Detroit/London pt2.

On with the show..

1-Strange niche vehicles with debatable relevance.

–BMW X6

This’ll be a big hit with those who already like BMW’s. It looks slick, for sure. Of note is the flush greenhouse and the muscular arches, though ‘flame surfacing’ seems to be fading fast. Apparently there’s ‘bugger all’ rear room, thus making it a kind of 4×4 coupe, on stilts. Expect to see this clogging-up school roads in London soon. How about a new city-car BMW?

–VW Passat CC

Comments as above, minus the stilts. Looks the same as a Passat, but less room, in a bigger car. . right. Actually, the more i see of this car, the more it reminds me of a slightly sharper Peugeot 607,(or more unkindly, a Chyrsler Sebring..) not a bad-looking exec, but overlooked here in the UK;

2-Nic(h)e cars.

see what i did there..

Dodge Challenger Tooling about Detroit without any camo on – this is the real thing, and thankfully emerges unmolested from the concept mentioned in a previous post. I Love it. It’s not the most environmentally sound car, and it’s hardly moving the game on, using, as it does, blatant retro references to its 1960’s parent. But really, who cares? This is why car design is fascinating. In no other industry can an updated 40-year-old design create such a stir.

Mitsubishi Concept-RA This took the best cues from the Lancer Evo and the previous cX concept and evolved them into a good-looking coupe.

The slight OTT snout on the cX concept;

has been toned down, successfully, to fit with the more pleasing coupe proportions. Mitsubishi came back from the financial brink a couple of years ago – this car would be another move in the right direction for them.

Fiat 500 Won tickets to the launch party at the London Eye on Monday.

There was, of course, a lot of ‘build up’. Which included a free Fiat poncho and a hot-drink voucher…jeez, thanks guys..you shouldn’t have! some cool video montage of Fiat 500 past and present;

Bands included Vibrance, The Feeling (cool) and Mika (no comment).

The climax was a Pearl white Fiat500 being driven on stage with some flame effects….

And a car was slipped into one of the Eye-Pods. The Director of the Design museum was on hand to talk about the car’s style, it’s cultural significance, and how amazing it was, generally.

Afterwards my mind must have been stuck on a retro tip..spotted this weird ’80’s art-dustbin on the south-bank..flashback to weird-science;