Oct 28, 2009, 4:09 GMT
Cologne, Germany - 'Everything was better in the old days.' As people get older they tend to glorify the past. Psychologists believe that's because positive experiences stay longer in our memories than negative, thus making the past seem better than the present.
Car enthusiasts, on the other hand, see that differently. When it comes to the development of automobile design they don't think it is a mere matter of perception that classic cars such as the Jaguar E Type, Citroen's DS or the Mercedes SL are better looking and more exciting than their modern counterparts - they believe car design has simply gotten worse.
Professor Paolo Tumminelli of the Goodbrands Institute for Automotive Culture in Cologne, Germany is critical of what he calls 'the same old mishmash.' He believes that 'everything has been said which needs to be said' in auto design.
Professor Stefan Heiliger believes there is another explanation for banal modern car design. 'All car makers want to generate cash from the same target group,' explains the former car designer from Frankfurt. 'They are making what the mainstream wants.'
As a result hardly any designers are taking into consideration the wants and desires of the fringe groups. Even car makers such as Saab and Volvo, which were known and admired for their unique designs, have been assimilated by the mainstream, according to Heiliger.
'It's all about creating microscopically different car variations. Small differences are regarded as being significant. That's a frightening development for a designer,' he says.
It is no surprise then that car fans look back wistfully on the designs of the 50s, 60s and 70s. 'Those cars are a feast for the eye because they have character,' according to Heiliger. Tumminelli says that right up until the 1980s there was an attempt to maximise quality in car design. 'We succeeded in doing that,' he says.
Today, there are four strands to car design: the rectangular look embodied by the Nissan Cube or Kia Soul that delivers the message 'My car is my castle.' The second strand is the soft look with almost feminine curves such as the Audi design before the introduction of the single frame grill.
The third strand is the sculptured body with concave-convex shapes and implied 'muscles' such as the current range of BMW models. The fourth strand is the 'new classic' where design icons from the past such as the Fiat 500 are spruced up for the modern market.
In their quest to create a unique design language the various car makers have drawn upon different styles and ended up influencing each other in the process. That has led to a few absurd creations such as the latest Sports Activity Coupe designs.
That auto design has become interchangeable in many respects can be put down to another reason, according to Tumminelli. He says designers are quick to change from one brand to the next, 'leaving their tracks everywhere.'
'I'm missing the modern look,' complains Professor Heiliger. He describes what is happening now in car design as 'retro-futurism'; the designs are backward-looking but have been given futuristic elements. 'They look retro but they have not created any new icons. They draw upon old ideas and then dress their designs up for the mainstream.'
In many cases user value has been sacrificed to aesthetic considerations, according to a study by the ADAC, Germany's automobile owner's association. The ADAC analysed how good all-round visibility is in modern vehicles and came to the conclusion that it is exceedingly bad. Pedestrians can easily disappear behind wide C-pillars, leading to accidents when turning a car.
Professor Tumminelli also believes auto design is facing another dilemma due to the fact that its development is a closed process. In contrast to fashion or architecture where models and designs are quickly turned into reality, an auto design is often decided six years in advance of its market launch.
Potential buyers are not allowed to know this and have no influence on how a car design will look. 'Automobile design is itself a trend setter,' says Tumminelli. 'That means sometimes it can go right and sometimes it can go wrong.'
There is nothing revolutionary on the market at the moment. 'We don't have the equivalent of an Apple iBook or iPod,' says Tumminelli. 'We are missing a driving force for design,' explains Professor Heiliger.
That force is often a change in society. Auto design is unlikely to alter radically in the short term but there are indications that at least the future may be different. Heiliger hopes electric cars will inspire new design impulses as that would allow the designers to create completely new looking cars without having to take the engine, gears and fuel tank into consideration.
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