attgig
12-17-2005, 11:23 PM
http://www.cnn.com/2005/AUTOS/funonwheels/12/12/chevy_cool/index.html
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - There was a time when a big Chevrolet was considered cool. With fins, chrome and lots of style and flash, 1950s models like the Bel Air were made to be noticed.
"Chevrolet used to be the exciting affordable car," said Jim Hall with the automotive marketing consultancy AutoPacific.
Chevrolet is still affordable. But exciting? Not quite.
Today's Chevrolets, even executives at General Motors will admit, do not inspire pounding hearts and raw desire. The brand's most successful products, its SUVs and trucks, dazzle only through sheer size. Even otherwise good cars, like the Impala sedan, have the visual excitement of a decent sport coat.
Now GM is looking back to the 1950s for inspiration as it tries to recover from declining market share and a seemingly unbreakable reliance on cash incentives to sell cars.
Not that future Chevrolets will necessarily sprout tail fins or dozens of pounds of glittering chrome, but they won't look like every other car on the road.
"For a while there I think there was a feeling that people who bought Chevrolets cared about a lot of things but they didn't care a lot about design," said Tom Wilkinson, communications director for GM design.
Eye-catching design has certainly worked for the Chrysler Group of DaimlerChrysler. Cars like the Chrysler 300 and Dodge Magnum sell well without heavy incentives. Both cars are proportioned to look as if they could have driven straight out of a comic book.
But, those cars are not intended for mass appeal. They are designed for strong appeal among a relative few. The same can be said for GM's Hummer and Cadillac divisions, which have also used a more radical design approach to appeal to those who really want to stand out in a crowd.
But what about a car like the Chevrolet Impala, one of GM's most popular cars? Hundreds of thousands of Impalas are sold every year to consumers and fleet buyers like police departments. Are those buyers likely to want flash and style in their big family car?
"Something that's well designed doesn't have to be radically designed," said Wilkinson.
<keeps on going.... check link for full article>
I hope they don't end up going the way of ford, and just ripping off old designs on their new cars. I want some innovation on design. something new and interesting that does what the cars of the past did without having to rip off their predecessors.
I've respected chrysler for their ability to design beautiful cars over the past 10-15 years.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - There was a time when a big Chevrolet was considered cool. With fins, chrome and lots of style and flash, 1950s models like the Bel Air were made to be noticed.
"Chevrolet used to be the exciting affordable car," said Jim Hall with the automotive marketing consultancy AutoPacific.
Chevrolet is still affordable. But exciting? Not quite.
Today's Chevrolets, even executives at General Motors will admit, do not inspire pounding hearts and raw desire. The brand's most successful products, its SUVs and trucks, dazzle only through sheer size. Even otherwise good cars, like the Impala sedan, have the visual excitement of a decent sport coat.
Now GM is looking back to the 1950s for inspiration as it tries to recover from declining market share and a seemingly unbreakable reliance on cash incentives to sell cars.
Not that future Chevrolets will necessarily sprout tail fins or dozens of pounds of glittering chrome, but they won't look like every other car on the road.
"For a while there I think there was a feeling that people who bought Chevrolets cared about a lot of things but they didn't care a lot about design," said Tom Wilkinson, communications director for GM design.
Eye-catching design has certainly worked for the Chrysler Group of DaimlerChrysler. Cars like the Chrysler 300 and Dodge Magnum sell well without heavy incentives. Both cars are proportioned to look as if they could have driven straight out of a comic book.
But, those cars are not intended for mass appeal. They are designed for strong appeal among a relative few. The same can be said for GM's Hummer and Cadillac divisions, which have also used a more radical design approach to appeal to those who really want to stand out in a crowd.
But what about a car like the Chevrolet Impala, one of GM's most popular cars? Hundreds of thousands of Impalas are sold every year to consumers and fleet buyers like police departments. Are those buyers likely to want flash and style in their big family car?
"Something that's well designed doesn't have to be radically designed," said Wilkinson.
<keeps on going.... check link for full article>
I hope they don't end up going the way of ford, and just ripping off old designs on their new cars. I want some innovation on design. something new and interesting that does what the cars of the past did without having to rip off their predecessors.
I've respected chrysler for their ability to design beautiful cars over the past 10-15 years.