You & me both. The high belt line on the Camaro drives me crazy. Feels like you're slouched in a bathtub peering over the edge.
Maybe the intent is to position the "driver" like this. Saves weight on seat cushions. Image Unavailable, Please Login
This design must have nearly 100% blindspot from drivers window 180º to pax window.....we must be close to the level of diminishing returns for this concept....(ya rearview cams etc) and BTW: is this design direction related to safety issues (obvious unintended consequence point), or packaging, or 'just' styling.......?
Gangsters who don't want to be seen by police while trying to make a gateway. Most Camaros around here have tints so dark that at night the glass looks like the black plastic they use on display concepts. I really think the high sides appeal to people who don't want be seen. All the best, Andrew.
There is also the safety feeling factor in that some customers feel safer in a cocoon like environment with a higher belt, rather than being exposed with a lower belt line. I've read studies and have had customers articulate this phenomenon. The urban environment makes some feel exposed in their cars. High belt lines help negate this uneasy feeling. But it's also a current styling trend
https://www.autofutures.tv/2018/12/12/artcenter-college-of-design-graduating-students-reveal-designs-for-auto-futures/
Speaking of students, I recall the old Fisher Body Craftsman's Guild contests and even participated once. It would be interesting to see a sampling of design thinking from the public at various intervals of time by aspiring young designers. Here is one photo from Hemmings supposedly covering the 1965 entries: Image Unavailable, Please Login
I gave a speech to the Craftsmen's Guild members in 2005 at their annual reunion. Most of the participants still have their original entries. That competition ended in 1968. Many of the winners went on to become professional car designers. A number wound up at GM Design. I never entered.
Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Cool history of the Kammback Camaro http://www.deansgarage.com/2019/the-camaro-kammback-story/
I remember FBCG coming to our High School (Highland in Albuquerque) in '61, maybe '62, to drum up entrants. That was an assembly for boys only... girls had to stay in study hall. Several entered... no winners. Am I mis-remembering that originally it was a contest to build a replica of the 'Fisher' carriage? They had a model of one on hand.
Yes, that’s correct. It began in the ‘30’s, and the contest was to build an exact replica of the Fisher Body Coach. After the war, Harley Earl morphed it into a ‘Styling/design competition’. Some very cool cars came out of that competition. A number of my bosses were prior winners. I don’t believe today’s youth would be interested.
Something just hit me when looking at the cullinan. It needs a full length grille and possibly some more features to the front in order to look less plasticky and less like a chinese imitation imo. Image Unavailable, Please Login View attachment 2652131
I was thinking of the Vanden Plas 1300... even worse... an original Mini 4 door with a huge grille. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2b/Van_den_Plas_1300_reg_aug_1973_1275_cc.JPG/1280px-Van_den_Plas_1300_reg_aug_1973_1275_cc.JPG
Has the new Renault Alpine A110 been discussed yet ? Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login