Auto design! What you love, what you hate...

[robertarctor]

I love talking about car design.

To start: I think Nissan is a good example of a car company that has changed its fortunes dramatically by redesigning its car lines.

I think most of General Motors' current designs suck, although some of the new Pontiacs seem to be heading in the right direction.

And you?

[Blue_Tires]

1. I actually like many of GM designs

(then of course, I'm biased...)

I love the new Corette, and Cadillac has resurrected their whole line with their new design trends....

I tend to like a little more conservative, tasteful, functional styling...That said, I feel the best-looking cars out there are Audi and Porsche

[robertarctor]

2. That's cool. DS4DF and all that

I kinda like the origami Caddies, and the Caddie version of the Corvette is pretty nice; I actually prefer it to the Corvette. In terms of other divisions, Pontiac has made the most improvements; its newer cars' clean lines definitely trump the ugly plastic body cladding that bedeviled many recent Pontiacs, and the misbegotten Aztek looks like it's pretty much history. Saw a Buick LaCrosse on the street, and it's a whole lot prettier than the Batesville caskets on wheels that that division has been turning out for a while.

Still, GM hasn't fixed Chevrolet, its onetime marquee division. The Cobalt is a nice start, but GM needs to come up with a mid-size Chevy that's as pretty as the G6. Tha Malibu is, IMHO, still ugly, as is the Impala. And Chevy's HHR or HRR or whatever its mini-panel PT Cruiser ripoff is called, is a few years too late.

Surprise winner: The new Hummer H3. With the protruding fenders and the smaller size, along with some nice detailing, it might keep Hummer sales healthy. The only thing that will hurt it is the inline five-cylinder mill from platform-mates the Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon, which doesn't provide enough power. Drop a small-block eight under that hood, and you've got a hit.

[LTR]

4. GM has been making serious strides

Granted, the current generation Malibu has some styling cues that I don't like (though they cleaned up some scary features like the front chrome strip for '06) but inside it is a surprisingly good car (I was not a fan of the older generation one). Quality and features are highly impressive, and I would actually put it up against an Accord or Camry anyday (couldn't say that about the previous generation Malibu). The Malibu Maxx is a great addition to the lineup as well. I love that it doesn't look like a station wagon or an SUV, but has much of the same function as one. Look for a complete redesign in the next couple years or so (rumor has it that it will be much rounder and will be reminiscent of what Audi is doing now).

The '06 Impala has been cleaned up considerably (the big round tail lights are history). The Cobalt is a nice car (though slightly bland) and the Aveo is what it is (a jellybean on wheels inspired by Korean and Italian styling). The C6 'Vette is a masterpiece. But Chevy dropped the ball on the SSR. It's okay as far as looks go (at least Chevy is doing something creative in their design studios), but I think they're trying to mass-produce this too much, and it should be a limited edition like the Plymouth Prowler was. Doing steep discounting on it is pretty embarassing. Better to just pull it quietly from the lineup.

As for the HHR, I kinda like it. It's not just some PT ripoff. They actually put some thought into this. The body panels were very difficult to make, and it rides on the Delta platform (same as the Cobalt). They made it more for function (fold-flat seats all over, tons of options, and many ways to customize). The Scion ice cream truck xB and Honda Element, as well as the PT, are considered equal competitors. Incidentally, the HHR was designed by some of the same people who designed the PT (Bob Lutz brought people with him from Chrysler a few years back), and styled mostly from the '49 Suburban. I've driven the HHR, and I think it's a pretty good car. MPG is much better than the PT (up to low 30's, and ability to go up to 450 miles on a full tank of gas).

It seems like Chevrolet nowadays is more about what's in the car than what's outside of it. If you haven't driven one in a while, you will be absolutely shocked. Lots of unique features, suspension upgrades, sound deadening, and mechanical improvements make them seem like completely different cars than what we were used to. Now if only they could sex up the styling a bit.

As for the other GM marques, Buick is starting to make their lineup somewhat hip (or as hip as a Buick could possibly be). Pontiac did a great job with the G6, but the GTO looks kinda plain (they did a 180-degree turn from the excess body cladding of previous models). Cadillac has turned their cars into showpieces. Very nice.

I don't get Ford's styling, though. The new Mustang is a beautiful car, but the rest of their lineup is very boring or just plain ugly. The Five Hundred has no excitement factor whatsoever (looks like a cross between a Crown Vic and a Chrysler 300). The new Fusion midsize entry has a boring body with a hideous grill. I just think this car looks awful. The rest of the lineup? Who cares?

For the last decade, Chrysler group has set the mark as far as design is concerned. The 300 is a beautiful car, as is the Charger and Magnum on the Dodge side. Their other cars are attractive as well. I'm interested to see what the new Sebring will look like, and wonder if it will take more after the 300 in design. Just so long as DCX doesn't start making their cars all look the same (which they almost did a few years back) and refine the mechanical aspects, they should be okay.

As far as other brands go, I like the looks of the Mazda product out there. The 3 and 6 are two of the best looking small cars out there. I like the aggressive features of the two (thought Mazda is starting to get a little redundant). Toyota makes great appliance cars, but they really need to step up in the styling department (as Honda is starting to do, judging by the '06 Civic they had at the car shows). The Avalon is a step in the right direction. Nissan makes attractive cars, but they tend to go a little over the top (the Maxima is a bit bloated).

I think Volkswagen is attractive. I like the Tourareg's styling. Nice shape and very tasteful chrome accents. The new Jetta is a bit too Toyota for me, though. Audi and Volvo are also winners in the styling department.

Over in Korea, Hyundai is actually starting to pretty up their lineup. I like the new Sonata, and I think it will be a hit. Looks like their other redesigns will give them a more serious look. Korean cars over the years have been pretty ugly. Styling has either been too dated or too ridiculous. I like the look of the '06 Kia Rio and Rio5. Sharp look for a bargain car. Hyundai/Kia (which are both one and the same, for the most part) are finally moving into the new century, though they're still about five years behind everyone else in terms of style an technology.

[robertarctor]

6. Yeah, you're right about GM

The General has made some serious strides in the last year or two. The Malibu and the Malibu Maxx look much better in their 2006 versions; aren't both of them GM Epsilon platform cars, sold in Europe as the Opel Astra, the Vauxhall Astra and the Saab 9.3 (the latter sold here as well)? Pretty much all the new Chevys and Pontiacs look better these days. Pontiac got rid of all the cladding, and Chevy seems to be getting rid of that stupid design cue of having a chrome bar run across the front end.

OK, about that HHR: I want one. It's the first time I've said that about a GM car in years. Critics are calling it a day-late retro knockoff of Chrysler's PT Cruiser, but they're missing the point: A good design is a good design. I think it could be a home run for GM, especially if they do a retro trim package (with a front end more similar to the SSR and the old '49 Suburban and a back end with Chevrolet spelled out in chrome script on the tailgate above the license frame). And it might make sense for GMC to get its own version, using that funky old GMC logo. Chevy should also consider a three-door (driver, passenger, back) panel-truck version.

I'm with you regarding Ford. Here's a company that slammed one out of the park with the latest Mustang, but can't get its passenger-car mojo together. I'm sure the Volvo-based Five Hundred and the Mazda 6-based Fusion (and their Mercury and Lincoln variants) are fine cars, but they're yawn-worthy in the styling department. And Ford's SUVs and light trucks are as outdated as GM's.

The Chrysler-Dodge rear-drivers (300 for the former, Magnum wagon and Charger for the latter) are nasty, brutish-looking machines. I love the way they look. But they're about to be as anachronistic as Dodge Ram pickups, Durangos and everybody else's gas guzzlers. And why Dodge named its 300 variant the Charger instead of the Polara is a mystery. Old cops still get hard-ons when they talk about those 1960s Polaras. We'll have to wait and see if DaimlerChrysler still has its small-car juju when the Dodge Caliber (the boxy replacement for the Neon) comes out. I still think ditching Plymouth was a mistake; the PT Cruiser was originally supposed to be a Plymouth, and they should have taken the brand in the direction of Toyota's Scion—all quirky cars with high-mileage four-bangers.

I also agree that Mazda has the coolest-looking, most underrated design in the import world. Yeah, Nissan and Infiniti make swoopy cars, but the new Mazdas have a sense of panache that the others lack.

Volkswagen kinda missed with the Corolla-looking Jetta, but the Passat is quite pretty, and the Audi designs are quite nice.

And the new Korean cars—specifically Hyundai and Kia, because all the Daewoo cars are now branded here as Suzukis or Chevrolets—are kinda where Toyota was in the 1970s. The quality has come way up, the new Sonata is a bland but very solid competitor in the Accord-Camry class, the new Accent looks like a Corolla-beater, and the Azera looks like it could give the Avalon (now there's a car that Buick should be building) a run for the money.

Oh, and two more things: I think Honda's new Civic looks like a monster hit, and I think Subaru is headed straight for Edsel territory with that new front end. The B9 Tribeca gives the late, unlamented Pontiac Aztek some stiff competition in the ugly weirdness department. I sure as hell wouldn't be caught dead driving one.

[robertarctor]

7. Just to clarify ....

I take back what I said upthread about lame GM designs. They're not there yet, but I think cars like the Solstice/Sky and the G6 are moving the General in the right direction.

And I think my next car will be an HHR, if I can fit my 6'7" frame in one.

[Dover]

3. Don't like a 'box' design. ~ Curves ~ for me please.

However, the Honda Element is growing on me.....

I agree Nissan is lookin' good. I like the look (but not the lack of fuel efficiency) of their xterra and their Frontier pickups.

Toyota is looking pretty good too, although it puzzles me why the hybrids have to look so dorky. Their fuel efficient Matrix is cute/hot.

The redesign of the VW Bug is great....another classic. And I like the Passat and Audi A3 look.

I surpisingly like the look of the Pontiac Vibe (made with Toyota and looks like a grownup's Matrix).

But my tastes have gone up a notch and have become a tad more conservative. Volvos always seemed a bit too anal and square for my taste. But I have really grown to love the sporty XC version of the V70. Must be getting old.

[nickinSTL]

5. only the Prius looks 'dorky'

All the other current and coming hybrids from Toyota look just like their traditional-power counterparts (Highlander and Camry)

In general, I dislike the 'box' look, the Honda Element and Scion xB are just...ugly.

I really like the pics I've seen of the new RAV4 that's coming out in December, though.