Though it seemed automakers were trying to cover all the bases on the auto-show circuit–minivans, crossovers, pickups and sedans–a few things were missing.
One was brutal, hard-edged design, typified by the Terradyne, a General Motors truck concept from 2000. The other was sport-utility brutes with their traditional truck frames and components. In their place were cars with swoopy lines and crossover vehicles, which try to combine the advantages of traditional sport-utilities without the ride and handling disadvantages of a big truck.
And, there were some visual treats.
In the last few years the Chicago Tribune has asked top designers to tell readers what they thought were the significant trends that made their debut at the Detroit Auto Show because they will be translated to future vehicles.
This year we asked some up-and-coming designers whose concepts have been on display recently or whose vehicles are starting to appear on the road, as well as a few we haven’t included before. Here is what they had to say:
“There are some really beautiful cars. So many emotional cars with fluid lines, more like sculpture, dynamic, powerful,” said Peter Pfeiffer, senior vice president of design for DaimlerChrysler in Stuttgart, Germany. He has been involved in the design of everything from the luxo-large Maybach to the mini European city car, the Smart.
One example he cited was the Cadillac Sixteen, General Motors’ extra long and ultra-luxury sedan concept with a V-16 engine.
“It’s an emotional car for me,” Pfeiffer said.
European cars also were more expressive and emotional in design, said Jin Kim, creative designer at Calty Design Research, Inc., Toyota’s North American design center in Newport Beach, Calif. He was the exterior designer of the FJ Cruiser Concept sport-utility vehicle shown in Detroit.
Not only has there been a radical change in BMW models in the last year, Mercedes-Benz has been using a lot of “swoopy” lines, he said. Even Audi’s show car, the Pikes Peak Quattro, seemed to be moving away from Audi’s trademark geometric look by using diagonal character lines, which makes a design more expressive, Kim said.
Alfonso Albaisa, associate director of design for Nissan Design America in San Diego was surprised at the large number of crossover vehicles this year. Albaisa designed the Nissan Quest minivan introduced this year, as well as the concept version shown last year.
“The SUVs all seem to be crossovers,” Albaisa said. “Everybody is trying a three-row vehicle or crossover, including Maserati [Kubang GT wagon].”
He liked Dodge’s funky, wood-sided Kahuna, for its clever layout, including three rows of two seats each. “Everyone is trying to figure out how we can make a three-row vehicle that looks either like a minivan or like a station wagon and a lot of times the production versions actually are not as convincing. But this one comes off as a station wagon that’s very long; it’s more compelling. The shorter front gets it away from a wagon. It’s an interesting package if you are going to do the six-passenger thing.”
Despite all the crossovers, Eric Schumaker was left thinking there was so much variety there was no clear trend. Schumaker, exterior design manager for the Automobile Operations Division of Honda R & D Americas in Torrance, Calif., directed the design of the Model X concept and its production version, the Element.
“It’s like nobody really knows where to go,” he said. “Everybody is trying to look for life after the sport-utility.”
One company that succeeded, in his view, was Infiniti. “The FX45 is very well done,” Schumaker said.
Cars were not forgotten. Nissan’s Albaisa thought it was significant that two high-profile concepts, the Ford 427 and the Cadillac Sixteen, were sedans.
Joseph Dehner, director of exterior/interior design in the DaimlerChrysler Product Design office in Auburn Hills, Mich., noted the “renaissance of the car.” Dehner led the team that designed the 2004 Chrysler Pacifica.
Chrysler’s Dehner praised Nissan’s new Maxima, particularly for “the glass sunroof down the centerline of the car that helped to open up the interior.”
“I think you are going to see the car slowly but surely coming back and stealing some of the limelight from sport-utilities and trucks because I think people are starting to get a little tired of the same vehicles,” Dehner said.
General Motors, Ford and Chrysler Group have said that, while not abandoning trucks, they are going to launch more and more cars. The evidence of that was on the show floor, where these automakers showed quite a few concept cars, including the Chevrolet SS, Mercury Messenger, Dodge Avenger and Pontiac G6.
Heritage and muscle
Many were “true, genuine American” cars that don’t try to imitate European competitors, said Michael Mauer, executive director of design for Saab Automobile AB at the Saab Design Center in Pixbo, Sweden. Mauer led the team that designed last year’s Saab 9X and 9-3X concept vehicles. He was speaking of the Cadillac Sixteen and Ford Mustang GT concepts. “They are strong statements for both brands.”
Those and other Big Three concepts–the Ford 427, Chevy SS and Dodge Magnum SRT-8–seemed to be heavily influenced by vintage American vehicles with their “long hoods, presence and proportion, especially from cars from the ’50s and ’60s,” Toyota’s Kim said.
The sports coupes and sedans also are “large and powerful,” said Ikuo Maeda, RX-8 chief designer at the Advance Design Studio of Mazda Motor Corp. in Hiroshima, Japan.
“Maybe the U.S. is the only country we can see this size passenger vehicle,” Maeda said.
And, the auto-show circuit may be the only place to see such a gathering of horsepower. Yes, the Cadillac Sixteen’s 1,000 h.p. and 1,000 foot-pounds of torque is only a concept, but plenty of 400- and 500-h.p. 2004 models will begin roaring down American roads this year: the Bentley Continental GT coupe, the Maybach, the Mercedes-Benz SL600 roadster and the Jaguar XJ flagship.
“There’s a race for 500 horsepower,” said Camilo Pardo, chief designer of the Ford GT (and last year’s GT40 concept) from Ford design in Dearborn, Mich. “I’m glad that kind of excitement is back. For a long time there, people were more concerned with fuel efficiency and fuel cells. These are all good things, just like health food, but it’s time for a nice, big, juicy steak.”
The American car companies were bringing back big engines and horsepower, but they had different approaches, said Eric Stoddard, senior designer at Hyundai-Kia Motors Design & Technical Center in Irvine, Calif. Before moving to Hyundai, he was lead exterior designer for DaimlerChrysler’s Crossfire concept and the 2004 production model.
“You had muscle car statements like the Chevy SS, Pontiac GTO, Dodge Magnum and Mustang, of course, but then you have the Cadillac Sixteen, which is the ultimate statement of American luxury,” Stoddard said.
Real vehicles, real people
Despite the pursuit of power, automakers didn’t forget about the day-in, day-out needs of consumers and clever ways to answer them.
“We saw a lot of smart ideas to increase versatility and flexibility,” said Saab’s Mauer. For example, the Cheyenne, GM’s full-size pickup concept, features access doors in the sides of the bed just behind the cab to make it easier to reach or climb inside the bed.
The Nissan Quest minivan, which goes on sale this summer, was praised for its second- and third-row seats that fold flat.
“You never have to take the seats out,” Stoddard said. “That minivan is going to scare the Big Three.”
Stoddard and others also praised Nissan’s first full-size pickup, the Titan, for its rear-hinged, rear doors that open 180 degrees, resting flat against the cargo bed and making loading simpler.
Improved interiors
For years European automakers, specifically Volkswagen and Audi, have set the benchmark for interiors.
There were signs in Detroit that may be changing in vehicles including minivans and trucks.
“You have manufacturers such as Infiniti and Nissan that are showcasing very interesting things on the interior of their cars this year,” said Anne Asensio, executive director of design for interior design, quality and brand character for General Motors Design in Warren, Mich.
Before joining GM, she worked for the French automaker Renault, which had the reputation for creating very innovative interiors and was part of the team that designed the popular Megane Scenic minivan.
In addition to the folding-flat rear seats, she liked the center-mounted instrument gauge (to the right of the steering wheel instead of behind it) and the oval pod underneath it, which houses the shift lever and sound and temperature controls. One has to admire Nissan for “breaking the rules by providing new direction in the interior,” Asensio said.
She also praised the extra-long glass panels that run along the length of the Quest’s roof. It should create “a holistic ambience. The entire volume of the interior is going to be glowing.”
No longer do customers have to give up premium interiors just because they drive a minivan or a pickup, several designers said.
Ford proved that with the interior of its new F-150 pickup.
“It had a lot of European design cues and looked really sophisticated and modern,” said Toyota’s Kim. “The materials look more expensive and the touch and feel, the way the button pushes and clicks is more sophisticated.”
“Each part looked like it was designed,” said Honda’s Schumaker. “It moved away from the big blow-molded-looking stuff. The switches look nice and tailored.”
“Traditionally truck interiors are completely neglected in terms of tactile quality and perceived quality,” said Derek Jenkins, chief designer for Volkswagen at the Design Center California in Simi Valley. He designed the 2001 Microbus concept.
The F-150 was not the only pickup interior to get noticed.
The interior of Nissan’s new Titan is “a leapfrog for the truck industry,” said Chrysler’s Dehner.
Ford’s Model U concept is an extreme example of bringing product and furniture design to the interior, said Volkswagen’s Jenkins. But one of his favorite interiors was the Mercury Messenger, with what he viewed as its uniform look.
“That’s another trend coming from product design, interior design and architecture,” Jenkins said. “It’s a more solid, more uniform look where everything is one color or one material. You have a calm, Zen-like interior. And the Messenger was doing that quite well.”
The designers:
– Alfonso Albaisa, associate director of design, Nissan Design America, San Diego, California. He designed the 2004 Nissan Quest minivan and the concept version shown at last year’s Detroit auto show.
– Anne Asensio, executive director of design, interior design, quality and brand character, General Motors Design in Warren, Michigan. She was part of the team that designed the popular Megane Scenic minivan when she worked for the French automaker Renault.
– Joseph Dehner, director exterior/interior design, DaimlerChrysler Product Design Office, in Auburn Hills, Michigan. He led the team that designed the 2004 Chrysler Pacifica.
– Derek Jenkins, chief designer for Volkswagen at the Design Center California in Simi Valley. He designed the VW 2001 Microbus concept.
– Jin Kim, creative designer at Toyota’s North American design center, Calty Design Research Inc. in Newport Beach, California. He was exterior designer of the FJ Cruiser Concept.
– Ikuo Maeda, RX-8 chief designer, Advance Design Studio, Mazda Motor Corp. Hiroshima, Japan.
– Michael Mauer, executive director, design, Saab Automobile AB, Saab Design Center, Pixbo, Sweden. He led the team that designed last year’s concept cars, the 9X and 9-3X.
– Camilo Pardo, chief designer, Ford GT, Ford design, Dearborn, Michigan. He also designed last year’s GT40 concept.
– Peter Pfeiffer, senior vice president, design, DaimlerChrysler AG, Stuttgart, Germany. He has been involved in the design of everything to the luxo-large Maybach to the mini European city car, the Smart.
– Eric Schumaker, exterior design manager for the Automobile Operations Division of Honda R & D Americas in Torrance, California. He directed the design of the Model X concept and its production version the Element.
– Eric Stoddard, senior designer, Hyundai-Kia Motors Design & Technical Center in Irvine, California. Before moving to Hyundai, he was lead exterior designer for DaimlerChrysler’s Crossfire concept and the 2004 production model.
