car design thread

Always liked this Corvette. The upper nose/hood looks like they made it on this Alfa concept. Alfa should built this car.
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this Alfa still looks good and I agree, it's a shame it never made it to production

 

From Form Trends: Peter Schreyer Kia Design
#Kia Motors' President and Chief Design Officer, Peter Schreyer, is celebrating 10 years at the helm. So what's been his favorite project?
“You know when you have more than one kid; you can never say which your favorite is. You love them all. I also do, with all the cars I’ve designed, but there is one that stands out a little bit, I must admit. The GT Concept was a dream project for me and our designers because we got the chance to make a real GT, a car where you can travel in style.”
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Bob Lutz talked about desire in one of his books. You do something that people want, want that one, not going to get talked into an alternative. They buy and pay the price. He then compared this to the appliance on the showroom floor (this was a discussion on GM designs when he arrived there) where the salesman talks of 95 percentile within class on all sorts of measurables but the prospect never gets excited at what they are looking at. Solution: keep putting money on the hood until it compensates for limited desirability.

 

speaking of Alfa Design: Chief Designer Alfa Exterior:
https://www.facebook.com/301409463206969/videos/1399924700022101/

 

What do designers think of the original Split Windshield 1971 Stutz by Virgil Exner?

The proportions were altered in subsequent models - from 1972 on - to accommodate a rear seat and the use of standard GM components such as as one piece windshield - full length rear bumper etc.

Only 26 of the split windshield STUTZ were produced.

IMO the design of the later cars altered the original profile of the 71 Stutz for the worse.

Unlike later production, the original Stutz featured the maganificent FIRESTONE LXX Wheels & tires. The rims were 17 inch, but the overall diameter remained equivalent to an F70-15 tire

The original Prototype was built by Ghia in collaboration with Farago and Exner and the remaining split windshield production was carried out by Padane in Italy who i believe were responsible for the Maserati Spyders i.e Mistral , Ghibli etc.

The original 71 Stutz Design follows in the tradition of the American designed coach built cars aimed at the wealthiest of individuals.

Examples include:

Hudson Italia ( 26 units )
Dual Ghia (104 units )
Ghia 6.4L ( 26 units )
1971 Stutz Split Windshield ( 26 units including prototypes)

Elvis was the first customer of the 1971 Stutz revival car, and the balance of customers almost mirrors the first owners of the 62 Ghia 6.4L

I would be interested on you comments on the execution of this "revival design"
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It would probably just end up being another Miata clone...

 

I believe Mr. Exner was one of the truly great designers of his era. Having said that, this particular example of his work isn't one of my personal favorites to say the least. While understanding the design brief to do a nod to the nostalgic look of the great Classics from the '30's, I guess there was some demand for this type of car/design.
Once again, my personal bias was/is not particularly fond of looking & dwelling in the past. These cars were meant to play on the warm fuzzy nostalgia feeling some buyers are looking for. For me personally......I have absolutely 0 desire to relive the past, whatever the case, particularly with auto design.

So this particular design?
It's certainly well executed, without too much of the goofy quotient many of these '70's nostalgia-mobiles seemed to possess.
There were a number of builders that tried this formula with varied success.
This is probably one of the better ones in that genre.

A designer friend, Jeff Teague who recently passed away, was working on a Duesenburg revival car.
Not sure if anyone else will take up where Jeff left off.
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Yeah the FIAT 124 sure turned out bad, if anything the Mazda looks better(but that is not an Alfa)....Someone needs to do a shake up at FIAT/Alfa/Maserati and give someone else final design Decisions...The Giulia looks like a BMW/Merc with Camry tail lights and although the 4C is very sporty I think the body has a lot of design flaws and is way to busy and chunky. The door scoop and window are the worst parts.
They should have just left that scoop off and pulled air from the front of the car, or made the scoop look good.

 

Then you can either 'blame' or 'credit' this gentleman

 

Thank you for bringing this version of the Stutz up. Not sure I knew about the first version at the time. I would like to get some insight into the V'ed windshield. My suspicion is that Exner would have wanted curved glass and a bonded seam but may not have been possible.

In case you are not aware, the Exner book talks of how the entire Stutz project was a resurrection of a Duesenberg project that cratered. The Stutz was its resurrection with new backers.

It is not particularly surprising that such a type of design would come from Exner. Look at his 159/60 (or thereabouts) Imperial with the freestanding headlights and spare wheel look for the trunk lid.

I completely agree with John - Exner was one of the greats.

 

True...We used to expect better from Italy. Now we get copies of everybody's designs no matter the designer or country of origin. When I saw the Ghibli I thought right away it could be an Infinity sedan. I firmly believe it is caused by the internet. Everybody sees everything fast, and it impedes their ability to make fresh design. So they take old designs and over complicate them to make them seem different, or they come up with some organic or cartoon inspired design wich are really strange and not pretty or practical. John it is up to you to fix it. Force students to read books written about the best designers of the past(make sure you throw in a lot of old Italian designers)

 

duly noted!

 

Alfa 8C meets Ferrari P4/5........ Could be hard to get in and out of and the wheels are a little large, but it looks a hell of a lot better than the Alfa 4C and is basically the same size. Thank god for rear camera's.
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this is nice work.
Looks like some Viper meets Ferrari P4 going on
but the soft fluid forms are quite nice
cool upper/greenhouse as well

 

while looking for something else, came across an excellent example of a full size clay with a 'clown suit'/2 different bodysides
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So, why the heck don't car designers get a clue and run their new potential designs by this forum before production.

Would save all this...

 

And maybe cows will fly over the moon.........

 

I think we all on this forum want interesting designs. The manufactures want to conform and not take to big a chance. The designers follow that thinking and also get so caught up with what they see coming from other companies they forget to even try something original. We do see a few strays, mostly in bad taste but most manufactures conform when it comes to their main product line(SUV's, 4 door sedans of all sizes). I guess taking a big chance now means you make the grill on your car a lot bigger

 

all true, but when there are literally Billions of $$ at stake, most companies tend to play it safe.

Sound like Hollywood at all? The movie industry keeps churning out dreck in the form of remakes of remakes (Magnificant 7, anyone?), and every formula known to man in the form of SuperHero movies, the animated sequels # 578, etc. etc.
it's because there's too much $$ involved, and no one wants to lose their shirts or their jobs

car biz is no different, play it safe or you're at your own peril
this ain't 1960 anymore
do what the Chinese market wants and play a safe bet

 

F1tommy is right.
Tcar, your suggestion is not the solution. The ONLY solution is to employ talented designers, and let them do their job without distracting interdepartmental interference. It's a well known fact that what FCA pays its designers in Italy is an embarrassing joke. Top talent costs good money but it pays itself back with corporate financial success. Poor salaries attract poor designers and the results are corporate financial ruin. Regrettably this IS rocket science for their HR department and they get what they pay for.


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I dunno... reminds me of a modern version of the Manta Ray, exaggeration for exaggeration's sake.
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a tough act to follow...

 

Talented designers are not the problem. It is design management and corporate management. The designers in the studio 1) make their proposals that others make the choices and 2) at some point realize what gets the designers promoted and adjust accordingly.