DrBoost said:Javelin (Forum Supporter) said:In reply to DrBoost :
The very definition of the exception makes the rule haha. Stunning.
If I remember correctly, that was done at Mazda's design studio in Southern California. It was a collaboration between Tom Matano, the Japanese born head of the studio at the time, and one of the American staff.
No matter who worked on it, it's a great design and Mazda management in Japan chose to put it into production.
DrBoost said:... but Korean cars are almost devoid of style.
...
Korean cars are vanilla ice cream. Some are french vanilla, but still vanilla.
I freaking love this thing. I think its full of style:
Javelin (Forum Supporter) said:In reply to DrBoost :
I kick myself frequently for not getting this car when it was affordable and unappreciated.
In reply to Dusterbd13-michael :
Dead sexy the GAZ is.
Tom1200 said:In reply to Dusterbd13-michael :
Dead sexy the GAZ is.
Not so much in stock form...I think they were copying a Plymouth Valiant.
DrBoost said:It's funny, but that wasn't intentional. I meant to mention American cars, but Korean cars are almost devoid of style.
They were awfully bland when first brought to the US market, but Korean car design has really come around in recent years (in my opinion.)
Slippery said:DrBoost said:... but Korean cars are almost devoid of style.
...
Korean cars are vanilla ice cream. Some are french vanilla, but still vanilla.I freaking love this thing. I think its full of style:
You are correct. It is all kinds of stylish, and you can't really say it's ripping off another country's style. It is its own thing.
In reply to stuart in mn :
Some rally lights and rally tires would give it that Bond baddy flair.
DrBoost said:Yes I know, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. but I think most of us here would agree on attractive vs unattractive cars. I bet the bell-curve would have pretty steep sides.
I'd bet against that claim with every round of 5.56 I have in my closet.
That said, this conversation becomes more irrelevant as time goes on and all automotive styling converges on the One True Aerodynamic Form.
stuart in mn said:DrBoost said:It's funny, but that wasn't intentional. I meant to mention American cars, but Korean cars are almost devoid of style.
They were awfully bland when first brought to the US market, but Korean car design has really come around in recent years (in my opinion.)
Personally I'd say that the current crop of Korean cars has a few good looking ones, some very bland ones and some freaking ugly ones. Also the Sonata weird swoosh headlight makes me want to vomit.
The French have made a lot of weird cars but the Citroen SM remains one of the best looking cars of all time imo.
Turbo_Rev said:DrBoost said:Yes I know, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. but I think most of us here would agree on attractive vs unattractive cars. I bet the bell-curve would have pretty steep sides.
I'd bet against that claim with every round of 5.56 I have in my closet.
That said, this conversation becomes more irrelevant as time goes on and all automotive styling converges on the One True Aerodynamic Form.
People have been saying that for a couple of decades now. Still waiting :)
I don't know how to talk about style from a certain country anymore. A lot of cars are designed by people from a different country than the manufacturer. (Think Chris Bangle and BMW for example.) Especially nowadays where almost all car companies are multi-national corporations.
Back in the mid 20th century, I think it would be easier. But now, not only are most designs retro spin offs of older cars (hello most American cars), but they are designed by people who may not have been raised or even live in the country the car comes from.
That all said, I still think I know what styling looks like from a given country. But I'm suspicious of my thinking.
For example, does a Bangle-era BMW look German? I remember thinking they looked more like Japanese cars to me when they came out. German cars had been boxier, well, except for Porsche, dang it. I can't even stay with that belief! Many Mclarens don't look British at all to me. Nor does the F-type.
In reply to Keith Tanner :
Evolution is slow, but implacable.
Everybody is missing the point. For many years, every company in practically every country, has employed designers from all over the world. Also, the design schools are the same world-wide. Take a look at a typical classroom at Art Center (Pasadena), Center for Creative Studies (Detroit), etc. etc. and you will see Indians (not native Americans), Koreans, Chinese, Japanese, Europeans, Russians and so forth. Big companies also bring in executive designers from 'elsewhere' too. Kia, for instance, has had ex-BMW designers running their design operation for years. I know of many old colleagues from my days at GM Design Staff in Detroit and Nissan Design (San Diego) who are working in China and Europe, etc.
The level of talent available worldwide is astounding. This doesn't mean that the non-design execs selecting designs are equally good. Obviously some companies have good (relatively) track records and others do not. Still, almost every company and design staff has produced great designs from time to time - and horrible ones too. As a retired car designer with over forty years in the industry, I can claim a few from each category.
In reply to olpro :
I wasn't missing the point! 
I'm surprised nobody's mentioned the Australians yet. I don't know how it is now, but they've often had some of the most awkward looking, poorly proportioned cars in the business
There are always exceptions but one of the things I noticed when selling cars (a miserable low point in my life) was that european machinery was evolutionary from one year and even generation to the next. A BMW or Porsche, you need a cheat sheet to tell a 1995 from a 2005.
But American cars seemed hellbent on being as revolutionary as possible with each new model. The problem was that it killed the residual value of the previous generation car. In 1996 when Dodge went to dual sliding doors? A perfectly good 1995 minivan took a 50% price hit. I saw a lot of people get upside down due to their car becoming undesirable overnight.
My taste rarely coincides with other peoples. I'm going to skew that bell curve.
And the wheels on that Ioniq are drool worthy
In reply to DrBoost :
In my humble opinion The British are Among the greatest automobile designers.
The MG TC started The whole sports car revolution. Then William Lyons Designed the revolutionary Jaguar XK120. The Supercar of the 1950's followed by the lovely D type Jaguar which led to the world famous Jaguar XKE described by Enzo Ferrari as the most beautiful automobile. Also the champion crumpet collector.
Like too at Aston Martin DBR2 DB6 Etc.
I think the pinnacle of regional styling is long in the past. With the proliferation of a true world wide market regional design language has died. Japanese car makers design and build vehicles in America for Americans. They also design and build vehicles in Japan for the Japanese. We don't get many, if any of their JDM cars here. The big European manufacturers build for the world market. American manufacturers build for the world market. With the exception of the halo cars the result is a sadder more homogeneous world.
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