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Car Designs: 1950-2009
Car designs have evolved through the ages since the first automobile came into being. The car designs have changed with the changing world and keeping an eye on the safety and demand of customers and passengers.
There have been many events and technological advances which helped in bringing about major design and change in trends. With changes in the design, came new rates for car insurance as well. New technologies have made it possible for more complicated compound curves and forms of a car’s body to be built at a much speedier rate. With more specific tolerances in hand only mean that a curvaceous body need not require hundreds of man hours with a skilled craftsman. Advances in non-automotive technology and lifestyle have also had their impact on car design. During the 1950s the “jet age” had began giving rise to a whole host of unforgettable designs of cars.
The ‘jet set’ lifestyle had captured the hearts of the many Americans and designers of that time leaped on the chance to exploit this fascination. Normally, rather mundane family cars began to be developed with wings, turbines and after-burner tail lights. They first came as styling exercises. To illustrate, we have take the 1955 Ford Thunderbird. The Thunderbird came with a wrap around wind shield. The car also featured exhausts which exited through the rear valence and small turbines up front in the grill.
The 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air had unusual bomb sight ornaments laid into the bonnet. Although they were small and unobtrusive, they in fact did not ruin the appeal of the car. In the same way, the Ford Fairlane 500 Skyliner of 1959 looked to the skies with retractable roof. The roof of the Fairlane 500 Skyliner could be folded and retracted under the rear deck lid. However, this fashion of cars ended abruptly with the 1959 Cadillac.
The 1959 Cadillac came with unusual fins of 107 cm that wrapped around the wind screen. Moreover, the car came with a four after-burner tail lights as well as two fake jet engine reverse lights. This weird design of the car was taking it too far after the 1959- jet-like appendages began to disappear.
In the same time, in Europe, cars were undergoing a less radical change. The “jet age” could not sweep all the Europeans the way it did in America. Europe saw the emergence of much elegant designs like the AC ACE-Bristol, which was later converted into the much better known AC Cobra. Moreover, there were cars like Ferrari 250 GTO, Aston Martin DB4 and Jaguar XK120 that attracted the European mass. Italy was responsible for bringing the Ferrari 250 GT SWB on the scene and Germany built the Mercedes 300 Gullwing, Porsche 356 B and BMW 507 and England came with the Aston Martin DB4 and Jaguar XK120. These were just a small selection of cars in Europe at the time; however, they show 1950s’ contribution to car design aptly. Besides, all the cars mentioned above have many things in common.
These cars are all ancestors to many well known cars today. Moreover, they all show gorgeous rounded, clean lines popular throughout cars of this era and this trend were to continue and become more refined in the coming years.
During the 1960s a new design competition began in America. This new design embodied power, speed and sheer engine size. Cars of this style were called ‘pony cars’. Examples of ‘pony cars’ are the famous Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Camaro and the Dodge Charger R/T. The muscle cars, as they were often called, came with vents. Most of the time, these vents served no purpose whatsoever and were merely for looks. Vents on some of the muscle cars however were functional and force fed air to the giant V8 engines lurking under the bonnet of these cars.
There have been many events and technological advances which helped in bringing about major design and change in trends. With changes in the design, came new rates for car insurance as well. New technologies have made it possible for more complicated compound curves and forms of a car’s body to be built at a much speedier rate. With more specific tolerances in hand only mean that a curvaceous body need not require hundreds of man hours with a skilled craftsman. Advances in non-automotive technology and lifestyle have also had their impact on car design. During the 1950s the “jet age” had began giving rise to a whole host of unforgettable designs of cars.
The ‘jet set’ lifestyle had captured the hearts of the many Americans and designers of that time leaped on the chance to exploit this fascination. Normally, rather mundane family cars began to be developed with wings, turbines and after-burner tail lights. They first came as styling exercises. To illustrate, we have take the 1955 Ford Thunderbird. The Thunderbird came with a wrap around wind shield. The car also featured exhausts which exited through the rear valence and small turbines up front in the grill.
The 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air had unusual bomb sight ornaments laid into the bonnet. Although they were small and unobtrusive, they in fact did not ruin the appeal of the car. In the same way, the Ford Fairlane 500 Skyliner of 1959 looked to the skies with retractable roof. The roof of the Fairlane 500 Skyliner could be folded and retracted under the rear deck lid. However, this fashion of cars ended abruptly with the 1959 Cadillac.
The 1959 Cadillac came with unusual fins of 107 cm that wrapped around the wind screen. Moreover, the car came with a four after-burner tail lights as well as two fake jet engine reverse lights. This weird design of the car was taking it too far after the 1959- jet-like appendages began to disappear.
In the same time, in Europe, cars were undergoing a less radical change. The “jet age” could not sweep all the Europeans the way it did in America. Europe saw the emergence of much elegant designs like the AC ACE-Bristol, which was later converted into the much better known AC Cobra. Moreover, there were cars like Ferrari 250 GTO, Aston Martin DB4 and Jaguar XK120 that attracted the European mass. Italy was responsible for bringing the Ferrari 250 GT SWB on the scene and Germany built the Mercedes 300 Gullwing, Porsche 356 B and BMW 507 and England came with the Aston Martin DB4 and Jaguar XK120. These were just a small selection of cars in Europe at the time; however, they show 1950s’ contribution to car design aptly. Besides, all the cars mentioned above have many things in common.
These cars are all ancestors to many well known cars today. Moreover, they all show gorgeous rounded, clean lines popular throughout cars of this era and this trend were to continue and become more refined in the coming years.
During the 1960s a new design competition began in America. This new design embodied power, speed and sheer engine size. Cars of this style were called ‘pony cars’. Examples of ‘pony cars’ are the famous Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Camaro and the Dodge Charger R/T. The muscle cars, as they were often called, came with vents. Most of the time, these vents served no purpose whatsoever and were merely for looks. Vents on some of the muscle cars however were functional and force fed air to the giant V8 engines lurking under the bonnet of these cars.
Raw power like this forced styling changes to suit the cars power, muscular shapes, twin exhausts and go-faster stripes were the fashion of the 1960s that caught the Americans into frenzy. Specialist tuners such as Shelby, Yenko and Mopar appeared further improving the performance and styling of the cars.
The ‘swinging sixties’ saw in Europe some timeless classics such as the Jaguar E-type, the Porsche 911, the Lamborghini Miura, the AC Cobra, Aston Martin DB5 and the Ferrari 275. These cars were synonymous with speed and beauty. Besides, sports car manufacturers also competed on the track for sales and Le Mans became a showcase for top car brands.
The 1970s was a decade belonging to the wedge. High profile cars like the BMW M1, De Tomaso Pantera, Lamborghini Countach and Lotus Esprit wore wedges proudly amongst many others. Concept cars of those days such as the Bertones Stratos HF prototype and Manta, designed by Giorgietto Giugiaro, also heralded in very angular boxy lines which would be a styling trait carried over into the 1980s.
The three “Os”, Opulence, over indulgence and over priced, was the trend of the 1980s. Style was was almost forgotten during this age of materialism. Cars like the Audi Quattro looked purposeful, aggressive and powerful but hardly good-looking. In the same way, the Ferrari Testarossa was a break from the traditional flowing Ferrari lines. With super wide slatted doors and lights and angular lines, the Ferrari Testarossa was different from the classic understated Ferrari.
One of the most remarkable fields in car design in the eighties is that of the hot hatch. Cars such as the Peugeot 205 GTI and Volkswagen Golf GTI found a place in the market easily and cemented the hot hatch as a popular product, still expanding to this day. In America at this time, styling had taken a turn for the worse even the Corvette. Plain shapes and black plastic seemed like a good idea in every car of that time which in fact looked dated and highly un-fashionable in retrospect.
The early nineties saw many eighties styling traits. But very soon this was forgotten and much more interesting shapes appeared and many of these were very organic. The Dodge Viper had extremely rounded lines and with its muscular haunches as well as powerful looks, it was less like a machine and looked more like an animal. The Italian design house Ghia took the organic form to an extreme with the Ford Focus of 1992. The car looked more like it had been born than made. Curious shapes covered the car from its bubble like tail lights and front fascia which looked like some sort of pre-historic animal. The interior of the Focus had extremely ergonomic looking seats and dash board.
Ford’s GT90 concept of 1995 was almost the opposite of the Viper and Ghia Focus. It incorporated Ford’s new design policy which was that of “edge design” and it was the use of hard flat surfaces which intersected each other.
During the last few years, car designers have looked to product design for ideas, and that thinking is visible on many modern cars. The Smart car is a good example of this and it looks more like a gadget than a car. Designers have also looked to the past and many renovations done on existing car models are actually revivals of previous design solutions remade for the 21st century. One complicated thing about car design is getting the aesthetics and ergonomics in balance. What might look good to the eyes may not be very feasible to drive. New technology has helped overcome some of these boundaries and in the future latest development in science will further advance what is possible.
Car design is like fashion, always changing, it can never be predicted and it often looks to the past for answers to the future.
The ‘swinging sixties’ saw in Europe some timeless classics such as the Jaguar E-type, the Porsche 911, the Lamborghini Miura, the AC Cobra, Aston Martin DB5 and the Ferrari 275. These cars were synonymous with speed and beauty. Besides, sports car manufacturers also competed on the track for sales and Le Mans became a showcase for top car brands.
The 1970s was a decade belonging to the wedge. High profile cars like the BMW M1, De Tomaso Pantera, Lamborghini Countach and Lotus Esprit wore wedges proudly amongst many others. Concept cars of those days such as the Bertones Stratos HF prototype and Manta, designed by Giorgietto Giugiaro, also heralded in very angular boxy lines which would be a styling trait carried over into the 1980s.
The three “Os”, Opulence, over indulgence and over priced, was the trend of the 1980s. Style was was almost forgotten during this age of materialism. Cars like the Audi Quattro looked purposeful, aggressive and powerful but hardly good-looking. In the same way, the Ferrari Testarossa was a break from the traditional flowing Ferrari lines. With super wide slatted doors and lights and angular lines, the Ferrari Testarossa was different from the classic understated Ferrari.
One of the most remarkable fields in car design in the eighties is that of the hot hatch. Cars such as the Peugeot 205 GTI and Volkswagen Golf GTI found a place in the market easily and cemented the hot hatch as a popular product, still expanding to this day. In America at this time, styling had taken a turn for the worse even the Corvette. Plain shapes and black plastic seemed like a good idea in every car of that time which in fact looked dated and highly un-fashionable in retrospect.
The early nineties saw many eighties styling traits. But very soon this was forgotten and much more interesting shapes appeared and many of these were very organic. The Dodge Viper had extremely rounded lines and with its muscular haunches as well as powerful looks, it was less like a machine and looked more like an animal. The Italian design house Ghia took the organic form to an extreme with the Ford Focus of 1992. The car looked more like it had been born than made. Curious shapes covered the car from its bubble like tail lights and front fascia which looked like some sort of pre-historic animal. The interior of the Focus had extremely ergonomic looking seats and dash board.
Ford’s GT90 concept of 1995 was almost the opposite of the Viper and Ghia Focus. It incorporated Ford’s new design policy which was that of “edge design” and it was the use of hard flat surfaces which intersected each other.
During the last few years, car designers have looked to product design for ideas, and that thinking is visible on many modern cars. The Smart car is a good example of this and it looks more like a gadget than a car. Designers have also looked to the past and many renovations done on existing car models are actually revivals of previous design solutions remade for the 21st century. One complicated thing about car design is getting the aesthetics and ergonomics in balance. What might look good to the eyes may not be very feasible to drive. New technology has helped overcome some of these boundaries and in the future latest development in science will further advance what is possible.
Car design is like fashion, always changing, it can never be predicted and it often looks to the past for answers to the future.
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