Hyundai Concept 3. Primer is the new 'thing' Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Weld two into one and you have a future electric Ferrari Lusso at this pace of innovation. Image Unavailable, Please Login
That would actually look quite nice if it had real paint and the glass wasn't yellow. All the best, Andrew.
That's NOT primer, it's the $300 "flat grey" option Regardless, I really quite like concept; small but muscular. It has a bit of the vibe of the original Mini coupe, but with better proportions and room for real humans...
I had a thought while on the Interstate... the 849 Testarossa's body color front spoiler/lip looks a little like a 288GTO's front end, and the 288GTO also happens to be a turbo V8 just like the 849 Testarossa and also happens to have a little ducktail spoiler at the back. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login The 512 Testarossa is a V12 and has a very different aesthetic... no spoilers, and has signature side strakes. Would we have been happier with the 849 design if it had been called the Ferrari 849 GTO? It does look like a better continuation of the GTO lineage than it does for the Testarossa name. All the best, Andrew.
Why the big grilles on BMWs? https://www.thedrive.com/news/bmw-says-china-was-the-reason-for-its-massive-grille-phase?utm_source=www.todayincars.com&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=bmw-grilles-china-ram-ev-dead-hypercar-bosses-swap
The continuing saga, Ch.22. https://driventowrite.com/2025/09/16/never-a-dull-moment-part-22/#more-132551 The complete set of photos are on the site. Never A Dull Moment — Part 22 Grand Prix. Jail? Changing of the guard! Source: GM Design Source: GM Design As the decade of the 1990’s began, I knew it wouldn’t be business as usual. It never had been and we were in for a great ride. As Chief Designer in the Pontiac 1 Exterior Studio, I had my work cut out for me as we were up to our eyeballs in projects. As previously discussed we were immersed in the development of the 1994 Grand Prix, a very important part of Pontiac’s performance strategy. A 4-door/ 2-door; sharing componentry to introduce the public to a 4-door Coupe. We were well on our way creating this design and believed we had found a niche that we could own. Before the internet and home computers, I had subscriptions to around fifty magazines. Automobiles, fashion, architecture, design, food, film, Hi-Fi and current events. Our mailbox had several magazines just about every day. We designers could find out what the competitors were doing by poring over the monthly car magazines; Car Design magazines consisting of the Japanese, ‘Car Styling’ and the Italian, ‘Auto & Design’. Today, designers know in real time what design studios across the globe are up to. Not back then. One Spring day, while sorting through the stack of reading material, something jumped out like I had been slapped in the face. There, on the cover of the July 1990 issue of Automobile magazine, was a photo of the clay model of our Grand Prix! Stopped me dead in my tracks. Image Unavailable, Please Login Security at an automobile company was, and is, a given, lest your competitors find out what you’re up to. GM Design had the best professional security on the planet as far as we were concerned, yet here, in front of my eyes was a photo of our design. How could this be? Who could have pulled off such an act of espionage? Was this my fault? Loose lips sink ships, etc. . . Needless to say, the following morning I raced into work and alerted all my bosses, called security and sounded the proverbial alarms. It was obvious to us in the studio that the renderings in the article had been lifted from photos taken of the Grand Prix model on our design viewing patio outdoors. Who could have carried out such a theft? How? Who had access to the photos? So many questions. 474w" sizes="(max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 984px) 61vw, (max-width: 1362px) 45vw, 600px" style="-x-ignore: 1"> Source: Hemmings GM security from corporate headquarters immediately got involved, and suddenly everyone was under scrutiny. No one could ever recall this level of security breech where GM Confidential photos had been stolen and subsequently published. The magazines had an unwritten rule that they wouldn’t publish stolen photos/ material without checking with the corporate source first. Once the professional sleuths from ‘downtown’ got involved we anxiously awaited explanations. I was confident they would get to the bottom of how something this blatant could have possibly taken place. Source: GM Design Source: GM Design And it didn’t take long. I had guessed they would start by asking the magazine as to where the photos had originated. Sure enough, a ‘source’ had offered to sell the photos to Automobile Magazine for an undisclosed sum and had been identified as a contract worker employed by GM Photographic at Corporate HQ. Not smart enough to hide his tracks I guessed. GM Legal took these breeches of security very seriously. One didn’t want to have the company lawyers looking into your business. It was at this point that we were left out of the equation. I was told that the guilty party had access to the photos, had sold them to the magazine, and was prosecuted. There were subsequent rumors that the perpetrator actually went to jail as a result of his actions, but I was never able to verify that. Those incidents tended to remain under the radar for how it might look if the incident became public. Bad appearances, don’t you know. I never found out the outcome. So much for security. Image Unavailable, Please Login Jerry is in the center with Chuck Jordan behind him in the light colored suit. I’m on far left. GM Design photo Alongside all this intrigue, once again, there would be a change at the top for the VP Design position. Chuck Jordan had created an environment for design creativity and had many allies, but we didn’t believe he would have much influence over the selection of his successor. Of course, I tried to keep my head down and stay focused on the task at hand, trying to ignore all the rumors circulating. Didn’t want to get caught in the crossfire as it were, which of course was impossible. Like an instant replay, there were two prominent candidates being considered for the top Design job. Jerry Palmer, a GM career man with experience with Corvette, Camaro and Chevrolet brands, along with many other significant programs, and Wayne Cherry who had spent a brief period in Warren early in his career and was then assigned to Europe and wound up staying there for over 20 years., spending the better part of his career in the UK with Vauxhall andGermany with Opel. Mr. Palmer was a known quantity with those of us at the Design Mother Ship in Warren, MI., whereas Mr. Cherry was an unknown for many of us in the States, as we had no experience dealing with him. There were thoughts that the corporation might consider an ‘outsider’, not from GM reserves, but we weren’t privy to those discussions at the top. The rumor mill shifted into hyperdrive as it usually did during times of massive change. I honestly didn’t know what to expect. The corporation was going through tough times financially and had changed the CEO and President of the corporation in one fell swoop. Our Grand Prix project was delayed as draconian financial constraints were once again a fact of life. The boom and bust cycle of the car biz was always present. Image Unavailable, Please Login Source: GM Design Both candidates had stellar track records for great designs. On Mr. Palmer’s resume were a number of great Chevrolets and Advanced Design programs,while Mr. Cherry had led the Vauxhall and Opel Design teams to exceptional results. This was not going to be an easy decision by any means. Jerry Palmer had an outgoing exuberant personality and an eye for design, where Wayne Cherry was a bit more reserved, but the consummate professional, with a winning track record. Like all transitions of power, there would be a winner along with disappointed parties. My thoughts centered around who would lead the organization to greatness? How might this changing of the guard affect me? Would I have to reinvent myself once again as Wayne Cherry knew nothing about me, whereasJerry Palmer knew of my accomplishments. Many unknowns. Jerry Center in light suit. Wayne Cherry to his left. Source: GM Design Jerry Center in light suit. Wayne Cherry to his left. Source: GM Design In my opinion, GM Design was starting to lose its stature as the pre-eminent automotive design organization it had been under Bill Mitchell and Harley Earl.The Japanese, the Germans and crosstown rivals, Ford and Chrysler, certainly weren’t standing still. And in fact, Chrysler Design was on the verge of setting the tone for design in the US. Were we destined to be the Zerox, or Kodak of the car design world?
Back around 2010 I noticed the massive grills when I was in China. They saw it as being like a Rolls Royce.
