Car design over the decades

[Marian87]

Baroque Design 1955-1959

This style of design is characteristic almost entirely to the USA of mid to late 1950s. There were no specific design rules, though some elements, like the fins, were barrowed from the Rocket Design. The obsession was for bigger, better, brighter and shinier cars. It was also a time of two tone paint jobs in bright colours.

Ford Fairlane 500 4dr Victoria 1957


Chrysler New Yorker Hardtop coupe 1957


Cadillac Eldorado Brougham 1957


Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz 1959

[Killrob]

Just chiming in to say: excellent work Marian87, and interesting stuff at the same time Nice!!

[Marian87]

Thanks

[Marian87]

Edge Line Design 1960s onwards

The principles of the New Line design were adopted again but interpreted in a new way. This style was trying to project precision and funtionality by using sharp lines and orthogonal surfaces. It featured smaller double round headlights which were horizantally or vertically aligned or used rectangle headlights later on. The side was often sculpted in a V-angle and the size of the wheels was smaller so the interior could become larger.

Lancia Flaminia convertible 1961 (Boneschi body)


Pontiac Grand Prix Sport Coupe 1963


Fiat 130 berlina 1969


Ford Granada 1977

[Marian87]

Flow Line Design 1960s

Flow line keeps the modern proportions but uses soft flowing forms in convex metal surfaces, rounding off any edges.

1958 Triumph TR3 Italia prototype

1962 Lincoln Continental Convertible


Rover P6 3500, GB 1963


BMC 1800, concept I 1967

[Punkal]

Marian87 thanks for taking the time its a great read.

[Marian87]

No problem. I would like to finish the list.

[Daffyflyer]

Yeah, loving this thread, keep going!

[Marian87]

Wedge Line, late 1960s onwards

Wedge Line was a radical departure from previous trends and became an important part of car design. It introduced the arrow shaped front end and pop-up headlights. It was meant to suggest dynamism and wind resistance.

Bizarrini Manta concept 1968



Alfa Romeo Carabo 1968



Lamborghini LP500 1971



Alfa Romeo Giuletta 1977



Lotus Elite 1974

[Marian87]

New Baroque 1970s

New Baroque was mainly popular in the USA in the late 60s till early 80s. It held the old values of 1950s styling but introduced new characteristics like the prominent radiator grill, a bent side profile, vinal roofs and accentuated spokes on wheel caps. This type of styling worked well on big cars, but once cars had to become smaller it quickly faded.

Cadillac Fleetwood Eldorado 1967



Ford LTD Brougham 1971



Mercury Marquis 1971



Imperial coupe 1981

[Marian87]

Edge Box Design 1970s

The 1973 Oil Crisis brought about a profound changed of the car industry. Once the crisis was over, the new cars that were to be made were more compact with a better use of space and with an economic appearance. In order to save cost plastics began to be used more widely, replacing the chrome trimming that was so prevalent before and global cars were developed.

Volkswagen Golf 1974


Dodge Omni 1978


Lancia Megagamma Concept 1978


Renault Espace 1984

[Marian87]

Graph Design 1970s

The Graph Design used more unpainted plastic components, often structuring the cars into two halfs, upper half of painted metal and the lower half of grey or black unpainted plastic. Plastic began to be used in more than just the bumpers and side panels, entire plastic front and tail ends were also used. This style finally died out in the early 90s.\

FIAT Ritmo 1978


Peugeot 104 Peugette concept 1976


Alfa Romeo 33 1983


Renault R18 1980

[Marian87]

Flow Box Design, late 1970s onwards

After the Oil Crisis the Flow Box Design was an attempt at introducing aerodynamics as a way of making cars more fuel effiecent. This style used smooth flowing forms with soften edges. The front and windshield were more steeply inclined and the body had less irregularities as headlights and bumpers were integarted into the body. In the early 1990s computer aided design allowed for more complex structures in cars, but also gave rise to what we call today Vanilla Design, and unemotional style with oval shapes.

Renault R14 1976


Ford Thunderbird 1983


Toyota Previa 1990


Ford Taunus wagon 1996

[Marian87]

Retro Design 1990s onwards

The rational cars created after the oil crisis, while saving the industry, they lacked a certain emotional uniqness about them, thus creating in the 80s the tuner cult and nostalgia cult. The first car to cater to the people that wanted a more emotional package was the 1989 Mazda Miata MX-5, inspired by the British roadster, subsequently giving birth to a flood of retro inspired cars and remakes.

Mazda Miata Mx5 1989


Lotus Elan


Chrysler PT Cruiser 1999


Chrysler Airflow


Volkswagen New Beetle 1998


Volkswagen Beetle 2012


Volkswagen Beetle


Mini Cooper 2002


Mini Morris

[Marian87]

New Edge Box Design late 1990s

This style appeared so as to counter the bland Vannila type design of the late 90s. New Edge integrates elements form different styles, such as Edge, Flow and Graph and has flowing forms turning into sharp edges and pointed angles.

Mercedes Benz A-klasse 1997


Ford Focus 1998


Mercury Cougar 1999


Opel Corsa 2000