Graves is banging on again...
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From: Hertford
Graves is banging on again...
It IS possible for a modern design to be extremely elegant.
Get a Danish ex-Aston Martin designer to think IKEA & not beached whales:
The Fisker is somewhat reminiscent of Frua's Glas 3000GT (the Glaserati!) and none the worse for that!
Get a Danish ex-Aston Martin designer to think IKEA & not beached whales:
The Fisker is somewhat reminiscent of Frua's Glas 3000GT (the Glaserati!) and none the worse for that!
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From: North Yorks
Are you having an anti-BMW week this week Nick?
Although I agree wholeheartedly
A chap in the village has just bought a Quattroporte, a beautiful, elegant alternative to the usual German fare everyone else seems to go for round here (apart from the dyed-in-the-wool Jag driving octegenarians and the Wellies-and-lab Range Rover types that is).
Vive la difference!
Although I agree wholeheartedly
A chap in the village has just bought a Quattroporte, a beautiful, elegant alternative to the usual German fare everyone else seems to go for round here (apart from the dyed-in-the-wool Jag driving octegenarians and the Wellies-and-lab Range Rover types that is).
Vive la difference!
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Joined: Mar 2001
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From: Hertford
More of an anti-Bangle week, I think.
Although it is ultimately the board that sanction the designs.
It's more co-incidence that I've found the perfect example of how relatively simple it would be to re-work an existing disaster into something elegant.
A-M Zagato nose apart, It's more or less how I thought a new 6-er should look.
It also fits my conviction that it should be relatively practical to build one's 'own' car out of a donor vehicle; taking the idea of a disgusting bodykit and making a proper design out of it. It is so far merely the cost that restricts it to high-end vehicles. No-one does a decent re-skin package for mere mortals' cars.
I would however, like to see if Dr Fisker could salvage the Z4. Of its several bad points, the appearance is easily its worst. And the car does have many good points as well.
Although it is ultimately the board that sanction the designs.
It's more co-incidence that I've found the perfect example of how relatively simple it would be to re-work an existing disaster into something elegant.
A-M Zagato nose apart, It's more or less how I thought a new 6-er should look.
It also fits my conviction that it should be relatively practical to build one's 'own' car out of a donor vehicle; taking the idea of a disgusting bodykit and making a proper design out of it. It is so far merely the cost that restricts it to high-end vehicles. No-one does a decent re-skin package for mere mortals' cars.
I would however, like to see if Dr Fisker could salvage the Z4. Of its several bad points, the appearance is easily its worst. And the car does have many good points as well.
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From: North Yorks
Originally Posted by Nick Graves,Sep 5 2006, 10:51 AM
It also fits my conviction that it should be relatively practical to build one's 'own' car out of a donor vehicle; taking the idea of a disgusting bodykit and making a proper design out of it. It is so far merely the cost that restricts it to high-end vehicles. No-one does a decent re-skin package for mere mortals' cars.
I suspect there'd be a number of hurdles to overcome, but if it's possible to make a faux 355 out of an MR2, it can't be beyond the realms of possibility.
Retail cost, I suspect would be the killer, who'd want to spend upwards of a couple of thousand on re-skinning a Mondeo? Isn't that what Ford did already with the Cougar?
Platform sharing means that whatever body style you want, you can have if you're prepared to wait for the manufacturer to get round to it. Looks and (lack of) style however, are left to the 'bolt-on' market.
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From: Hertford
The Cougar was more than just a re-skin.
One has to retain the existing crash structure, in order to avoid expensive testing.
The Fisker merely involves a straight panel change excercise. All the systems (including the headlights, I'd wager) are untouched.
It started off with me by the cynicism of some alleged 'real cars' - such as the Saxo and various VAG products; if that's all it takes, we could all bloody do it! And I don't just mean dressing up an Accord with Rimmer Bros. items & calling it a Triumph Dolomite. That would be fun to embarrass Rover owners & annoy BMW's legal dept!
With modern CAD/CAM procedures & soft tooling, the design costs could be so minimal as to be amortised over a short production run. And the results far more elegant, too.
I'm glad someone has had the wit to do it.
One has to retain the existing crash structure, in order to avoid expensive testing.
The Fisker merely involves a straight panel change excercise. All the systems (including the headlights, I'd wager) are untouched.
It started off with me by the cynicism of some alleged 'real cars' - such as the Saxo and various VAG products; if that's all it takes, we could all bloody do it! And I don't just mean dressing up an Accord with Rimmer Bros. items & calling it a Triumph Dolomite. That would be fun to embarrass Rover owners & annoy BMW's legal dept!
With modern CAD/CAM procedures & soft tooling, the design costs could be so minimal as to be amortised over a short production run. And the results far more elegant, too.
I'm glad someone has had the wit to do it.
