Design Analysis

2018 KIA Stinger GT AWD 8

2018 KIA Stinger GT AWD – 4.8s, 167MPH Stats Confirmed – 31 Photos

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The Stinger GT from KIA is the dream on wheels.  Four-door fastback with a rear-drive chassis and huge twin-turbo power.  So many dreams, in fact, that the car’s giant trunk will actually come in handy right away.  In what is a clear confirmation of the car’s production-ready status, the power operation of the liftgate up or down is Panamera-esque.  Audi A7 and the A5 Sportback also form strong core templates for the Stinger.  This German-designed and German-engineered machine headed to KIA showrooms for under $50k in the next six months. Black chrome laces the bottle-nose front fenders and the extremely …

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Design Analysis – 2017 Lamborghini CENTENARIO + 20 Astounding Geneva Closeups

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  This might be the most outrageous Lamborghini of all time. And that is saying something — there have been some real wild childs’ in the back catalog! The Centenario is a 40-unit special Aventador with all-new styling and 770HP.  Half coupes and half roadsters, they are all pre-sold. The big innovations over the Aventador include rear-wheel steering and a new carbon-fiber chassis tub.  Much part sharing for boring things (like glass and suspension details) with the Aventador, yet cutting out a large bit of mass by replacing its aluminum spaceframe with a CF tub wherever possible.  This is likely …

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HD Road Test Review – 2016 Lincoln MKX – Tops New Lexus RX with Style, Power and Panache

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Lincoln MKX beats Lexus RX. You read it here first! True story. As one of the only car reviewers to have driven both 2016 models, we are surprised to report that the MKX is the better machine. First Drive Review – 2016 Lincoln MKX What a difference a few years can make! If you had told me in 2005 that Lincoln would be making globally-competitive cars, four SUVs and debuting exclusive tech like the new 3.0-liter V6TT making 400HP in the 2017 MKZ, we would have laughed right in your face. Sure, Lincolns have been “okay” for a while now …

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First Drive Review – 2016 Lexus RX350 FWD Luxury Package + Pricing and 100 New Photos

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  The 2016 RX is huge news: an ultra-modern makeover adds style, tech and efficiency to the all-star crossover from Lexus. We had a chance to drive all five trimlines last week, and have some great news to report about the handling crispness, exterior design and cabin comfort. But also some fairly important gripes about the performance and style execution of the new RX — which can leave you slightly confused versus the BMW X5. Let’s start with the highest-volume model: the RX350 front-wheel-drive. As we can see in the pricing charts below, this $42k base price is the most …

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All-New 2016 Audi R8 First Look Teases Laser LED Headlamp For Berlinale VIPs

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    Audi has been swishing it up with the European Sundance attendees this past week – being the official car of the Berlinale film festival. Giving its highest honor to “Taxi, a film shot with dual dash-mounted cameras by a passport-revoked director from Iran, the Berlinale is just the kind of flashbulb event sponsorship Audi loves. Countering Mercedes-Benz near-domination of fashion weeks in NY and abroad, Audi is cozying up to film stars, movie lovers and culture jockeys alike. Sample the new car, sir? Along with this glitz and bohemian glamour, Audi also took the wraps off a new …

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Concept to Reality: 2015 Ford Mustang Sketches That Led To Gorgeous New Ponycar

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We really like that Ford has been releasing so much information on the design development of their models. A big part of the One Ford program means getting these core models absolutely correct — but such success in styling is not easy to guarantee. So how did Ford get to the 2015 Mustang design? Looking at some of the ideas behind the final look of the Mustang is interesting — with bits from various sketches coming together to form a clean and holistic look for the car. One of the biggest challenges is getting the nose right. In order to …

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2014 Alfieri Maserati Underwhelms In Person With Bloated Surfaces and Mildewing Cabin

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  Updated 10.11.14 Forgot we have photos of the Alfieri Maserati from the Pebble Beach concepts lawn! The car is not that great in real life. Its nose is by far the best feature. Overall, it looks too stubby and odd around the mid-section, where its wheelbase appears too short to balance its giant bulging real end. Another oddity? The jackasses who were minding the car would not shut its doors and windows. When asked for third time, he slowly dipped down the back glass but wouldn’t latch it for photos. I mean, seriously? I thought he was just a …

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QOROS Design Analysis – Qoros9 and Flagship Concepts Preview Exciting Future Models

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QOROS is the German-led Chinese car firm that could change global perceptions about Chinese vehicles through sheer strength of engineering. The firm aims to deliver the best of European safety, handling, styling and quality standards to an affordable-produced model for the first time. Headed by Gert Hildebrand as design chief, Qoros is on firm footing to bring his MINI Cooper design expertise to all sorts of new segments. Here is Hildebrand with the Qoros Flagship model discussed below. QOROS Design Analysis – Qoros9 and Flagship Concepts Preview Exciting Future Models After many false starts by other brands, the Qoros 3 …

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Paging Dr. Gerry McGovern – There Is A Ford Explorer Sport Here To See You

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Paging Dr. Gerry McGovern – There Is A Ford Explorer Sport Here To See You This is tough news to deliver to you, Gerry McGovern, Land Rover’s head of design. When a car designed abroad is about the be released in the United States, looking just like a car we have all seen thousands of times for the previous few years. The Land Rover Discovery Vision Concept is one such machine. It might as well be an exact match for the Ford Explorer of 2009-present. When I had this white Explorer Sport last Fall, my neighbor already thought it was …

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SRT Viper vs. Maserati Alfieri – Friends… Or Family? Overlay Transparency Analysis

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SRT Viper vs. Maserati Alfieri – Friends… Or Family? Overlay Transparency Analysis A possible Alfieri-Viper connection has been nagging me since the similarities first appeared about a week after the Alfieri debuted in Geneva. Why did (and does) it seem so close to the Viper, without sharing almost anything recognizable — anywhere? Something about the overdrawn features and super-curved surfaces just strikes me as very similar between the two. But am I just speculating wildly (again)? Besides that, the rear ends seem quite familiar – with similar venting below each lamp and even a similar hatchback glass liftgate. But every …

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Concept Flashback – 2012 Porsche Panamera Sport Turismo

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The Panamera Sport Turismo Concept is still quite miraculous, even more than a year since its initial debut. Widely believed to preview the 2014 Panamera facelift, the Sport Turismo has had an even larger impact on a different model altogether: the Macan. Much of the creamy and smooth surfacing, huge rear arch bulges, and the nose treatment all directly previewed the handsome new Macan S and Macan Turbo models. From the start of the Sport Turismo’s media tour, Porsche insisted that this model could appear as a new body style for the second-gen Panamera. It was hard to believe at …

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2014 Cadillac ELR – Design Analysis Plus 65 High-Res, Real-Life Photos

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One of the flip sides of really excellent CGI renderings is that it can become hard to discern what photos are, in fact, photos. Photos taken on location, even digitally, are really the only way to really see what a car’s styling looks like in motion. So while one step forward, another step to the side in some ways. For designers and buyers, a clearer idea of what the finished car looks like will always be a good thing – especially when that car is years away from hitting the streets. All this is multiplied when a car is really …

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Annotated Design Analysis — Peugeot EXALT — How To Make the 2016 Peogeot 509 Sexy — Mazda6 vs Ford Fusion Examples

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Ed’s Note: This article is feeling condescending as I review and ready it for publishing, and I regret that tone. Nobody likes being spoken down to. That is not my intention. Just to explain it all, as best I can, to someone for whom car design might not a passion area. How to make a front-drive car sexy and stylish — while keeping it primarily front-drive? Not an easy task, and one that has taken many years to get anywhere near resultion. The clearest example of the ideas and design analyses explored below is the latest Mazda6, which is far …

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Audi Sport Quattro – Design Analysis – Deconstructed Headlight Styles

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Audi’s latest concepts might feel familiar, but actually bring a slew of new ideas to maintain sales momentum as the firm enters more new segments than ever. New shapes of crossovers and hybrids are critical to maintain momentum for the company, which achieved a best-ever 1,455,123 units sold globally in calendar 2013. Also impressive: Audi is active in 100-plus countries – which is about double the footprint of most luxury brands. While many tout the success of Lexus and other luxury new-comers, Audi is really the comeback king. There were years in the late 1980s when Audi of America could …

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Concept Flashback – 2012 Porsche Panamera Sport Turismo

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The Panamera Sport Turismo Concept is still quite miraculous, even more than a year since its initial debut. Widely believed to preview the 2014 Panamera facelift, the Sport Turismo has had an even larger impact on a different model altogether: the Macan. Much of the creamy and smooth surfacing, huge rear arch bulges, and the nose treatment all directly previewed the handsome new Macan S and Macan Turbo models. From the start of the Sport Turismo’s media tour, Porsche insisted that this model could appear as a new body style for the second-gen Panamera. It was hard to believe at …

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