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By identifying these paradigms car designers can do a design based on something else. Think of the wedge shapes from the Jet age, and the computerised/digital dashes from the mid 80's computer age.
Bang on. It takes more than plagiarism and reworking of the past to make something feel and look right. I like these 'retro' cars but can you imagine the buzz of seeing something genuinely new like the first C/D/E-type jag? or even Bertones Citroen BX concept? I'm surrounded by some of the countries (maybe the worlds) most talented car designers, and it worries me deeply that everything they create reminds me of something. Its down to the initial research, and maybe looking out of the box.
One of our lecturers - Nick Hull, is responsible for cardesignnews.com, and he specialises in forecasting and auto trends.....and even he's worried by the constant regurgitation of styles.
On a similar note we were lucky enough to have Dick Powell (from Seymour Powell design consultancy) in for a guest speaker. He really inspired me, and left me gob smacked. Interestingly everything we buy product wise has been designed for us already. Todays mobile phones were designed 7 years ago, and cars its a similar story......
It seems like the public, asides from focus groups have very little say in what their new car, let alone mobile phone looks like.
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CiBi
Part of things
Posts: 83
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Good point HoTWire. As soon as I said that and hit "post reply", I thought of the Ford O21c - an iMac on wheels if ever there was one! metropolis.japantoday.com/tokyo/454/feature.aspnamed after the Pantone code for the colour... Although I'm not sure why there's a lime green one in there! I don't know why but i really like that! Me too ! Imagine the cost saving if they made a 4 door (suicide style model with a longer boot) They have multiple uses for the same parts e.g drivers door & rear passenger door would be the same , the boot & bonnet the same , even down to the front / rear light lense , assuming this uses led's ! , Would be great .... And now it's mentioned i can see the charger & mk1 granny in there as well . If it went into production i'd certainly buy one . Chris
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New money for old rope?DarrenW
@darrenw
Club Retro Rides Member 74
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[It seems like the public, asides from focus groups have very little say in what their new car, let alone mobile phone looks like. To me that is most definitely a GOOD thing. I want designers to TELL me what I want - THEY are the ones that are supposed to be imaginative and inventive, not the end-consumer. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I seem to remember that the Mk5 Escort was one of the most heavily clinicked cars ever, during the design stages. Yet what a disaster that was! Ask people what they want in a car, and they don't KNOW what is possible or what the limits are. They'll just answer "well, like the last one, only better". They aren't going to come up with innovative ideas. That's how I see it anyway And as a tangent - I couldn't agree more with the new house thing.
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The parallel between auto-design & architecture is an interesting one. In the fifties & sixties (and before) architecture was about forward-looking.... 'modernism' - functional designs to get the most of space & light. Much as the 'space-age' car design looked to the future. Now 99.9% of architecture for homes is backwards looking, post-modernist pastiche, and teh same could be said of desings such as the 'retro' mini & beetle. What is interesting is that the 'retro' styled car is vast in comparison to it's predecessor, where as the 'mock-georgian-barratt-townhouse' is miniscule compared to the original on which it is based. When you consider how much clever design goes into commercial buildings, which are only in use 30% of the time, it's amazing how bland and backwards we make the places we spend 60% of our lives in......
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Its down to the initial research, and maybe looking out of the box. Maybe you should pass round my Think Different article to your graduating class Retro Rides, single handedly saving the car industry!
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Maybe you should pass round my Think Different article to your graduating class :)
Retro Rides, single handedly saving the car industry! Indeed!. I use it as my bible! I just wanted to hear what people thought about this retro resurgence in car design. I'm passionate about what I do (and hope to achieve)
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RetroMat
Posted a lot
Column Shifting!
Posts: 3,444
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I really like these re styled retro cars, I’m slowly trying to develop some concepts for the Citroen H van, which is a lot harder to get ‘right’ than I initially thought. Retro-Furism is only a stage in design, soon no doubt car design will evolve and move on to some thing completely different. I too was in the Dick Powel lecture there was some amazing stuff said. Also I’ve just been in a lecture with a bloke from the Royal collage of art who gave some very interesting view one where cars deigns have come from and where they are going. Cars that form part of the street furniture anyone?
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Last Edit: Dec 5, 2005 18:41:09 GMT by RetroMat
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Hirst
Posted a lot
This avatar is inaccurate, I've never shaved that closely
Posts: 3,930
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Psh I hate these retro styled new cars. Would like to see more car manufacturers giving a more unique edge to their styling - very bored at the moment of the sameyness of some cars. Slapping a different "family face" on the front of each car does not make it unique.
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darrenw in da house: I thought of the Ford O21c - an iMac on wheels if ever there was one!Killer designer Marc Newson did that Ford, the best part of the car is the way the trunk opens, like a drawer!!!! The man is well known for NON-linear thinking.... ...But not so well known for thinking "how the fug do you open the trunk when someone parks behind you..." TBH I'm not a big fan of retro styling on modern cars... cars like the Mini and Beetle became cool when they trancended the role for which they were designed, i.e. cheap transport for the masses. Fair play to VW, BMW ect for taking money off fashion victims, tho'....
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... the only injury I sustained was a bumped head when I let the seatbelt of without realizing the car was upside down and that's not really the car's fault.
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