What makes a car look great?
 

After seeing some of the new car designs and especially the C&D rendering of the upcoming C7 makes me wonder if automotive designers have forgotten the basics of what makes something beautiful:

Beauty: The quality that gives pleasure to the mind or senses and is associated with such properties as harmony of form or color, excellence of artistry and originality

Automotive markets now days are full of wheels that have faces only a mother can love - just take a look at the new Lexus GS - or totally blend design that try hard to please grandma at retirement home such as the whole Toyota and BMW line up. I have no idea what GM are doing with the upcoming C7 .... yuck!

Go back through the last 100 years and you will see how much designers ape each other. Even in the "Fabulous Fifties" it is amazing to me how much the '55 Ford, Chevy and Plymouth look alike. Rare indeed is the styling genius who pens an XKE, Ferrari 250 GTO, Lambo Miura, Lincoln Continental (mid-60's) or Studebaker Avanti. The Porsche 911 isn't for everybody, but surely a recogngizable and unique testament to "form follows function" which has survived in sillhouette for some 50 years now! Vettes have tended to be derivative of highly-styled sports cars which preceeded them by a few years, but by and large have benefited from talented stylists who seem to capture something special in each interpretation -- arguably the C2 was brilliant design, and while a bit overwrought the C3 is totally recognizable as a Vette. The following generations are less unique although to my eye they all work very nicely and are recognizable to most.

All of which brings me to the C7. I hope, really hope, that the details are different from what we've been seeing, because there's very little original there, and a lot that really does not scream "Vette."

I agree. Many of the designs lack the basic principles that make a design appealing. Regardless of the style, if a car, house, or anything else disregards the basic principles of design, it will be less appealing & certainly not be good looking decades later.

Beautiful design comes cheerful committees.

One of the renowed Ferrari chief designers (308, Dino, Daytona) was on Chasing Classic Cars very briefly today. He said that he liked SIMPLICITY. I could not agree more. I believe that the C6 is a simple, classic design. I hope that the real C7 follows suit and proves those who have provided "renderings" wrong.

Very good points guys. When something is designed well it's beauty will last through time and nothing represent it well than the iconic Ford and Ferrari racers from the 50's and 60's. I was never a Porsche guy until the latest 997 GT3 and I appreciate the current C6's simple athletic lines and with the right color contrast and few key mods the Z06 carbon is a pleasant sight for sore eyes

"They don't make them like they used to."

You could be right. Or you could just be getting old.

Just sayin'.

Battista Pinnin Farina spoke of using Nature and the Human Body as 'models' for automotive design - timeless, free flowing and universal.

Harley Earl said, put bigger Fins and Dagmars on it !!

Chris Bangle must have said, how can I butt-ify the entire BWM lineup?

All are renown, successful car designers - so go figure - what indeed is Beautiful?

http://www.datamar.info/avatar3.jpgOne of the renowed Ferrari chief designers (308, Dino, Daytona) was on Chasing Classic Cars very briefly today.

People, as a whole, tend to value symmetry. Often times, less can be more (Aston Martin, early Jaguar roadsters, etc.--they don't need a ton of vents, wings, etc.). Anything phallic tends to look "sleek and powerful", the way Freud intended it. Form without purpose only appeals to those who will not own it. Purpose without form is poor engineering. Working art, is the goal. Witness Ferrari in the wind-tunnel generating tons of negative lift with no massive wings or silly canards. Witness even the 370Z in the wind tunnel. It has curves, bulges, barely the hint of a spoiler, and yet zero lift front and rear and a CD of only 0.29.

I think if GM makes a pleasing shape that generates negative lift, or even zero lift, and refrains from absurd wings, they will have a winner. The fact that the current Corvette actually generates lift is a bit embarrassing when so many others have produced cheaper cars that look just as sporty, lack gaudy wings, and do not.

Good points BSSN. C6 is a bit long in the tooth, and I think they were more concerned with reducing visual mass and pulling forward classic Corvette cues, so being embarassed seems a bit harsh. I'm hopeful that C7 will advance Corvette's form and function. I guess we'll know in ten months. Ten months of ugly-butt complaints...

I agree with all of this,

However; every so often all the designers/stlyists lose the plot rather simultaneously (like in the early 1980s)

Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. :thumbs:

What I believe is drop dead gorgeous may be rather unsightly to you. :cheers:

What I like never works on the road. I like super small side mirrors, no mirrors is better. 1/2 inch gap between tire and fender. I like a long splitter on the nose 1 inch off the ground. I like a chop top, that you hit your head on when you hit a bump. I like retractable spoilers that go to full up/open in heavy breaking, but close tight against the body when sitting still. Small flat bottom steering wheels. Wide body kits that will get you stuck between two trucks in the parking lot. My dream car is just that a "dream".

I understand, and the C6 looks great. I love the look of the exterior, but there is still no excuse for a nearly 200mph car generating substantial front and rear (un-even, though) lift. GM needs to work out some sort of trade with Ferrari, who uses their suspension, to borrow their aero engineers for a few months.

If you're interested in exceptional automotive styling and beautiful cars, check out the books photographed by Michael Furman. My favorites are The Art and Colour of General Motors and American Auto Legends. They present cars as sculpture; sensual, rolling works of art. http://www.amazon.com/Michael-Furman..._athr_dp_pel_3

Cheers,
JB

Agreed... people think different things are beautiful, my perfect car is probably very different than many others. That's why there are so many cars people love, while others hate them.

I, for example hate how the Porsche looks, though I do love other foreign cars, for example in my opinion the Maserati Granturismo is the most beautiful car I've seen so far, while others probably think it's hideous.

I like the "transformer" concept much better than the jalopnik ones personally.

I don't know if there is a formula for attractive designs. The cars I list below are totally different. The hardest designs are the legacy designs that Corvette, Porsche, BMW and Mercedes have to do. The C6 carries cues from the 59 Stingray. It must have been a real challenge to integrate a 50s design into a modern car. I don't think it is successful but I admire the courage of the designer. The way the front and rear fenders merge into the remnants of the perimeter waist line is very interesting. It is much easier to do a C5.
I love the proportions of the C7 which I get into below.
E Type and 63 Vette are the most beautiful cars ever. I first saw an E Type when I was at high school. One year later I saw the 63 Split Window Vette. They are equally breathtaking yet so different. Then came the Ferrari Lusso. Another departure that set a car design trend for years that spread world wide into both sports cars and sedans. Peugeots, BMC, Lancia, etc.
Aesthetics has a sexual component and an E type and a Viper are just plain sexy. I like Brigitte Bardot and Ursula Andress equally.
This is a list of cars that have classic designs and others that are my favorites. A classic design for me is the design that nothing can be altered or changed without detracting from the original. Like a P51 or a shark or an eagle. The inspiration of sharks in Corvette design is significant. I would work hard to keep it. The C5 and C7 are a departure.

Model T Fords are classic designs. Their proportions are, well, perfect. I just love looking at cars. I love all the worlds cars. I even like Tatras and ZiLs.
The 30 and 50s American cars represented our truly unique culture and the new Cadillacs and Corvettes capture that period that some wish to destroy. When we copy European designs, I fear for our land.
Some designs are intriguing and attractive not necessary beautiful. Some designs compel you to just keep on looking and you can't decide whether it is nice or not. If a design captures your attention, it is a good design.
These are not the cars that I desire to own, like a Carbon Z06 or a Suburban. These are cars that I enjoy to look at for reasons unknown.

E Type Coupe series 1
63 Vette split window Derived from the 59 Stingray.
P4 Ferrari 68

Jag XJR 15 Most Beautiful modern car.

McLaren F1
Ford GT 40
Ferrari 250 Lusso 63 Maybe the 3rd most beautiful car ever.
Testa Rosa 57
Ferrari 365 BB
Lambo Miura/ Countach 71
Model T Ford, Fords, 32 35
Lincoln MK VIII 96
Jag MK X or G

Fiat Topolino
Anglia 46
Caddy, CTS Coupe/SW, Cien, XLR,. The CTS is simply stunning.
Caddy 56/57 Eldorado Brougham. Love this car
Chev Lumina/Monte Carlo/APV 98.
Ford Taurus 98/06
Dodge Intrepid, 98 Stunning. Concept amazing.
Dodge Viper GTS Love it. You get the same feeling as looking at a Shelby AC Cobra.
Charger, 69 I love the way the rear fender merges with the front. McLaren M6B, 89 Testa Rosa, C5/C7. Rare on a front engined cars. The C7 proportions are like this. The detailing of it will make it or break it.
Cuda,70
Challenger.70
Camaro 69/70
Packards 30s
Chryslers 30s
Mercedes, 30s, SL 55
Cord 810
BMW 2800/3000CS
Citroen Traction Avant 37, DS 19/21/ 2CV
Alphas So many
Aston Martins so many New ones must depart from this old design soon, it has run its course. Like you can't make a modern car with Cobra GT or F250 GTO proportions. That shape is dead.
Peugeot 202/3 37 hard top convertible 402/3
Renault Alpine A110
Panhards 57
911
Studebaker 53
Facel Vega
Bentleys 50s Continentals
RR Silver Ghost 1911
RR the new ones.
Buick Riviera
MG TF
GSM Flamingo
NSU RO80
Olds Aurora 97
Chev Metro 01
Toyota Yaris 2 dr

You MAY have too much time on your hands. Just sayin...

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