Electel Blogspot

By 1990 General Motors was on its path from industry dominance to bankruptcy.  Ford's aerodynamically influenced 1986 Taurus was a marketing success that required a response from GM.  That response was in the form of its new W Platform .  Coupes appeared for the 1988 model year, sedans following for 1990. The present post deals with the sedans.  These were the Chevrolet Lumina , Pontiac Grand Prix , Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme and Buick Regal . Shamed by the lookalike 1982 A Body line, GM made an effort to have W Body cars for each brand look distinctive.  Some details are discussed below. Gallery Chevrolet Lumina Euro I owned one of these during my time as demographic forecast supplier to GM.  The basic Lumina had a different grille and no trunk lid spoiler. Pontiac Grand Prix This car had a slightly higher beltline and six-window passenger greenhouse.  Rear door cutlines differ. Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme The basic body here is similar to the Lumin...

In 1947 SAAB ( Svesnska Aeroplan AB ), builder of military aircraft, was exploring entering the automobile market.  The initial result was the prototype that some people nowadays call the UrSaab .  (In Germany and some parts of Europe probably including Sweden, the prefix "Ur" is sometimes applied to the earliest example of something.  The word Ur is the name of what some anthropologists claimed was the world's oldest city.) A series of prototypes were built, details edging towards the first production model, the Saab 92 that reached the Swedish market in 1950. Below are images of that car and another prototype along with two earlier cars with similar rear styling details.  Because Saab built aircraft and had a wind tunnel, it is no surprise that the new car was tested to enhance aerodynamic efficiency.  Whether or not the other streamlined examples actually influenced Saab designers is belong the scope of my source materials.  That said, I hope you might ...

My e-book on automobile styling argues that there hasn't been much evolution in the appearance of sedans since about 1950.  Yes, technology has improved in terms of metal stamping, autoglass forming, headlamp structure and other fields related to how cars look.  And there has been increased attention since the early 1980s regarding improved aerodynamic efficiency as a means of reducing fuel consumption.  But the dominant factor is fashion. Automobile styling fashions come, go, and occasionally return. A case regarding the return of a style is the design of the 2010-vintage Jaguar XJ model.  It took me a while to make the connection, but it finally dawned on me that the XJ can be considered a modern version of the "step-down" Hudson of the 1948-1954 model years. Let's take a look: Here are the cars in profile, the XJ above, the Hudson below.  Both designs might be called "almost-fastback," where the top gradually curves downward and meets the lower body sligh...

Applegreen , Ireland’s leading motorway retailer, will treat customers to a complimentary hot beverage this Christmas, courtesy of the company’s popular ‘Rewards’ app. Anyone who downloads and registers on the app is entitled to the complimentary hot beverage at any participating Applegreen store and will also be in with a chance to win a year’s supply of free fuel in 2021. The Applegreen Rewards app offers customers rich offers including products for 50c, Coffee Club and Car Wash Club. “Driving over Christmas can be stressful," says Applegreen COO, Joe Barrett. "So we invite all our customers to download the Applegreen Rewards app this festive season and revive themselves with a delicious, complimentary coffee at any of our participating Applegreen stores located around Ireland." Anyone who downloads and registers on the app will also automatically be entered into a draw to win free fuel for 2021. "We will be picking 125 winners. This season is all about givin...

The BMW 507 produced 1956-1959 is widely considered a design classic, especially in the context of its time.  Its Wikipedia entry is here .  It was styled by Albrecht Graf von Schlitz genannt von Goertz von Wrisberg, or in shorter, English terms, Count Albrecht von Goertz (1914-2006) -- Wikipedia entry here . Wikipedia notes that it was hoped that the 507 would sell well, but in fact only 252 were ever built. About 40 years later a Chris Bangle design team (Henrik Fisker in charge of the exterior) did what Wikipedia ( here ) calls a "styling exercise intended to evoke and celebrate" the 507.  A show car followed  in 1997 and production began in 2000, continuing into 2003.  Total produced was 5703. Below are comparative images of the 507 and Z8. Gallery 1959 BMW 507, Bonhams auction photo.  Its styling theme is typical 1950s sports car: Flowing fenderline with upkick at the rear, hood lower than the front fenders but with a higher cowl.  The c...

A quartet of electric vans from the PSA Group have been selected as the International Van of the Year 2021 by a jury from 24 countries, writes Brian Byrne . They are the Peugeot e-Expert, Citroën ë-Dispatch (the Jumpy nameplate used in Europe), Opel Vivaro-e, and Vauxhall Vivaro-e. They have a range of up to 330kms in their extended range versions, which was a significant factor in their win. The vans are designed around the EMP2 multi- energy platform to offer zero emission mobility for the passenger car as well as LCV markets. The electric vans are due in Ireland during the first half of 2021.  

A new augmented reality head-up display to be made available by Volkswagen in its ID.3 and upcoming ID.4 electric cars will be a first for the technology in the compact car segment, writes Brian Byrne . The system adds a new layer to the familiar 'near-range' information from head-up, where speed and other details are visible at a 'float' distance of around three metres. The enhanced system adds a larger 'window' visualised at about 10 metres ahead, and wider, where symbols such as turning arrows from the navigation system appear to be pointing directly at the turn. As the car gets closer, the arrows get bigger, but fade in definition so as not to obscure normal visibility. The larger window also shows information from the driver assist systems, such as lane boundaries and close-vehicle identification. The new system will be available first in the ID.4 as part of an enhanced infotainment package option.  

This was a Mazda concept built in the early 1990s from an in-house competition about personal mobility, writes Brian Byrne . The engineers involved made it from a production 'pocket' motor bike, and the largest Samsonite hard-shell suitcase they could buy. After the minute or two required to assemble, the 32kg contraption could carry its single passenger along at speeds of up to 30km/h, powered by a 34cc two-stroke engine. It was never designed for production, but they built three for display, only one of which remains in existence — the original was accidentally destroyed, one exhibited at the 1991 Frankfurt Motor Show 'disappeared under unknown circumstances' and the surviving version is in the US.  

Usually, rescue workers get their training vehicles from scrapyards but these cars are often up to two decades old so there is a huge difference between modern cars and those built fifteen to twenty years ago, writes Trish Whelan . To allow rescue services to prepare for any possible crash scenario and to simulate the forces that erupt in the most extreme crashes, beyond what can be simulated with ordinary crash testing, Volvo Cars recently took equally extreme measures, dropping several new Volvos multiple times from a crane, from a height of 30 metres. A total of ten Volvos, of different models, were dropped from the crane several times. Before the drop, the company’s safety engineers made exact calculations about how much pressure and force each car needed to be exposed to in order to reach the desired level of damage. Dropping cars from such a height created enough damage to adequately simulate the damage found in the most extreme crash scenarios such as single-car accidents at ver...

A fairly easy job for American automobile stylists around 1950 was the creation of a design for a convertible.  Mostly it required razing the top off a coupé or two-door sedan and replacing it with a retractible canvas top design.  And those designs were largely shaped by engineering requirements. That task became more difficult to a greater or lesser degree when the shape of the source of the derivation interfered.  Below are images of some American convertibles from that era whose canvas top (and related sheet metal) designs were more or less awkward.  Unless noted, the photos are of cars listed for sale. Gallery First, a 1949 Chevrolet (Mecum auction photo).  General Motors stylists were at the top of their game, and the raised convertible top is attractive.  This was in spite of the rounded trunk lid and the body shape falling off towards the rear, two elements that might have led to a less satisfactory result. This 1949 Hudson Commodore 8 convertible r...