car design thread

I dunno. Never thought about it. But the only design of his I saw that I liked was the Maserati coupe.

 

looks a lot like this one, except that the Emotion will keep the doors....and the 24" wheels....
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He would be my vote, or maybe Gandini

 

I am looking at the overall list of final candidates.

Harley Earl may not be the best "designer" of the entire group but all others pale in overall comparison to impact upon automotive design. Earl basically created the process and then had it adopted by almost everyone else. Earl transitioned from the period of when a car was still evolving from being horseless carriages, into the classic period then the pre-WWII start of integrated forms. His post WWII design leadership goes through the 1958 ,models (not his best work). Not only did he successfully lead all of GM's design efforts but his Art & Color (later to be GM Styling) populated the other Detroit companies with their eventual design leadership ranks.

They use the term "influential" as the alleged criteria. So should that be someone that did a singular car (Buehrig and the Cord 810) of great import. Another example might be Jean Bugatti that did some wonderful work within a design idiom but did not continue to evolve as the larger design world evolved.

When I think of Guigaro he WAS clearly great. There were a lot of great works pre-Ital Design while at Bertone. His most influential time was in the very late 1960s, through the 70s and into the early 1980s. The design approach using planes for the surfacing was a sea change that reverberated world wide. Unfortunately his later work seemed to fall of when he ran out of "what next".

The selection process of the candidates gives evidence of being highly biased of by Europeans for Europeans. There are folks listed here that seem to have been included because someone from a manufacturer or country just must be represented. I am surprised that William Lyons of Jaguar is left out while some representing such unworthies as Simca, Volvo and Saab are included.

Happily they did get it right on some of the American design leaders left out: George Walker of Ford, Elwood Engle of Chrysler, Gene Bordinat of Ford, Irv Rybicki of GM, J. Mays of Ford, Don De Larossa of Chrysler. But how the hell they can put Wayne Cherry on the list is mind boggling. This is a man that, after Rybicki started it, finished decimating the legacy of GM Design leadership.

 

I'm astonished. It looks like Cadillac took Ford's outgoing 2015-2018 Edge, changed the lights and grill, and then announced it as a bold statement.

All the best,
Andrew.

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I like it

 

If that is "Cadillac", why are they still here?

It is simply derivative, boring, not aspirational, and more negatives.....

"The Standard of The World"? I think not......
(Apologies to jm2, I know you did your best....)

 

But, to the average auto buyer, cupholders, access to the backseat to attach kiddie seats, et al, is far more important than inspiring design. To wit; have you taken a look recently at comtemporary suburban architechture?

 

So do I... that's why I just bought a 2015 Ford Edge.

I really do like Cadillac designs, but this one does look a lot like a copy of the Ford - so much so that, despite it being John's post with his gravitas, I actually checked Cadillac's website for the XT4 to make sure it wasn't a Photoshop prediction from a magazine. The interior looks nice though.

All the best,
Andrew.

 

i think most of these crossovers look the same. The Cady does a nice job of integrating the current design language imo. That grill could bave easily looked way out of place but it doesnt.

 

OUCH!! Don't even get me started on architecture today........

 

I see a bit of the 'Toyota look' snout creeping into the front end design and that is not a good thing. Overall it looks refined as if they went to far and then backed off on a few ideas. The Cadillac design definitely shows more expensive detailing than the Ford quoted here. Though there is perhaps too much 'black' on the Cadillac design vs the actual paint color.
I wonder if their V8 TT engine would fit in the front...

 

I noted that the grille is the same shape as the Cadillac emblem... I like the shape.

I also like the brick paving...

 

The headlights kill the whole car, which is a bit unfair as the rest of the vehicle is pleasing. I just saw a video of the coming 2019 Toyota RAV4, and IMHO those headlights would look super on the Caddy.

 

i'm sorry the newer Cadillacs are all so boring. The CT6 is so mundane, you hardly notice them in traffic.

 

The triangular grill looks a bit derpy, but the rest of it is pretty nice. Nice to see smooth, round curves instead of angles.

 

Agree! The triangular grill opening reminds me of a badly executed Alfa Romeo grill. Thought I'd never say this, but a softened Toyota/Lexus spindle grill might be a temporary improvement.

 

I like the rear end treatment, the sides not so much. Where are the European spec headlights, are they hidden or did they just leave them off because this is a concept?