Date: Thu, 20 Sep 2007 22:41:06 GMT From: E. Newnes <enewns45nospamo.com> Subject: Re: Have Saab reintroduced hatchback yet?
On Thu, 20 Sep 2007 18:07:53 +0100, johannes <johsnospam-85635457321546-fitter.com> wrote: > > >Fred W wrote: >> >[...] >> >> Anything less than desireable is attributable to the US by you. > >No, its mainly historical. People in US have certain taste for how a >car should look, so we get heavy front features and chrome surrounds. >You can often see these style elements rooted from way back to the >1950's large cruisers. Companies such as Audi and Volvo once introduced >squared chromed headlamps for US market only. Some of this styling is >considered garish by European eyes. We think a car should have a clean >efficient shape. Fashion plays a huge role for what we would like to >bee seen in. A classic case of pandering to American tastes was the Vulva 760 which aped the Lincoln Town Car look. That design didn't do it any favours in my part of the world. Honda pander better than most, they offer an Accord in both American and Euro styles. As for the eyebrows/Dame Edna look you can blame that on Chris Bangle. When I first saw that design idiom expressed in BMWs I wasn't sure if I should laugh or vomit. Today, so many cars have adopted the cliche that it kind of looks normal. The Japanese too were into anthropmorphic design very early on. Asian tastes also play a major role in style today. By Asian I don't mean Indian, rather the burgeoning middle classes of S.E. Asia and China. Taste in those parts has always been quesionable. Not all European design is attractive - the French are very good at creating nasty odd ball designs. Very few US car designs do it for me, but they have come up with some design classics over the years - the original Ford Mustang being a notable case in point. Car design here is pretty interesting, we mix elements of US and European and Asian design - take the Holden HSV Senator Signature as an example http://editorial.carsales.com.au/car-review/1994414.aspx For me, I still like the looks of the Saab 900 SPG/Aero, it is a true design classic. It is remarkable how they turn the heads of the younger generation today.
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