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PostPosted: June 26, 2022, 10:16 am 
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Last night on a new, free streaming service that Amazon just bought, called FreeVee (sp?), I watched a car documentary called "Driving Dreams." It covers a pretty good segment of my formative automotive years, the 1960s-1970s. Although, I hasten to add it was the 1950s that really got me started.

It's all about Italian designers and builders. It shows many iconic cars of the period, but the designers and craftsmen at the major design studios (Bertone, Pininfarina, Zagato, etc.) are the real story. You'll actually get to meet the people who did the real design and build work, and hear them speak about what actually took place, and how they learned their craft. If you like car design, and loved many of the cars from that era (Ferrari, Lamborghini, Alfa Romeo, Fiat, Lancia, Aston Martin and so on), you'll likely enjoy it.

Cheers,

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Damn! That front slip angle is way too large and the Ackerman is just a muddle.

Build Log: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=5886


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PostPosted: June 28, 2022, 11:54 pm 
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That was a fun flick. I thought it was quite sad how many of the designers/craftsman never got to drive or even ride in their own creations, the cars so many of us consider landmarks of automotive brilliance.

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PostPosted: June 29, 2022, 11:47 am 
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RTz wrote:
That was a fun flick. I thought it was quite sad how many of the designers/craftsman never got to drive or even ride in their own creations, the cars so many of us consider landmarks of automotive brilliance.


That was shocking, wasn't it Ron?

On the other hand, I was equally surprised when that one designer was told, "Do what you want, Martin", when he asked his boss, and head of the studio (Bertone?) what his design brief was for the project. That says two things to me. First, he had total confidence that the designer would come up with something novel and interesting. And second, he realized that he'd get more if he didn't micro-manage him during the project.

Hell will be freezing over before any current big manufacturer gives that kind of freedom to their designers. It's too bad that the design houses have lost a lot of influence now days.

I've seen the portfolios of some young designers online, and the creativity is still out there and available, but I don't know how well it's being utilized. Look at all the small and mid-size SUVs out there now. It's a struggle to tell who made them in most cases until you see the company logo on the vehicle. Boring!

Cheers,

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Damn! That front slip angle is way too large and the Ackerman is just a muddle.

Build Log: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=5886


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PostPosted: June 29, 2022, 1:15 pm 
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Lonnie-S wrote:
...Hell will be freezing over before any current big manufacturer gives that kind of freedom to their designers. It's too bad that the design houses have lost a lot of influence now days...

I was once told that the development of the BMW Z8 was the result of telling the BMW Engineering Department to make an awesome two-seat front-engine sports car, and no budget cap was given. It turned out very nice, but whether the story is true or not, who knows.

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PostPosted: June 29, 2022, 3:13 pm 
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Lonnie-S wrote:
Hell will be freezing over before any current big manufacturer gives that kind of freedom to their designers. It's too bad that the design houses have lost a lot of influence now days.

I've seen the portfolios of some young designers online, and the creativity is still out there and available, but I don't know how well it's being utilized. Look at all the small and mid-size SUVs out there now. It's a struggle to tell who made them in most cases until you see the company logo on the vehicle. Boring!


It isn't really about limiting what the designers can do at the big OEMs - more about modern safety requirements and sensible business. Good looking cars of yesterday don't meet today's pedestrian impact requirements in many countries so it doesn't make financial sense to bother bringing that car to limited markets when you can change the styling and sell it everywhere. If you want to blame someone blame Euro NCAP.

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PostPosted: June 29, 2022, 8:40 pm 
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a.moore wrote:
. . . Good looking cars of yesterday don't meet today's pedestrian impact requirements in many countries . . .


That so? Can't meet them? Well, how far do you have to punt them? :rofl:

Yeah, yeah, I know. I once worked for a very large company. It's policies and procedures were in a huge, 5 volume set of thousands of pages. Some parts were just about meeting Federal regulations, but lots of it was homegrown.

I used to joke with my bosses, that God managed to get everything into one volume - the Bible. They didn't always think I was so funny. :mrgreen:

Cheers,

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Damn! That front slip angle is way too large and the Ackerman is just a muddle.

Build Log: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=5886


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PostPosted: July 1, 2022, 12:19 am 
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Lonnie-S wrote:
RTz wrote:
That was a fun flick. I thought it was quite sad how many of the designers/craftsman never got to drive or even ride in their own creations, the cars so many of us consider landmarks of automotive brilliance.


That was shocking, wasn't it Ron?

On the other hand, I was equally surprised when that one designer was told, "Do what you want, Martin", when he asked his boss, and head of the studio (Bertone?) what his design brief was for the project. That says two things to me. First, he had total confidence that the designer would come up with something novel and interesting. And second, he realized that he'd get more if he didn't micro-manage him during the project.

Hell will be freezing over before any current big manufacturer gives that kind of freedom to their designers. It's too bad that the design houses have lost a lot of influence now days.

I've seen the portfolios of some young designers online, and the creativity is still out there and available, but I don't know how well it's being utilized. Look at all the small and mid-size SUVs out there now. It's a struggle to tell who made them in most cases until you see the company logo on the vehicle. Boring!

Cheers,

I think that we're in the early stages of a styling revolution prompted largely by the EV market. There's all these new manufacturers trying to differentiate themselves from the others. If someone actually produces a reasonably priced "roller-skate" the tend will accelerate even more because boutique manufacturers will be able to buy pre-engineered packages so that they can focus on the other stuff. Think about the post-war years and all the "specials" and "Etceterini" based on production vehicles.


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PostPosted: July 1, 2022, 9:58 am 
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I found that video on the Amazon site. Very interesting! Thanks!


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PostPosted: July 1, 2022, 3:19 pm 
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Somewhat related, and while I haven't watched it yet, I have a proper old person's car (a Jaguar), and hang out on those forums.

One big topic in circulation is about how Jaguar as a company will remain relevant in this EV revolution. Their ideas of mid-high-end luxury GT cars are going to have to compete with everyone else, and it could be a very rocky road for them. Best case, they hit the ball out of the park on styling as they've done (occasionally) in the past, convincing people to buy the products based upon looks. Worst case, no one buys them because of their somewhat spotty reliability history, and they either go under entirely, or leave the US. Back on the topic of Italian cars it'll be much the same. I'll be curious to see how long people can continue to buy gasoline-powered cars from the likes of Ferrari and others, and what they plan to replace them with to give equal excitement.

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Midlana book: Build this mid-engine Locost!, http://midlana.com/stuff/book/
Kimini book: Designing mid-engine cars using FWD drivetrains
Both available from https://www.lulu.com/


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PostPosted: July 2, 2022, 12:15 pm 
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Hey Kurt
No problem back before covid I got a Modenese cab ride in a Tesla. Very Exciting!
As for IC engines they will be missed.


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