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In Reply to: Where to look for sensible, well-styled cars, now that the German auto industry has been reduced... posted by Neil49 on September 03, 2004 at 21:15:01:
Spot on! The designs of German cars are now quite post-modern, in the sense that they have lines and creases where none should be and are adorned with trashy looking details. Come to think of it the bulk of their production is sold in North America (well the USA to be more precise), could there be a connection? Now that MB and Chrysler are one, it is hard to tell who is to blame for what, but it seems that there is some fairness in the distribution of ugliness; case in point the new large Chryslers. When you have to look at hot-rods for design inspiration in a production car you are in trouble. Nothing wrong with hot-rods and customs, I admire them for what they are, but they answer (or should answer) to a different aesthetic than production cars. Squashed greenhouses seem to be THE design statement right now. Inspiration comes from the past. Have you ever seen anything as homely as the Audi TT? The coupe is frightening to look at. The roadster with top down looks like an old bathtub on wheels. Most can't remember the Auto Union racecars of Nazi Germany, so why dig up those old cars for inspiration and design allusions?
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