#Hyundai Unveils Retro-Futuristic "45" At Frankfurt #AutoShow [Auto Styling News]

Hyundai Motor has unveiled a stunning look at the future with it's retro "45" Concept.

The 45, envisioned as an electric vehicle signalling a more electrified future for the Korean automaker, was unveiled at the 2019 Frankfurt auto show. The angular concept looks in many ways like something the German hosts would create, especially those at Volkswagen.

But it's not a 1970s era VW Rabbit or Golf they're evoking. "To Define Future Through Heritage" is the slogan the company used to highlight the car, which has many visual cues to the company's 1974 Pony Coupe concept.

The concept, "reimagines the in-car experience in the age of electrification and autonomous technologies," says Hyundai. And does so by evoking "emotional connections from the past to create a consumer lifestyle brand for the future of mobility."

The angular and stunning 45 foreshadows a new era of Hyundai’s automotive design focused on electrification, autonomous technologies and intelligent design. The progressive 45 puts a twist on a 45-year-old icon, the 1974 Pony Coupe Concept, and of course looks thoroughly like a 21st Century vehicle.

In fact, the sharp angles are a radical departure from the current extremely curvaceous lineup. The front view is dominated by beautiful, squared off headlamps, that look a bit like the car is rather impatient with us for not buying it right away.

The iconic character of 45 is defined by its monocoque-style body, aerodynamic and light-weight design inspired by aircraft of the 1920s. The car’s name also owes itself in part to the 45-degree angles at the front and rear, forming a diamond-shaped silhouette that further foreshadows the design direction of future EV models.

"As an icon of Hyundai, the 45 clearly reveals how Hyundai heads towards the future through heritage," said SangYup Lee, Senior Vice President and the Head of Hyundai Design Center. "Through the 45 built upon our design language 'Sensuous Sportiness', Hyundai wants to present our vision on how we want to reshape people's in-car lifestyle in the era of electrification and autonomous driving."

The 45 reinterprets the concept’s distinctive lattice radiator grille with a ‘kinetic cube lamp’ design. The iconic front-end presence with the kinetic cube lamps evokes analogue emotions, while at the same time applying cutting-edge technologies. It also takes Hyundai’s lighting architecture to the next level, allowing people to instantly recognize the vehicle at a distance.

By exhibiting a modernized fastback profile, 45 epitomizes stability and dynamism, characteristics accentuated by the vehicle’s significant width and forward-oriented posture.

As a progressive electric vehicle, new technology is visible in 45’s design. At the bottom of the door, a special garnish highlights its long-distance battery capability and, through active LED lights, drivers can intuitively know how much longer they can drive even before they get in the car. These thoughtful elements are designed for a user who is experiencing an EV for the first time.

#KIA Wows NY Auto Show With HabaNiro Concept [Auto Styling News]

At the New York Auto Show, KIA unveiled its vision of the future of electric vehicles, the HabaNiro concept. It's a fully-electric, all-wheel drive, four-seat car with an All Electric Range of more than 300 miles, level-five autonomous model. KIA claims that this is no "fanciful supercar that will likely never be built," but instead, a prescient look into the future.

Tom Kearns, vice president of design for Kia Design Center America, said the designers wanted the concept to be "comfortable navigating city streets, carving turns on a coastal road and off-roading with confidence to remote wilderness adventures." In other words, he says, "for everyone and nearly everything."

It's always pretty bold - and sometimes a huge error - to try to be everything to all people, but we have to take these pitches at face value as marketing hype, understanding that 99% of the time, these concepts, if built, will be headed to the dangerous terrain of the nearest Wal-Mart and mall parking lots.

But there's no doubt it looks bold. With its rugged 20-inch wheels, short overhangs and big haunches, the HabaNiro exudes coiled muscularity and capability.

The HabaNiro design is defined by the energetic interplay between the protective metallic grey cladding that encompasses the front wheels and extends onto the body sides and the bright
Lava Red" aero panel that defines the C-pillar and extends up and over the roof. The gull-wing doors may be mentioned in passing here, and then ignored, since they cannot be mass produced and won't make it to production.

These two elements create a vibrant energy and a forward-leaning posture that suggests the HabaNiro is ready to pounce. This latent forward energy is reinforced by the single elegant character line that wraps around the front end, extends through the shoulder, and ends dynamically pointed at the rear wheels.

The HabaNiro grille resembles a shark’s snout, complete with a slit-like gap full of gloss black aluminum “teeth” similar to the cooling blades found on high-end electronic equipment. The EV chassis architecture allowed the wheels to be pushed to the corners, giving the HabaNiro its wide and confident stance.

The rear of the HabaNiro is surprisingly bland, with a long panel rear gate that is without character. They must fix this in production if it make it to car lots. 

Satin aluminum skid plates, milled billet aluminum tow hooks, anodized Lava Red aluminum accents, and the embossed HabaNiro name complement the upscale look while suggesting the vehicle’s adventure-ready attitude.

#KIA Unveils Handsome "Imagine" Electric Concept At #GenevaMotorShow [Auto Styling News]

Kia Motors has revealed its new all-electric concept car, ‘Imagine by Kia’, at the 2019 Geneva International Motor Show, and it's quite handsome.

Coherently drawing together elements of a muscular sports utility vehicle, a sleek and athletic family saloon, and a versatile and spacious crossover, the company says the Imagine is intentionally designed to not sit within the industry’s predefined vehicle categories.

"Automotive design is about capturing the heart and making it beat that bit faster for that bit longer. We believe that there’s absolutely no reason why that should change simply because the car is electric,” says Gregory Guillaume, Vice President of Design for Kia Motors Europe. “That’s why our all-electric concept is designed to not only get your pulse racing, but to also signpost our holistic and emotional approach to electrification.:

The concept is KIA's first pure electric four-door passenger car. The Imagine is underpinned by a low-mounted, induction-charged battery pack that powers a compact drivetrain.

Reinterpreting Kia’s iconic ‘tiger nose’ grille, Imagine features a bold new illuminated ‘tiger mask’ that encircles the main LED headlamp units. Separated by horizontal ‘eyelids’, the dipped and main beam units are housed with a single block of clear acrylic glass, creating the effect of piercing eyes floating free of visible support.

The look is "striking" says KIA, but one has to be cautious about analogies to eyes, eyebrows and eyelids on headlamps, as Chrysler's infamous, unintentionally hilarious ads for the 2011 200 illustrated. 

One could easily also compare them less charitably to a raccoon's "mask," although the look is undeniably handsome, and instantly recognizable, much like the headlights of  a Dodge Charger or Ford Mustang, or the menacing tail lamps of a late model Dodge Durango.

From the side, the curvature of the vehicle really is striking, most noticeable, the huge C-pillar, which surely will be either reduced in a production model, because it greatly reduces visibility, even while it looks amazing. But the gently sloping windscreen, sharply bending roofline and long rear window give the car a rakish, masculine shape. A single pane of glass covers the windscreen and the roof, which may or may not survive into production (surely it's expensive.)

There's a shoulder-line crease running along the entire length of both sides of the car, continued in the rear with horizontal tail lamps, which are housed within deep-set tunnels to create a three-dimensional effect, with the looped lights extending outwards as they grow in size.

A single sheet of glass is used for both the windscreen and roof, flowing from the base of the A-pillar and over the cabin to create a vast sky-window, before tapering into a double-bubble over the rear passenger compartment.

The front turn signals, located high up on the sharp-edged hood, feature illuminated glowing elements that appear to float in fins of clear acrylic glass.

In  a world of look-alike SUVs, the rear of this vehicle alone will make it stand out. A symphony of curved glass and sheetmetal, tail lights that look inspiring, and an intended roofline that seems to be being hugged by the C-Pillars, there's no way to mistake it for any other vehicle.

Let's hope SOME of this makes it past the bean-counters and to the streets.

INTERIOR DASH JOKE
Showing that car designers have a keen, even wicked, sense of humor (one hopes!) 21 individual ultra high-resolution screens curve their synchronized way across the top of the dashboard in a layout that is (says KIA) "at the same time both casual and coordinated." According to Ralph Kluge, Kia Motors Europe’s general manager of interior design, "These 21 incredibly thin screens are a humorous and irreverent riposte to the on-going competition between some automotive manufacturers to see who can produce the car with the biggest screen."

#BMW iNEXT Revealed; Points To New Design Direction [Auto Styling News]

Citing "human-centered design" and a radical new front end, the 2019 iteration of the electric BMW Vision iNEXT debuted at the Los Angeles Auto Show this year.

And you're either going to love or hate the styling, from the first time you lay eyes on it.

BMW says the Vision iNEXT "provides an insight into the future of personal mobility." And it sure looks "futuristic." If produced as-is (which is of course highly unlikely) it would be extremely distinctive on the road. And yes, it's almost all about that front end.

The BMW's traditional "kidney" shaped grille remains in place, sort of, in a grossly elongated form. Taking its cue, perhaps, from modern Lexus design, this grille has metastasized to cover a full third of the front of this crossover. 

The car otherwise is angular, and frankly impressive. BMW calls it the "i design" language, and its meant to signal how all its vehicles will look in upcoming years. Large front-end scoops, which, like large grilles, are a popular trend, find their place here, as do the thin, super-bright headlamps. The traditional BMW red, white and black badge seems too small for this design, however, smothered by the humongous grille.

There's a lot "new" to this car, especially technologically. Autonomous driving, Connectivity, Electrification and Services (ACES) – have been incorporated into a single vehicle. Some elements, like cameras standing in for the absent side mirrors, clearly won't make it to production.

The concept car's color - the stunning Liquid Greyrose Copper paint finish, which is said to gradually change in shade from warm copper to dark rose - hopefully finds its way onto production cars, and becomes a trend.

The side view is praiseworthy, in that it doesn't look like every other car on the road. More wagon-like than SUV in stance, this car would be recognizable if it comes to America in this form. The "suicide" doors won't make it to production, but the "floating" roof gimmick likely will, and that would be one regret.

The exterior features powerfully sculpted surfaces curved like muscles onto the flanks, meant to project unbridled dynamism and give the exterior greater impact.

At the front, the windscreen merges seamlessly into a large panoramic roof. At the rear, the horizontal lines and surfaces create a wide and dynamic stance, and the slim rear lights cut deep into the car’s tail.

The air flows along the roof of the BMW Vision iNEXT all the way to its trailing edge, and this combines with a diffuser – illuminated for extra effect – said to enhance the car's aerodynamics.

Aside from the "floating roof" concept below it, the diffuser is an attractive styling element and a highly functional one, too: besides its positive influence over the car's aerodynamics, it meant to also increase electric range.

And make no mistake - this car is coming, in some form or another. BMW says the iNEXT's first production model will roll off the assembly line at Plant Dingolfing starting in 2021.

2019 #Audi #Q8 Luxury Mini-Ute Features Coupe-Like Elegance, SUV Seating [Auto Styling News]

Sharing a name (Q8) with a Middle Eastern nation probably appeals to a wealthy market there, if that was the thinking behind the name of the 2019 Audi Q8, which shares a platform with the Bentley Bentayga, Lamborghini Urus, and Porsche Cayenne, and aspires to the same luxury lineage.

Combining the elegance of a coupe with the functionality of an SUV, the Audi Q8 debuted in June at the Audi Brand Summit in Shenzhen, China. It will hit US showrooms at the end of 2018.

Inside, the five-passenger SUV offers advanced connectivity, infotainment and driver assistance systems, combined with capable driving dynamics, to set a new standard as the top SUV model from the Audi brand.

The Q8 introduces the brand’s new SUV design language. And it is at once stunning and aggressive. The large, single frame grille with its octagonal shape, combined with massive, highly contoured air inlets, give the vehicle a commanding presence on the road. The LED headlamp fixtures are blessedly angular, as is the entire vehicle, forever putting to bed the "upside-down bathtub" look of the mid-to-late 2000s.

The sloping roofline ends in gently inclined D-pillars and the pronounced wheel arches pay homage to the vehicle’s Quattro DNA, and hint at a couple-like shape, though not as much as, say, the Mercedes CLA. Along with the standard color palate of whites, grays and of course, black, the Q8 will be offered in a stunning "Dragon Orange" (shown here) or a brilliant "Navarre Blue."

A rather handsomely wrought light strip connects the tail lights at the rear of the vehicle, and in an homage to the original Audi Quattro, a black surface underlines and connects this strip. The indenture of the strip is mimicked in the light fixtures, themselves.

As is becoming common on all five-doors and SUVs, a sun-shielding overhang protrudes over the top of the rear window, which will both keep rain and sun from the glass. Rear visibility seems like it will be slightly hindered by the small rear window and somewhat large-looking C-pillars, as is the case with many other 5-door mini-utes.

But the vehicle overall has a gorgeous look to it - more car-like than SUV - which leads one to call this a Mini-Ute, or a full-on Ute. The available 22-inch wheels will definitely give it that appearance, despite the long-ish hood, which takes it solidly into the "car" realm.

#VW Shows Off Sexy #Arteon At Geneva Auto Show [Auto Styling News]

The lackluster sales of the Passat/CC has led VW to replace it with a dramatically styled replacement that - lo, and behold - will actually go on sale later this year as a 2018 model! (*In Europe. Probably later in the USA.)

Shocking, perhaps, that a concept (itself based on the GTE Coupe Concept from 2015) will actually go on sale, unlike the numerous iterations of the 1960s VW Bug, the latest of which we won't dignify with a comment. What's even more shocking is that this is a really beautiful design.

Dr. Elmar-Marius Licharz, head of the mid- and full-size vehicle lines for Volkswagen, raves about its design.

"The car looks simply great – it both arouses emotions and creates desirability," he said. "Many of the details of the show car have made it into real production."

Yes, it does. The company is calling the car a "fastback," which technically means a car's roofline merges smoothly into its tail in one, smooth, seamless curve. Indeed  that's the case here, though if its meant to evoke the old VW Bug, that's not the case, but it's still beautifully wrought. (The Type 3 Fastback sedan of the late 1960s is a better analogy, as the company points out.)

The name Arteon is a portmanteau of "art" and "eon," the suffix that cleverly signifies all high-end luxury models within the Volkswagen brand worldwide. The Arteon’s integrated grille, LED headlamps and daytime running lights with chrome trim that connects all three elements presents the new “face” of the Volkswagen brand.

Compared to the outgoing CC, the Arteon is longer and wider, while its fastback profile allows for a true hatchback trunk. It’s also space efficient, with up to 55 cubic feet of cargo space when the rear seats are folded down.

LED taillights and 20-inch wheels combined with a SEXY shoulder line that runs the length of the body, highlighting the Arteon’s sporty nature.

THE AUDI PROBLEM
The car does have a problem, however, and it's a problem I call "the Audi Problem."

The company's website says, "while the Arteon offers a premium appearance, it will not carry a huge price tag." Lichartz is quoted as saying it's "the perfect car for people who appreciate great style and great value for money. That is how we are challenging premium car makers without becoming one ourselves." While Volkswagen assuredly is NOT a luxury car company, it's sure approaching one when it puts out such a high-end vehicle as this, and one like the much-maligned CC.

And the problem with all that is that Volkswagen HAS a luxury brand: Audi. And it undercuts sales of new and even used Audis when it puts out a "near-luxury" luxury car such as this.

Audi has long struggled to get itself back on top after a decade or two of floundering sales with cars that looked like, well, flounders. This car, admittedly beautiful and luxurious, is part of Volkswagen's "Audi Problem," because it most assuredly cuts into sales of its A3 entry-level car - which strangely resembles, and perhaps, the Arteon even RIVALS with its gorgeous sheetmetal curves

As KIA is learning with its poorly selling upscale K900 model, a non-luxury car company is NOT a luxury car company, nor can it be. Leave that to the upscale version of your brand (or in the case of KIA, *build* a luxury brand) and then don't try to compete with it.

#Bentley Set To Unveil Sexy 6e Electric Supercar [Auto Styling News]

Making its debut at the 2017 Geneva International Motor Show in mid-March, Bentley's EXP 12 Speed 6e concept represents a bold statement on the future of electric cars, and of luxury mobility.

Designed to transform the EV sector in both concept and execution, the EXP 12 Speed 6e fuses the unrivaled hand craftsmanship for which Bentley is famous, with electric performance, heart-stopping design and the range of a true grand tourer.

Bentley aims to create the world's first true luxury electric sports car, Will they succeed? The exterior screams, "Yes, they probably will."

The exterior body is a sleek expression of sports car design, inspired by contemporary architecture, aircraft fuselages and the geometry of the natural world. That's what Bentley's press release states. What it really looks like - in many respects - is the latest version of their Continental. Which isn't bad news by any stretch. Both are utterly gorgeous.

In a clear evolution of Bentley’s design DNA, it takes the brand's trademark muscular haunch and powerline to exhilarating new heights. The short front overhang, long bonnet and wide, planted rear aspect all contribute to an unmistakable sense of speed, while the iconic matrix grille features an exquisite smoked stainless steel finish. Contrasting copper highlights offer subtle acknowledgement of the car’' status as a fully electric vehicle, while an illuminated ‘6’ logo can be seen through the grille.

The tail lamps are smooth ovals that will punctuate the darkness and look like nothing else on the road. That's important, when many luxury vehicles resemble their own company's sub-luxury cars because they raid their parts bin, or somehow ending up like pricier Hyundais.

Throughout the car, form coexists with function to support a more sustainable future. The twin hood scoops, for example, are actually functional, acting as heat sinks to keep down the temperature of the car's batteries and drivetrain, without the need for additional cooling tech.

Like the Tesla and other electrics, the 6e boasts neck-breaking acceleration and all the latest tech inside. Will this be enough to give the automaker an advantage in the luxury market as well as the electric market? Hard to say. All that can be said is this is one sexy beast!

#Honda's Self-Driving NeuV #Concept Reads Emotions, Drives Strangers To Work [Auto Styling News]

Honda has unveiled the self-driving electric NeuV concept at the 2017 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas that's part AI, part robotics, and part Uber.

The NeuV concept (pronounced "new-v" and stands for New Electric Urban Vehicle) was designed around the fact that privately-owned vehicles sit idle 96 percent of the time, while the owner sleeps, works or is otherwise away from the car. The NeuV seeks to create new value for its owner by functioning as an automated ride-sharing vehicle, picking up and dropping off customers at local destinations when the owner isn't using the car.

Yes, you read that correctly. Your car will drive around and pick up strangers while you're at work. Amazing. And kinda scary. But if this self-aware UberBot can make money on the side (and shares it with us!) then who are we not to embrace this change.

The NeuV also can sell energy back to the electric grid during times of high demand when it's not in use. These actions alone have the potential to create a new business model for enterprising customers who want to "monetize" their cars, says Honda.

The two-seater also functions as helpful Artificial Intelligence assistant, using an "emotion engine", an emerging technology developed by Honda and SoftBank.

Called HANA (Honda Automated Network Assistant), in its application in the NeuV, the "emotion engine" will learn from the driver by detecting the emotions behind the driver's judgments and then, based on the driver's past decisions, make new choices and recommendations. HANA can check on the driver's emotional well-being, make music recommendations based on mood, and support the owner's daily driving routine.

One pictures HANA saying, "You look really agitated by this heavy traffic, Dave. Can I take over the wheel for a bit?"

The NeuV features a full touch panel interface enabling both the driver and passenger to access a simple and convenient user experience.

So, how does the NeuV look?

In shape, one could make comparisons to any number of city car concepts, most recently the Swiss Rinspeed Oasis (debuting at the same show) and the Russian "Mirrow Provocator." Basically, both are really, really square. The boxy Scion IQ also comes to mind, from the front, anyway, as does the VW "BUDD-e" electric van concept, in style as well as in its pretensions to tech supremacy.

The two-seater has a good-sized storage area in back, and an electric skateboard for "last mile" transit, which in the concept, hangs in the back window like a shotgun in a country boy's pickup truck.

Outstanding outward visibility is achieved by a headerless windshield and a dramatically sloping belt line that is said to make maneuvering easy. (I say "said to" because this is so obviously a one-off that wont' see production in this decade that's all speculation how it drives.

The rear features tail lams that are, um, dramatic (to say the least.) They make anything Volvo has ever done seem TAME by comparison. Arching over both the sides and top of the rear "lip" these LED lights are sure to make it abundantly clear that its coming to a halt. Heck, it will be clear to the entire city it's driving in!

It's obvious to everyone that Syd Mead - the Visual Futurist for the 1982 film classic "Blade Runner," was prescient about the direction of vehicles by the end of the Twenty-Teens. Like, Nostradamus prescient!

#BMW Debuts X2 #Concept At Paris Motor Show [Auto Styling News]

The BMW Group chose the Paris Motor Show 2016 to present the BMW Concept X2. This new addition to the compact segment has a distinctive design that stands apart from that of the other X models and also draws on the BMW Group’s history of coupe-making. The result is a compact concept exuding urban sporting appeal.

“The BMW Concept X2 is a vehicle for active people looking for a combination of enjoyment and practicality,” explains Adrian van Hooydonk, Senior Vice President BMW Group Design. “The concept displays a new and exciting facet of the BMW brand within the compact segment.”

The design, says BMW, is, "a successful blend of dynamic appeal and solidity." It certainly appears dynamic and solid. The overall low-slung proportions, small greenhouse, long hood, and slick back end make for a modern, fresh look, from all directions.

It definitely looks like the sporty coupe-like vehicle BMW was going for. The large wheels, long wheelbase and forward slanting C-pillar help.


The upper section of the car's flanks is dominated by sporty design elements. The elongated roofline and slim window graphic create a stretched feel. The greenhouse tapers towards the rear, forming an athletic shoulder.

The window graphic surrounds and integrated two-piece mirror bases (both made from brushed aluminum) add an extra touch of class. The thickness of the aluminum profile plays a contrasting role here. The window graphic is rounded off by a dynamic interpretation of the hallmark BMW Hofmeister kink. Like the logo on the C-pillar – a classically sporty coupe design cue straight out of the BMW history books – this represents a singularly unmistakable detail. The large, air-channeling roof spoiler in body color lies flat over the blackened rear window. Extending from the C-pillars, it gives the rear of the BMW Concept X2 its sporty contours.

Lower down the sides of the car, customary X-model features hog the limelight. Muscular surfaces, large wheel arches and stylistic underfloor protection around the door sills form an intriguing contrast with the dynamic elements further up.

Focusing for a moment on more detailed features, the surfaces of the car’s flanks bring together large, smoothly modeled sections with precise edges, showcasing the car’s athletic presence. The dramatic surfacing also emphasizes the almost squared-off wheel arches familiar from the car’s BMW X stablemates. In them sit large, 21-inch light-alloy wheels, whose striking, double-spoke, bi-color design with a strong sense of three-dimensionality continues the contrast between dynamic appeal and solidity into the car’s details. Tyres with chunky treads point to the potential for fun off the beaten track, while door sills in body colour with integral hexagonal elements set the seal on the robust appearance of the car’s sides at their lowest point.

The front-end design of the BMW Concept X2 also fuses dynamic elements with a robust use of forms. Clearly contoured volumes and subtle edges create a front-end impression with presence and sporting appeal in abundance.

The heavily raked windshield appears to extend seamlessly into the dark panoramic roof and teams up with the newly interpreted double kidney grille and large air intakes to give the front end a slow-slung look. The hood and front end look enormous, though that could be because of the windshield's curvature, but regardless, the car will have incredible presence when seen coming at you down the road.

The kidneys turn the familiar trapezoidal shape of BMW grilles on its head and instead widen from top to bottom. This clear statement accentuates the unique nature of the BMW Concept X2, as well as the width of the front and the car’s solid stance. Graphically modeled and heavily angled bars within the kidney grille create an undeniable “shark nose” effect, bringing additional depth and sculptural richness to this area of the car. One hopes this all makes it to production, because they're undeniably attractive.

The flat contours of the headlight tubes help to give the classical BMW twin circular look a more hexagonal form. The laser light technology used by the headlights enables very slim light graphics, while the blue X in the center of the hexagonal tubes adds a further technical accent.

The front of this sleek beast is dominated by the large central air intake below the traditional - but extremely large - kidney grille, which is functional, since it helps to quench the Concept X2's thirst for cooling air. The smaller, triangular air intakes on either side highlight the car’s broad stance. The robust, horizontal slats of the air intakes provide a solid counterpoint to the dynamic design of the front and add further detailed emphasis of the front-end’s traditional X-model character.

The rear of the BMW Concept X2 rounds off the exterior design in distinctive style. Width-accentuating elements such as the slim rear window and horizontal lines reduce the perceived height of the BMW Concept X2 and underscore its sporting pretensions. From this angle you can also see how the rear window emerges elegantly from below the air-channeling spoiler and underlines the car’s sporting character. The prominent tapering of the glasshouse along the sides of the Concept X2 also catches the eye, forming a powerful shoulder area, allowing it to highlight the car’s broad, muscular stance.

Let's hope this design - or most of it - makes it to market. This looks like a nearly complete design study, so it's likely a 2019 design at the latest.

Why #Bentley Passed On Building A Real Winner [Auto Styling News]

The latest and most stunning design concept from Bentley is the EXP 10 Speed 6 Concept, revealed way back in 2015's Geneva motor show. The question must be asked: why hasn't it been built? (There's actually an answer. Read on.)

The Speed Six name recalls the gorgeous sporting Bentley of the late 1920s. And its design also evokes earlier eras.

As one would expect, it's a top of the line luxury sports car. The two-seater may indeed give a strong indication that the company is thinking about a lighter, sportier Bentley to sit alongside the Continental GT grand tourer family. "A bold vision for a brand with a bold future" said CEO Wolfgang Dürheimer, as the car was revealed.

The massive grille, the teardrop headlamps, the wide hood, aggressive rear haunches, heightened by the large tires, are all heart-pounding, pupil dilating features that guarantee the ride will be life-changing. Clearly, this is lightning in a bottle. And anything other than "conventional" or boring, two words easily, and traditionally, given to British luxury cars.

So, where is it? What could delay such a sure thing? Fear. And timidity. And convention.

Instead of pursuing this monster, the company went for a safer track - an SUV. A vehicle no one wanted, no one asked for, but seemed safer. And at easily north of $230,000 a pop, that's a hefty premium for what some might call "just another SUV." While it certainly will have its fans, it honestly looks like just another family mobile, like so many others, and like every other brand has succumbed to over the past decade.

The good news is that the all-new 2016 Continental has incorporated SOME of the looks and flair of the 6, especially those amazing rear shoulders.

But frankly, Bentley should have taken the risk with the 6 - a risk that would have paid off in far more prestige for the brand, and one that could have helped it attract more fans for doing more than "playing it safe."

4th-Gen #Lincoln Navigator Concept Goes Big, Sprouts X-Wings [Auto Styling News]

This March, Lincoln Motor Company released its fourth iteration of the Navigator - a vehicle it launched in 1997 that gave rise to all other SUVs.

That seems very long ago, and Lincoln is now playing catch-up to many others in the class, notably Cadillac's Escalade.

But just ahead of the North American Auto Show last month, it released it's fourth generation concept, hoping that "going big" (literally) would have an impact. Visually: it's "mission accomplished."

Featuring massive, gull-wing doors, gargantuan 20+ inch pinwheel-style wheels, and a grand-staircase step ladder entrance to both front and back seats simultaneously, the Navigator looks more like a small house - or a subway car, or a yacht - than a vehicle meant for the road.

But that's all part of the calculation. One can see a CEO as well as a rapper entering and exiting this thing with style and panache, with paparazzi all the while snapping away.

Is all of this practical? Of course not. It's extremely easy to discount the enormous gull-wing doors and the three-step entrance as the stuff of car show concept fantasy-land. The doors, which expose both front and back occupants to the elements - not to mention the aforementioned paparazzi - every time they're opened for exit or entrance, are flawed as as a design element.

That said, in the era of the Tesla X, which successfully integrated them into a PRODUCTION vehicle (and solved the problem of scuffing up the neighboring car each time they're opened) one cannot discount the idea that they'll see actual daylight. One designer, in fact, noted that the doors alone could cause Chinese millionaires (a target audience for this vehicle) to throw heaps of cash at Lincoln. So there's that. In fact, the entire "over-the-topness" of the design may be attributable to the Chinese market, which goes wild for such extravagant-looking beasts.

Other than these striking design elements, one sees a Range Rover pedigree in the long, sleek horizontal design language of the side panels - unsurprising given the past connection between the companies until Rover's sale to Tata in 2008.

I'd note the more than passing resemblance also to the Ford Flex in its side architecture - that is, if anyone knew what I was talking about, since the Flex is a non-advertised red-headed stepchild over at Ford, apparently.

The front grille and lamps deserve notice here, as well, since they're vastly improved and far more elegant than in previous generations. The grille features a massive, but gently rounded, trapezoid with mesh and a lighted ornament in its center that is elegant, impressive and would be unmistakable for any other vehicle on the road. The headlamps are huge - befitting the entire concept, and don't offend, though one could say they somewhat resemble styles one could see on any other model. Hyundai comes to mind. Still, they are deserving of respect, straddling this grille and pointing to non-functioning air intakes that contribute mightily to the horizontal-ness of the design.

Despite this blog's obsession with exterior styling, one must take a moment to note that the rear door panel (which sadly resembles too much a Toyota) opens up  to a built-in closet of sorts, where the driver can put his suits, shoes and brief case in a rather elaborate set-up.

All rear seats feature wide-screen TVs and the blond wood and leather are amazingly attractive and are clearly a step up from any other American SUV - or they will be, if they make it past the bean-counters.

All-in-all, this is a grand and notable concept that deserves some respect for "going big."

Staving off the fears of bankruptcy and oblivion that haunted it just a few years back, A Detroit News article notes that Ford has committed funds to the Ford Kentucky truck plant that will build the next Navigator, has signed a four-year contract there with unions.

Not that recessions can't change everything, but the Navigator and other Lincoln models are clearly stepping up their game and are making an effort to keep Lincoln Motor Company in business for the short-term, anyway. They're betting the farm on the Chinese buying enough of these land yachts to keep the Lincoln brand afloat. And they just might.

More photos, from the Lincoln Motors site: http://www.lincoln.com/navigator-concept/

2013 GMC Acadia haunted by Saturn's Ghost

The folks over at the Car & Driver blog should be commended for their sharp eyes.

Someone there noticed that the 2013 GMC Acadia, debuting at the Chicago Auto Show, bears a startling similarity to the 2008 Saturn Outlook. One could truly say it's a dead-on copy.

Leaving aside the question of why GMC still exists as a brand, it seems that GM has frugally raided the parts bin - so much so, it's an exact replica of the dead car company's former crossover vehicle. (Acadia above, Outlook below, in the photo.)

While we applaud C&D for their sharp eyes as well as GM's frugality in these tough times, alas, we don't believe the new Acadia will sell as well as even the lackluster Saturns, but hey, you've got to give them props for trying something ... new. Well, maybe not.