panel of the vehicle merge, something that previously would not have been feasible.

"We're pushing the limits of what is physically possible in order to give our designers the freedom they need," said Hannes Mautz, Audi's project leader for intelligent tools. "But the more we test the boundaries, the more the production processes react to disturbances."

Already for certain parts of the A3 or TT, Audi relies on laser sensors to provide real-time information about the deformity of the metal during stamping -- all the way to the hundredths of a millimeter. Depending on the tolerance levels, the clamping force holding the sheet metal in place can be regulated by means of four separate electric actuators. This ensures it is neither drawn too quickly nor too slowly -- both of which present problems for the structural integrity.

"You can think of it like an electronic stability program for metal-forming technology," Mautz explained.

It's all in the radius

Generally speaking, the more elaborate the design of a car, the more complex the surface geometry typically becomes. With each new fold, crease or angle in the bodywork, there is the potential for the metal to fail, creating microscopic stress fractures or slight imperfections in the edges or surfaces. Line up all these potentially faulty side panels together on a master jig, and the parts may not even fit properly, creating gaps in the body that harm ride and comfort.

As a result, the flat steel blank must be carefully punched through a series of different stamping dies, often of varying lengths, under tremendous pressure that progressively create an increasingly distinct three-dimensional form. The secret to a striking design is a tight radius in the angle of the folded metal.

Unfortunately, as the radius becomes tighter, it quickly adds complexity to the manufacturing process. It costs to develop more dies, more time is needed to manufacture each panel, and there is a higher risk the metal can be damaged in the process. Mass-market brands consequently have simpler exterior designs relative to premium ones.

Indeed, the development and validation of stamping dies can be one of the most expensive investments a carmaker has to make. Volkswagen for example has so-called "Strak" rounds between designers, developers and production engineers during which the geometric data of a model are discussed and improved before construction of a tool is ever approved.

Not all companies tackle the problem the same way. Speak to senior designers at General Motors' Opel unit and the discussion soon progresses into the nitty-gritty of production processes, since many have spent years adding engineering expertise to their artistic background. Some engineers report directly to them to better ensure that their creative ideas can be realized.

"A day in the life of one of our designers is an equal part creative and at least an equal part finding clever ways to solve the engineering challenges we face," said Opel's Karim Giordimaina.

Precision is an absolute must. One gram of lubricant too much or too little can determine the quality of a side panel. Often the most seemingly minor imperfections can mean wasted resources. Thanks to the 1,400 metric tons of pressure applied, even a single human hair that falls between the tool and die will create an indelible impression in the sheet metal that even the untrained eye of a customer can notice.

It becomes more difficult when using metals less versatile than steel.

"No one else'

The outer skin of the new Porsche Panamera, for example, is entirely made of aluminum. But designing lines into the lightweight yet brittle material was challenging given the lack of expertise in stamping aluminum body panels to its demanding standards.

While the side panels were pressed by suppliers such as Germany's Laepple, they could not have done it without the help of engineers in Schwarzenberg, home of the former Kuka machine tool factory.

Gernot Doellner, head of the Panamera product line, said the plant's dies "can achieve radiuses on aluminum that others can only manage with steel. No one else has mastered the precise gaps, edges and narrow tolerance thresholds," he said.

The Kuka unit became a fully owned Porsche subsidiary in August 2015. "Through the Panamera," Doellner said, "we realized just how valuable the business was."

You can reach Christiaan Hetzner at [email protected] -- Follow Christiaan on Twitter: https://twitter.com/christiaanhtznr
Tags: Design

 

last but not least, is Audi's new Chief Designer.
I thought his response to the question about 'German-ness' in Audi Design is telling:


Marc Lichte on the new shape of Audi

September 26, 2016 @ 12:01 am
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Marc Lichte
When Marc Lichte took over Audi's design department in February 2014, a sense of stability returned to an operation that had suffered from considerable friction -- and a new styling direction.

From 2007 to 2012, Audi design was led by a delicate arrangement involving two men, Wolfgang Egger and Stefan Sielaff. Sielaff later moved to Volkswagen Group's Bentley brand and Egger, Lichte's predecessor, went to Italdesign Giugiaro, an Audi subsidiary.

Egger, a protege of former VW Group design chief Walter de' Silva, pushed for a more angular styling language while at Audi that was visible in the Q7 and the third-generation TT. Other models, such as the A4 and A5, barely differ from their predecessor.

Lichte, 47, built his reputation at Volkswagen, where he headed one of the brand's two exterior design studios. His portfolio includes a number of successful VW models, including the Golf (from the fifth generation onward), the Passat, and future models such as the upcoming second-generation CC.

Lichte was interviewed by Staff Correspondent Jens Meiners.

Q: What will be the first Audi to appear that was entirely designed under your leadership?

A: When I took over at Audi in February 2014, I had three months to prepare for the move. I used them to create a design strategy and, in parallel, a proposal for the new A8. We went through the regular design process and competition, but my proposal was chosen over four other models. So the next A8 will be the first Audi that was designed according to my philosophy. From there onwards there will be new models coming out at a fast pace. I was also able to leave my mark on the front end of the Q2 in order to create a bit more differentiation.

You've announced a design leap for the interior. Why so soon? Audi had just launched a new interior styling language with the A4, A5 and Q7.

The next step is motivated by the concept of smartphones, of a touch-screen user interface. I see a trend toward this kind of interface in future cars, and it is absolutely clear that we will pursue touch screens. We have developed our future interface as a perfectly integrated evolution of the A4's interior; we dropped a few hints with the Prologue [concept]. But I promise you that the series production models will be even more forceful.

Where do you see Audi in relation to its classic rivals, BMW and Mercedes-Benz?

Our brand is defined by premium, sportiness and progressiveness. In the competitive set, premium quality is a given. Like Audi, BMW is sporty, and so is Mercedes-Benz by now. The differentiator is progressiveness; Audi will be extremely progressive and thus clearly differentiated from the competition. And that includes both overall proportion and every detail.

Is German-ness a factor for Audi?

My foremost teacher at VW was Hartmut Warkuss (the designer of the first Audi 80). I am still in dialogue with him. Our basic design philosophy is still clearly influenced by Bauhaus aesthetics. But today, we also emphasize a strong character, desirability. Our cars are sexy.

Do future Audi models need to be more differentiated from each other?

We have defined a styling language for the A, Q and R models, with a distinct face and each with a distinct lateral section. All of them will visualize quattro all-wheel drive but in their specific way. And even within the three groups, the models will be clearly differentiated. Each model will have its own identity.

You mentioned an R family, even though there is currently only the R8. Will this approach include RS and RSQ models?

They will be very clearly differentiated from the A and Q models, but I don't want to go into detail right now.

What about electrics?

They will get their own identity as well. They will look distinct and even more progressive than conventionally powered Audis. Out first model, which we previewed with the e-tron quattro concept, will have the Q face but with a different grille treatment, different surfaces, different lighting units and extremely good aerodynamics. The series production car will be clearly more radical than the concept car.

How do you approach autonomous driving?

It is a very high priority for me. We are working on concepts up to Level 5 driverless autonomous vehicles, and there we are talking about entirely new architectures. Our work goes way beyond two-dimensional sketches today. I'd like to say that we have come quite far.

Are Audi's studios being reorganized?

We have redefined the Munich studio. It will focus on conceptual work. We have a presence in China, and we will maintain a presence in the Los Angeles area, which I consider to be the global hot spot No. 1 in terms of design. Meanwhile, Italdesign will continue to play a role as a generator of ideas and proposals.

You can reach Jens Meiners at [email protected]