The car industry is back! Yay America! Yes it’s all good news and yet the premier American auto show, Detroit, felt distinctly anti-climatic. Where were the exuberant show cars of yesteryear? Um, Porsche had one. The exciting production cars? Chevy‘s new Sonic and Chrysler’s 300 were already well-previewed in  advance while Hyundai’s nifty Veloster was a genuine production highlight. As always, these are my opinions only, especially in respect to current and former clients mentioned here. On to the cars:

Hyundai Veloster

Hyundai and sister company Kia have been on a design (and sales) roll lately and the Veloster continues the hot streak, despite the extra door on one side that practically screams 1998. Hyundai’s trick is that unlike Saturn’s extra-doored coupe, all the doors open in the same direction – not exactly a breakthrough. I am a fan of symmetry though and they’ve embraced a different greenhouse design on each side in light of the single appended opening. The other aspects of  the design are well deployed with a great sculpted hatch that drops into a fairly large mail-slot style rear window more associated with Honda. Some designers found the hood scoops to be fussy but I think it works. Overall a neat chunky little thing that looks like it’s ready to be tossed around.

Volkswagen Passat

Walter Da Silva, VW‘s chief designer, has given the brand a nifty and handsome front end that they are busy propagating throughout the lineup. Sadly he hasn’t done much for the rest of their cars particularly in the United States where the company is on an ambitious expansion plan that includes models designed specifically for the U.S. market. That seems to mean, bigger, blander, and less content than their European counterparts – a sad commentary on how our consumer tastes are viewed overseas. At one time Passat helped to establish a new design benchmark for family sedans, especially in interior materials and the overall clean elegance of the shape and detailing. Now it looks like a previous generation Volvo S80. Sad.

Porsche 918 RSR Concept

Porsche already showed a convertible version of this that is tipped for production so this nod to the great Le Mans cars of the 60s isn’t quite the kick in the ass that it could have been. Nevertheless it’s gorgeous, finally pulling Porsche design out of a long funk in which they were more associated with the kind of sunglasses worn by hairy-chested lotharios than any great vehicle work. Visceral.

Chrysler 300

The last generation reinvented the traditional rwd American sedan but now the 300 is the last car standing after the demise of Pontiac and their G8 and Ford’s discontinuing of the venerable Crown Victoria. On first glance the 300 seems to cotinue the theme of the last car but closer inspection reveals significant changes from a lower beltline to Chrysler’s new corporate shield-style grille. The effect is less-cartoon gangster car, more elegant touring sedan. The side glass has a touch of Cadillac CTS about it and the overall stance has some of the same aggression. As with a number of new Chryslers, the detailing is quantum leaps beyond the predecessor. Still, has the sand run out on V8 powered sedans that dive the rear wheels? Only the price at the pump will tell.

Ford Vertrek Concept

This lightly disguised concept is a look at Ford’s global replacement for the Escape in the U.S. and the horribly-named Kuga in Europe. It’s very different from the trucky Escape but consistent with their current design language which makes it pleasant but unsurprising. A close look though reveals some terrific design touches such as the smooth sweep of the front and rear fender lines well into the door areas, complemented by the character slash below the beltline and the complicated but successful interplay of shapes between the wheels. The pillars and rear view mirrors will thicken and the wheels will shrink for production but this will be a fine addition to their lineup.

Chevrolet Sonic

Chevy is truly a global brand now and the Sonic is a Korean sourced and designed competitor to the likes of Ford’s Fiesta. The hatch has a neat design enlivened by the big round headlamps and rear fender arches. I’m not a big fan of the door-handles in the c-pillars look, something Alfa Romeo and Nissan have also tried. The front end is also a bit heavy – how will that grille look in states which require a front-mounted license plate? The detailing seems a bit rough in places such as the plasticky nacelles in the front bumpers. The sedan, like many hatches that have a trunk added later, seems awkwardly balanced in comparison with the excellent stance of the hatch.

Kia KV-7 Concept

Kia’s minivan concept has some nice touches but is a bit of a letdown compared to their slick new production vehicles. The flush greenhouse makes for an interesting and arresting take on what is usually a boxy type of car, as do the slightly smaller rear quarter windows which echo the company’s recent design language.

Lamborghini Reventon

The decade started with such excitement. As the century turned it seemed that automotive design was on the cusp as well, looking backwards with retro designs like Volkswagen’s New Beetle, Chrysler’s PT Cruiser and Ford’s GT as well as forwards with Audi’s original TT and Ford’s original Focus series.

The 00s ended with excitement too – only it was the bad kind that leads to acid reflux and no jobs. Noted Italian design firms such as Bertone and ItalDesign were hanging on by a thread, if at all. Some of the most storied brands in the automotive world were similarly imperiled or had disappeared entirely: Saab, Pontiac, Saturn, Chrysler, Dodge.

Nevertheless it was a fascinating and sometimes frustrating ten years of automotive design. Here are my favorites in no particular order. Note that I’ve included both production models and concepts in the mix.

1. 2009 Chevrolet Camaro

The protracted build-up to the actual launch of Chevy’s newest Camaro (which included an appearance in Transformers almost a year before availability) blunted some of the freshness of this neuvo-retro-musclecar. With a clear eye though it’s evident that this is the most successful bridging of past and present in the segment. The design takes copious cues from the first generation late 60s Camaro but renders them in fresh and dynamic ways that could only be achieved with current design and manufacturing technology.

2. 2007 Audi R8

Audi has been at the forefront of raising the bar for interiors for almost two decades now and the R8′s interior is as lovely as ever. The real innovation though is striking exterior which finds a fresh take on the mid-engined supercar cliche. Aside from the perfect surfacing and detail work and Audi’s trademark use of advanced headlight design, there are the distinct contrast colored side blades which help to break up the side surfaces.  As it should, the design flair of the R8 is making it’s way back through the rest of Audi’s lineup.

3. 2008 Alfa Romeo 8C

Alfa Romeo spent much of the 90s floundering, as did parent company Fiat. Like the French, Italian companies have increasingly mistaken outre design for good design but Alfa beagn to bring things back on track in the latter part of the decade, primarily with the lovely (if overpriced) 8C.  As a design the 8C is nearly perfect in every way, a monument to the importance of proportions.

4. 2005 Aston Martin V8 Vantage

Any Aston Martin made over the last ten years looks great but the V8 is the cleanest, clearest expression of the design ethos.  Lithe, muscular and unencumbered by extraneous detail.

5. 2008 Chevrolet Malibu

After a long, long spell in the doldrums GM design finally began to wake up and reassert it’s primacy within the product development process (though it may have come too late to rescue the company as a whole.) The latest generation Chevy Malibu is a prime example. It’s simply the best resolved design in the family car segment with the kind of detailing and strongly defined theme that is more usually seen on luxury vehicles by brands like Audi and Acura. The roofline is key to the design, especially as it relates to the flowing hood line and shoulder indent.

6. 2007 Maserati GranTurismo

Maserati shook off a string of mediocre designs with the Quattroporte and especially the GranTurismo. A more expressive design than competitors like Aston Martin and Porsche and rightly so – the curve of the front fenders over the wheels are themselves worthy of celebration.

7. 2007 Audi A5

The fantastic R8 notwithstanding, Audi seemed to concentrate over the last decade more on interiors and headlights than on the whole of their designs – a far cry from their great run in the 90s and 80s. Yet at the end of the decade signs of a reintegration were apparent with the graceful A5 coupe as a prime exponent.  The undulating shoulder line is contrasted perfectly by the hard swath at the lower door skins and the wraparound of the front and rear fascias. It adds up to a lovely modern take on the traditional coupe.

8. 2009 Ford Flex

The decade was peppered with so-called crossovers, neither fish-nor-fowl mashups of cars and SUVs that all to often resembled genetic experiments gone horribly wrong. A happy exception was Ford’s Flex which, much like Chrysler’s iconic minivan in the 80s, recast the venerable station wagon. This time it’s as an aspirational vehicle, less Mom’s taxi than family luxobarge. This is reinforced by the Range Rover-like contrast roof, strategic chrome and brushed aluminum highlights, and an imaginative interior.

9. 2008 Lamborghini Reventon

Lamborghini’s stock in trade has always been low-slung drama but ownership by the German’s at Volkswagen seemed to mellow their design sense. On the one hand it was a relief to not be confronted by the tacky wings and scoops that adored some of their late 80s creations but what followed was very nicely rendered but a bit cold.  Not so the threatening Reventon. Like Cadillac’s recent design language, the Reventon’s brutally sharp edges are inspired by the Stealth bomber but Lamborghini takes it all a step further with a killer matte paintjob. A great example of how subtly tweaking the details of an existing design language can substantially alter the feel of the result.

10. 2008 Dodge Challenger

The Challenger would appear to be the most slavishly retro of the big 3′s musclecars, following Ford’s Mustang and Chevy’s more futurist Camaro. Yet a closer look reveals that the Challenger is more faithful to the idea of its early 70s predecessor. If anything the stance of the newer car is tougher, the look is bluffer, and the feel is kind of an amalgam of 70s cues with a contemporary application. Unusually the production model is better looking than the concept on which it’s based primarily due to the ditching of Dodge’s trademark crosshair grille design.

11. 2009 Ford Fiesta

Ford of Europe has continued to explore design possibilities even as the North American arm has sometimes fallen back into blandness. Thankfully CEO Alan Mullaly has decreed that all designs msut be shared between markets which means the dynamic and appealing little Fiesta will soon be sold here (though sadly not in 3-door from shown.)

12. 2002 Ford Thunderbird

The new T-Bird came at the tail-end of the retro craze and was one of the sales flops that led to Ford radically restructuring their business and leadership team. This had little to do with the slick design of the car which ably updated the themes of the 1955 original  with it’s own particular flavor. The unusual declining shoulder line and lovely headlight placements are echoed by the circular taillights and the trim beltline cut.

13. 2000 Mini Cooper

On one level the new Mini is the apogee of fake retro – like the VW New Beetle it’s a theme that belies much of what was original about the car that it’s meant to evoke. In the Mini’s case that means that the car is more maxi-sized than truly Mini, and Alec Issigoni’s groundbreaking hydragas suspension and innovative packaging are largely abandoned. And yet the design has proved to be arguably a bigger hit than the original (though not in total sales), becoming a must-have automotive accessory for elites in markets like the United Sates where the original barely made a dent. It’s also a canny updating of the original Mini theme with far better materials and execution befitting a product pitched at the style market rather than the original people’s car orientation of the classic version.

14. 2003 Land Rover Range Rover

How do you update an icon? Land Rover redid the Range Rover once before this model, with a blandly rote refresh that took all the thematic elements and re-rendered them unimaginatively. This third generation model also hews close to the original formula set forth in 1970 by William Town’s original design.  However it extracts a new purity and refinement, highlighting iconic elements like the roof and blacked out D pillars and the upright fender vents and tying it together perfectly. In addition the new interior was an industry-leading luxury cocoon.

15. 2005 Pontiac Solstice

When GM’s now dead “performance” brand decided to get into the Miata fighting business it did so with a tough, sporty little design that was one of the best the brand had produced. Alas, though, it wasn’t enough to stave off the reaper.

16. 2003 Infiniti FX45

Infiniti was early to the crossover party with this crossbreeed between an SUV and a sports sedan and stylistically they nailed it. All curves and bulges with big wheels and a characteristically 00′s turret-like greenhouse The FX chooses sides rather than compromising and the side it chooses is sporty, thank you.

17. 2005 Chrysler 300

Chrysler’s decade was simply awful and yet the 300 was decided bright spot, a successful relaunch of the big American sedan for a new millennium. The high shouldered styling set the trend for the rest of the decade and the muscularly purposeful design led to a slew of concepts (but sadly no production) responses from rival firms.

18. 2004 Toyota Prius

The Prius ubiquitous nature has rendered it bland but at launch it was a breakthrough. A truly futuristic looking car to match it’s future-facing powerplant. The design has become shorthand for caring about the environment, as well as being environmentally compatible in subtler ways such wind resistance that add to efficiency.

19. 2008 Bentley Brooklands

Bentley’s VW owners haven’t seemed to figure out quite what to do with teh brand stylistically but oh the big bold Brooklands! The kicked up beltline, huge wheels, imposing grille all say move out of our way, plebian. Elegant, purposeful luxury.

20. 2006 Ford F-250 Super Chief

This concept set forth a number of stylistic elements that have since wended their way through Ford’s car and truck line-up but as a pure expression of truckness in the new millennium the Super Chief sets the standard.

21. 2006 Nissan Urge

Nissan’s Urge concept took a cue from ultra-modern furniture design, reducing the elements to major shapes like the silver side swaths and the dark fenderettes over the wheels.  A cool added element was the inset open door panels, designed to give driver and passenger a motorcycle-like sensation of openness with the full-body protection of a car.

22. 2006 Saab Aero-X

Saab’s Aero-X looked like a leftover Star Wars prop and in a perfect world would have helped define the companies new direction. Instead it defined the road not taken as GM starved the company of investment.

23. 2006 Renault Altica

Renault’s appealing chunky Altica concept was riddled with neat surface elements like the broad shoulder lines that extend from the front fenders to define flares over the rear wheels. Also cool were the rear quarter panels with random geometric shapes in place of a full window. Practical? Non. Pleasing to the eye? Oui.

24. 2006 Citroen C-Metisse

Citroen’s C-Metisse concept signaled a new willingness for the storied French company to once again explore groundbreaking design. The van-like hatch is most striking for the way the rear wheels are framed by the broad flares which intersect the descending swath of greenhouse. The side glass echoes the circular wheel openings enhancing the relationship, as do the chrome strips at the extreme rear corners.

25. 2007 Ford Interceptor

Ford’s Interceptor concept was a vision of what the blue oval’s Chrysler 300 fighter might have been before budgets constraints and runaway gas prices put the kibosh on production. The low roofline and gunslit windows all bespeak the influence of Chrysler’s big sedan but Ford also finds it’s own way to express the brand with the wide stacked grille and headlight design and sweeping wheel openings.

26. 2007 BMW Concept CS

BMW’s concepts during teh decade were sometimes as polarizing as their production cars but were often more successful as designs. The big CS previewed themes that are starting to creep into BMW’s that are in dealerships but is also an extremely well-resolved take on the  sedan-as-coupe trend that has spread through the ranks of German companies since Mercedes-Benz introduced the CLS.  The body surfacing is particularly nice here as is the overall form which is well-proportioned given its size.

27. 2002 BMW GINA

The GINA was tucked away inside BMW’s design center for most of the decade before finally being revealed post the launch of the disappointing Z4 which it obviously influenced. This is what ground-breaking conceptual car design is all about – literally stretching the boundaries with a fabric wrapped frame which stretches to accomodate everything from active aerodynamic aids to door openings.

28. 2007 Toyota iQ Concept

Toyota’s production iQ is notable as well, a sort of smarter Smart car but the concept takes the great packaging a step further with surface elements that seem to transform from concave to convex depending on where the viewer stands.

29. 2007 Mazda Taiki

Mazda trotted out their new design ethos on a number of concepts towards decades end. The look is meant to be inspired by the elements interacting with nature, such as water on rock or wind on sand. The best of these was the Taiki with its nifty sculpted rear-wheel nacelles and flowing headlight elements.

30. 2008 Land Rover LRX

Land Rover’s LRX concept was a clear production ready glimpse of how they could (and will) move towards a smaller, friendlier SUV. Though others (notably Subaru’s Forester) have tried to scale down the segment this is the most successful attempt yet, aided by great detail work like the  dropped edge of the hood over the front wheel arch and the reverse wedge of the greenhouse.

31. 2009  Cadillac CTS Coupe

Cadillac started to revamp their design language in the late 90s but the refinement of their hard-edged “Art & Science” theme at the end of this decade was far more aesthetically successful than initial forays. The CTS sedan is quite handsome but it’s this Coupe concept (due to go into production soon) that really moves things forward with it’s radically sloped backlight and V shaped C-pillar.

32. 2009 Fisker Karma

Designer Henrik Fisker started his own company in the middle of the decade and began re-bodying BMW’s and others. His true plan emerged with the reveal of the Karma prototype – to build luxury gas/electric hybrids. Luckily the Karma is drop dead gorgeous with sinuously bulging fenders and a tapering greenhouse. Production is expected to commence late in 2010.

33. 2008 GMC Denali XT

The car-like pickup truck has had a mixed history since the glory days of Chevy’s El Camino and Ford’s Ranchero (roughly the 60s and 70s) and lesser 80s entries like Dodge’s compact Rampage, Subaru’s delightful Brat and Volkswagen’s odd Rabbit/Golf based model. The idea was revived by Honda this past decade for the Ridgeline  but GMC showed this very attractive concept that suggested how the attributes of both vehicle types could be melded harmoniously.

34. 2009 Audi Sportback

Audi gave some clues to their emerging next-gen design language with the Sportback concept, while also throwing their hat in the crowded and often ugly German luxury hatch field dominated by BMW.  Strong defined character lines give the flanks a sculpted look while their signature stylized headlamp elements echo the palm-like shape.

35. 2009 BMW Vision EfficientDynamics

Another brilliant BMW concept, the Vision is all intersecting planes and overlapping elements while exhibiting a light, glassy greenhouse that allows the elements to float together.

36. 2000 Jaguar F-Type

Jag’s F-Type concept was almost too good. It’s safety-reg unfriendly low glass height and lack of even a pretense of a roof made the design impossible to translate well to production despite repeated tries. Pity, as it’s purity is exquisite.

37. 2001 Buick Bengal

Look past the oh-so-00s vestigial rear doors that never became a trend and the Bengal concept offers a clean, uncluttered reboot of Buick’s antiquated design cues. The front end is especially nice with it’s canted headlamp strips and broad dollar-grin style grille.

38. 2001  Ford Forty-Nine

Chrysler kicked off the the trend of incorporated classic custom car cues into production and concept vehicles with the Plymouth Prowler in the mid 90s but Ford’s delicious Forty-Nine is a touchstone in post-modern retro-futurism. While cues nod to Ford’s iconic 1949 coupe, the whole is an homage to chopped and channeled “sleds” with modern headlight and interior technology that places the design in a contemporary context. If only Ford’s production models were as interesting in North America.

39. 2001 Dodge Super8 Hemi

Like the Ford Forty-Nine, Trevor Creed designed the Super 8 Hemi to be an amalgam of 50s cues and modern touches. The result was far more polarizing but with the benefit of hindsight can be seen to have it’s own virtues. Creed was reported to have been shocked by the extent of negative reaction, having considered this as a testing ground for ideas that would be used on a production basis. The wraparound windshield and roof shape are the clearest nods to 50s elements but the side strakes and brutally short overhangs could only be from the present time.

40.2002  Dodge Razor

Ah the road not taken. Though Pontiac’s Solstice got much of the contemporary attention, Dodge’s concept for a small, raw sports coupe was arguably even more compelling. A simple design that incorporates a strong stance, upright a-pillars and suggestive upkicks around the rear wheels it’s a pity  Chrysler’s German masters couldn’t see their way to producing this gem.

41. 2003 Cadillac Sixteen

Cadillac’s superb Sixteen cast a long shadow over the brand in that none of their production vehicles has yet to look as wonderfully impressive and clear of purpose. The central spine and stylized grille have made their way throughout the lineup though but it’s that elegantly formal roof and pillar-less sidelight that stick in the retina.  The double side-hinged hood adds a touch of retro whimsy.

42. 2003 Chevrolet SS

Chevy’s response to Chrysler’s impending big sedans and Ford’s big sedan concepts was the overtly sporty SS, a softer and sleeker take on the segment. The small rounded greenhouse is nestled atop bulging fenders and aggressive wheels giving a sense of power but also a sense of tidy maneuverability unusual in the class.

43. 2003 Ford 427

Ford kicked off the decade with the brilliant 427 concept for a full-sized American sedan, lacked the stones to actually produce it, and then watched Chrysler steal their thunder with the 300.  The 427 is traditional sedan in stance but in detail and execution its completely contemporary from the neat interlocked squares within the headlight elements to the chrome strip on the lower bodysides that echoes the single strip below the window line. The front end treatment did wind up, in watered down form, on the first-generation Focus.

44. 2004 Jeep Rescue

From a design standpoint this was a tough decade for Jeep but the Rescue was a terrific concept that pointed to what might have been. Emphasizing the core values of the brand but on a bigger canvas it’s immediately identifiable as a Jeep despite being a big four-door SUV, a full size and a half beyond anything the brand had marketed. The only positive that came from this concept was the idea of a 4-door Wrangler. When Jeep did attempt to size up they did so with the atrocious Commander which lacked entirely the grace and elemental rightness of this design.

45. 2008 Morgan LifeCar

Morgan has been known for 45 years essentially for their resistance to modernism. Even their most advanced car harbors a wooden frame that harks back to pre-war sports car construction. So the LifeCar, a fuel-cell powered electric sports car concept, came as something of a shock. Even more so was it’s machine age meets iPod body design which is of a piece with Morgan’s traditional theme but augmented by a novel hinged passenger canopy that mimics the scissoring of the front-hinged hood-and-fender tops unit.

46. 2001 Honda Unibox

While automotive design is often about hinting at or even obscuring the mechanics underneath the body panels, Honda’s Unibox concept is like a translucent watchback boldly exposing and flaunting the pure engineering below.

47. 2002 Mercedes-Benz F400 Carving

There have been a few tilting concepts before but they tended to be more like slightly evolved cycles. Here Mercedes gets the tilt jones on entirely with the suspension but the lack of roof (and windshield!)  and open front wheels still give a motorcycle feel but within a conventional layout.

48. 2006 Volvo C30

Volvo’s decade long design language which mimicked the idea of a sectioned violin found it’s best expression in the little C30, which also incorporated the glass hatch that distinguished the P1800 sports  coupe of the late 60s. In addition the floating center section of the dash connected the brand to classic Swedish furniture design.

49. 2004 Ferrari F430

The last two decades were hardly the best for Ferrari from a design standpoint as longtime stylist Pininfarina struggled to respect the brand’s and reflect modern forms. By keeping things simple the F430 managed the job ably. Front air intakes and exposed circular headlamps all look back to past Ferraris as does the overall mid-engind layout and theme but the execution is admirably smooth.

50. 2007 Nissan Pivo 2

There are certain design quirks that Japanese manufacturers go for but which can seem downright eccentric to others. Things like a dashboard mounted robot head that comments on your driving with helpful tips and glowing LED eyes.  The body of the vehicle also rests on a turntable that allows for full 360 degree rotation and the wheels and fenders can pivot to allow for four way steering.

Fisker Sunset

After all is said and done the New York car show, or at least its preview days, gave a good sense of where the industry and its players are at as well as allowing me a close up look at some of this season’s most interesting designs.

Ford Taurus halved

The overall mood was glum but tempered by some bright spots. GM and Chrysler had drastically reduced floor space and bare bones presentations and displays. Ford on the other hand engaged with the press and with showgoers with a slot car track, a new Taurus that coheres around the driver as they sit in the seats before splitting apart again, and a display featuring submissions from their innovative Fiesta Movement social media campaign.

The newly roomy main hall was able to welcome Volkswagen – upstairs for the first time I remember, as well as Fisker automotive and a Mini display that featured astroturf and the artificial smell of fresh grass which I suspect is toxic.

Here were some of the sights of the show:

2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee

2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee

Chrysler’s in dire straits but if they can hang around for a year they should be able to launch a successor to what was once a best-seller. The current Grand Cherokee has some nice lines that fight with awkward detailing and lackluster quality of materials. The new version is nothing revolutionary but feels like a more substantial quality vehicle.

2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee

The front end is particularly well resolved with a sweeping hood bulge that meets the a-pillars, a handsome grille and headlamp treatment and very German lower body cladding. Even more impressive was the interior:

2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee

The wood was high quality fake, the dashboard trim satisfyingly seamless, but most impressive were the rich leather seating materials and the expensive looking piping around the seats themselves. This is easily the best looking interior of any Chrysler product I’ve ever seen. Now they just have to survive.

Fisker Karma

Fisker Karma and Sunset

Fisker Automotive is a startup dedicated to plug-in hybrid electric luxury vehicles. The Karma is far more stunning in person than in photos – low, wide and sleek with incredible presence. The same goes for the two-door Sunset convertible which at this stage is billed as a concept.

Fisker Sunset

I still don’t know whether designer Henrik Fisker, ex of Aston Martin among others, is for real or whether this is the second coming of Vector – a giant scheme designed to liberate people from deposits with exciting concepts that keep getting pushed back from actual production. What I do know is that with their voluptuous fenders and outrageously large wheels Fisker knows his proportions.

Fisker Sunset

Fisker Karma

From the back you can see the diamond shaped exhaust tips and how low both cars are.

Fisker Karma

You can see the huge bulging fender lines of the Karma with the back door open – the door itself is flared and contains the trailing edge of the bulge.

Fisker Karma

The front wheel cutout on the Karma shows the sure hand of a master designer – the radius of the fender flare is cambered to create a flate surface that houses the side reflector. Check out the low profile tires too.

Fisker Karma

Similarly the care taken to line up the bumper seam with the headlight washer unit with the whole outer edge of the light housing framed with LED lights. The projector-style main lighting units are staggered in both height, size, and protuberance.

Acura ZDX Prototype

Acura ZDX Prototype

Acura bills the ZDX, which made it’s debut in New York, as a prototype but it’s a thinly disguised version of a crossover that’s due to hit dealerships this fall. The fastback roof and rear glass have some overtones of sister company Honda’s products like the FCX fuell cell vehicle but overall this is one of Acura’s best looking recent vehicles and considerable more easy on the eye than competitors like BMW’s X6.  The wavelike plane over the rear wheels is especially nicely done, skirting a heavy look that can ruin this sort of neither-fish-nor-fowl layout.

Acura ZDX Prototype

The front is the least-pleasing aspect of the ZDX. The headlights are the least likely part to make production though their housing shape is probably accurate. Unfortunately Acura’s can-opener grille seems here to stay. While this is its least offensive application yet I hope that this begins to be phased out sooner rather than later.

GMC Terrain

GMC Terrain

GMC’s Terrain sharply divided viewers with some admiring it’s sharp angular theme and strong differentiation from Chevy’s platform-mate the Equinox. Others found the detailing to be too heavy. To be sure this is a truck that is very color and wheel combo sensitive. I found the fender bulges to be a bit cartoonish and the lower body cladding to be the wrong side of brutalist though I like the striking face with its strong grille form.

GMC Terrain

This shot of the rear of the Terrain shows how a darker color and flashier wheels can alter the looks from techno cool to something more, well downmarket looking. The shape of the rear glass is neat but the black plastic panel over the pillar looks cheap rather than classy.

Chevrolet Equinox

Chevy’s new Equinox is built on the same platform and mechanicals as GMC’s Terrian, but in a  far more attractive and less polarizing wrapper.

Nissan 370Z Convertible

Nissan 370Z Convertible

New York also saw the premier of Nissan’s droptop version of the latest Z. The previous incarnation was one of the rare convertibles that turned a handsome coupe ugly. Though the back end is still too bustle-like, the curved fenders soften the impact of losing the distinctive roof far better than on the previous model.

Nissan 370Z

The 370Z in general is full of intriguing curves and fillips that stay just this side of busy, like the comma-shaped front and rear lights and the buckle style doorhandles.

Nissan 370Z

Hyundai Nuvis

Hyundai Nuvis Concept

Hyundai’s design team is in the midst of transition with the Nuvis representing the last of Joel Piaskowsk’s supervised designs. Under him Hyundai has gone from an also ran to a real design contender and the Nuvis has some very interesting forms indeed.

In some ways the overall shape is reminiscent of Mazda’s concepts though the detailing is very different. The intersection of forms between the taillights, rear fender, roof, and sidelight is the most interesting area of the concept. The fender creeps up almost to the trailing edge of the roof, covering the pillar but not actually making it all the way to the top.

Hyundai Nuvis

The clean line that sweeps from the lower bumper vents up and over the headlamps, the bottom edge of the A-pillar and opens like an eye to create the side window opening before pinching over the rear fender is brilliant. Less brilliant is the heavy crushed grille treatment which seems constricted, especially in light of the airiness of the rest of the design.

Ford Iosis Max

Ford Iosis Max

Ford of Europe previewed their upcoming new Focus (which is finally coming the the United States) with the Iosis Max. The radical detailing and funky shape are in keeping with Ford of Europe’s forward thinking design ethos. It’s highly unlikely that the glass-bubble hatch, pillarless side glass, and t-shaped integrated roof spoiler will make production but the basic look and shape are likely to.

Ford Iosis Max

The arc of the A-pillars stretch clear to the front of the wheelarches giving vanlike space inside a car roughly the size of a Volkswagen Golf. The face is an evolution of Ford’s current continental look with an even more aggressive grille and stylized headlamps.

Aston Martin Lagonda

Aston Martin Lagonda Concept

There was strong interest in Geneva when word got out that Aston Martin would be testing the waters for a revival of their luxury Lagonda nameplate. The assumption was that they would go for a Rolls-Royce challenging luxury sedan as past Lagondas have been along those lines.

The double-takes as a Lamborghini LM002 like crossover SUV-esque sedan with a trunk rolled out were conspicuous. The contrast with Astons drop-dead gorgeous coupes didn’t help. Still, the heavy, slabby design is better looking than BMW’s fevered attempts to locate a niche between sports sedans and trucks.

Aston Martin Lagonda Concept

The gunslit backlight and strong shoulderlines make for an arresting simple design, even if beauty is the last thing you could describe it as. In it’s brutal simplicity it is in some ways similar to Rolls-Royces flagship Phantom sedan.

BMW 5 Series GT

BMW 5 Series GT

Did I say ugly BMW? Here’s another attempt for them to find daylight between models where none exists, exhibit A of which is the hideous turtle-like BMW X6 which is available as we speak at BMW dealers who would love to put you in one (please). The 5 Series GT, billed as a concept, is a better-looking but still awkward stab at the same target.

There are some nice touches – the bone structure running through the upper beltline with scoops for the door handles and the sculpting around the wheel openings is subtle but the roofline is still a grafted on hatchback. When it goes into production will nayone want one?

Edag Open Source

Edag Open Source

One of the coolest concepts at Geneva came from parts-supplier Edag, who envision an “open-source” car that allows users to configure and customize apps like an iPhone. The glossy black look and tactile surfacing makes the connection with Apple’s design language explicit. The rear end functions as a graphic display for the driver’s around it, warning of road work and conditions ahead.

Giugiaro Fraser Nash Namir

Giugiaro Fraser Nash Namir

Legendary Italian design firm Giugiaro showed a new interpretation of a brand that hardly anyone remembers, Fraser Nash. Even more unbelievable this mish-mash is meant to go into limited production. Diamond shapes are deployed across the vents and window openings to disguise the tiredness of the excersize. A mid-engined sportscar to revive a luxo brand? How cliche. How the mighty have fallen.

Infiniti Essence Concept

The Geneva Motor show, stuck as it is in the mountainous middle of Europe, seemed like an oasis of exuberance in the midst of the worst year for the auto industry since the great depression.

You might not know it from the concepts and production models on display – some of the worlds most prestigious high end brands and design houses had an wide array of new designs to show off. Here are some of the most notable.

(more after the jump)

Infiniti Essence Concept

Infiniti Essence Concept

Nissan’s luxury Infiniti division is just beginning a push into Europe after being established in the United States since the early 90s. Their nearly baroque Essence Concept is designed to make a splash and it succeeded.

While BMW’s Chris Bangle is set to leave the car world, some of his radical design ideas seem to have taken hold at Nissan. While the Essence doesn’t please from every angle and at times can seem a bit over-detailed, its pinched and flowing forms are unusual and fascinating.

Infiniti Essence Concept - rear

Every surface is folded and formed into gentle waves and curves, most notable the indents pressed into the rear buttresses. The look is alternately beautiful and aggressive – a welcome bit of originality in the coupe segment.

Nissan Qazana

Nissan Qazana Concept

The Qazana is a crossover vehicle that, like the Infiniti Essence, pushes design to a polarizing degree. Unlike the Essence, Qazana crosses the line a bit, particularly with it’s unorthodox front face. The rally style rounded lights flanking the grille are actually fog lights and the main lighting source is from the stylized lamps situated high up on the fenders. There are shades of Chris Bangle’s Rolls-Royce Phantom in that arrangement though overall the feel is quite different. An interesting design, if not wholly pleasing.

Rolls-Royce 200ex

Rolls-Royce 200ex

Speaking of Rolls-Royce, the company signals their downmarket move with the 200ex, officially labeled a concept but for all intents their new, slightly smaller price leader.

Silly paint job notwithstanding, this is a sportier, cleaner design than the brutalist Phantom, with a  faster roof and tail-line. The front-end is simpler, devoid of the overtly geometric look of it’s big brother.

Koeniggsegg Quant

Koeniggsegg Quant

Boutique carmaker Koeniggsegg dips into environmental friendliness with the Quant. While the technology is the key here – the Quant is in theory powered by solar electric energy. The clear lack of an interior (and running gear) allows us to address what we like best – the design. Though there is nothing revolutionary here what I find most interesting are the Corvette like front fenders, rear fenders, and pontoon roofline – not to mention the radial wheels which are reminiscent of the ’82 Vette.

Koeniggsegg Quant