Re: Compare & Contrast

 Sam, 

touché. The term is obviously an oxymoron, but everybody knows what I'm referring to at once - I'd rather take your ire than having to beat around the bush (or the low-slung four-door saloon car with sporting pretensions, but limited interior space for the sake of a sleek exterior appearance).

Re: Compare & Contrast

kubrick said:

 Audi A6, then and now.

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Evolution, not revolution...

Re: Compare & Contrast

bertandnairobi said:

 Much as the passage of time transformed Graeco-Romanesque Renaissance architecture into Baroque (with its floral encrustations and showy convex panels), the carefully elaborated simplicity of the the nineties has been replaced by increasingly curlicued coachwork.  

Interesting how this progression from Classical to Baroque appears to repeat. Any idea why? If we are seeing a repeat of the Classical (modernism?) to Baroque (post modernism?) progression taking place in today's car design, what does Design History say will be the next transition? ie what will be the next great design trend in cars once everyone has exhausted today's fashion for the florid?

To answer my own questions: My guess is that today's generation, which has Apple as their main object of lust, will want to simplify things again. Actually, I think this new trend has already begun, and VW is leading it, with products such as the new Polo, Jetta and now the "up!". There is nothing floral about the "up!" - and it is clearly significant - recently being named "World Car of the Year" (or some such honour). Relating this back to your architectural analogy, this progression in car design (assuming it does become a wider trend, and is not just a VW thing) is probably similar to the transition from Baroque, through Art Deco and Streamlining to the simplicity of Mies van de Rohe (I hope I spelled that right). Then when everyone gets bored with that simplicity, another wave of ornamentation will begin, and we'll be back to the Baroque again. Cycles repeat, and it has always been so. It's like watching a "Merry Go Round" where the horses have been replaced by design trends, which keep coming round again..... Reminds me of the Max Ophuls film "La Ronde".

Well, that's my go at answering the questions. Would be interested in other opinions.

Re: Compare & Contrast

 AReader, 

I'm not convinced the circle of styling trends you described so well is matter of the simple following th ornamental following the simple. VW, for example, is in a rather unique position right now - the other end of the spectrum being Ford's "Kinetik" all-over-the-place concoctions or the current flamboyant range of Hyundais. "Kinetik" design has certainly hit a wall, but I don't see Ford returning to the sober shapes of that phantom haunting the corridors of Cologne, Chris Bird (who's apparently been seen stealing Martin Smith's lunch a few weeks ago, wearing nothing but a loincloth). 

On the other hand Audi, former masters of clean styling, shows little signs of reducing its cars' aggressive ornamentation, as exemplified by the A6 shown above. Let's just hope those disgusting "hawkeye" LEDs don't turn out to be particularly popular...

car4mh, 

your comparison is spot on! Having read a number of reviews I believe the FF's rear accommodation are actually rather comfortable - much more so than the Bentley Conti GT's, for example, the Aston Rapide's (which I've tested and found wanting in any dimension bar width) or, for the love of god, the Fisker Karma's spinebreaking joke of a rear passenger compartment. 

My guess would be the FF's rear seats are similar to the Porsche Panamera's, whose second row is a genuinely commodious place one could spend a few hours in - if it wasn't so bloody dark. 

I'll do my best to try out the Espada and report back!

Re: Compare & Contrast

The FF/Espada was "lookaliked" on p19 of that thread (given the size of that thread, I don't expect anyone to remember, and it was over a year ago). I mention this because, I don't feel this thread is completely "anti-lookalike" as kubrick suggests in his lead off above. Just as lookalike cars are similar in some ways, they are different in others - so there was always an element of compare and contrast going on in the lookalikes thread - even if it was not what we focused on. It would be possible to contrast the differences on every lookalike we ever posted. Having said all that, it is good now to have a thread where contrasting can be more of the focus.

B&N mentions the Maxi and Signum. Closer to the Maxi's time, I'd suggest comparing it to the Renault 16. I have an old copy of Road and Track from that era, and they made the Maxi and R16 the subject of a test. My all time favourite group test however was when Russell Bulgin compared the Ford Orion, Vauxhall Belmont (both circa 1990) and Austin Allegro Van den Plas.

I would like to see CAR do a comparison test of the early Mazda RX7, Porsche 944 and new Subaru BRZ. I will be doing my own test as soon as I can test drive the BRZ! I will be driving my 944 to the dealer - hopefully in the near future, hurry up Subaru!