Quote:
Originally Posted by Zabo
(Post 7246136)
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This is what happens when you design ala trend-du-jour... elements on everyone's cars start looking annoyingly similar. Much of this is obviously intentional. If a particular style is wildly (or even just moderately nowadays) successful everyone else starts trying to copy it to cash in on the style "trend" rather than put in the time and effort to compete with something original. Companies are so desperate for sales, many will do practically anything to generate revenue. Compare this to 45 years ago when muscle cars were born; there was absolutely no question what company's products you were looking at from Jaguar, Porsche, Ferrari, Lotus, Mercedes, BMW, Chevrolet, Ford, Cadillac, etc. Even though they may have been competing for the same market segment each manufacturer took pride in producing something that was uniquely theirs. They would have been embarrassed and ashamed to produce a me-too look-alike product to their competitor. That wasn't competing, that was plagiarizing.
That doesn't mean they weren't inspired by each other; they were but they still put in the effort to make their own products distinct. The same thing was going on in music. There were many bands on the scene, but there was no question about who you were listening to when you heard the Beatles, Beach Boys, Byrds, Moody Blues, Led Zeppelin, Hendrix, Eagles, Boston, etc. Now so much of the music scene sounds so similar it no longer matters who's actually performing; the songs, styles and music are so plastic and homogenized they're pretty much generic.
I'm encouraged by the C7; it shows a willingness to lead instead of follow and I hope that same spirit is alive and well in the Camaro design team. The new Mustang looks very safe and tame; no chances taken; nothing bold or exciting. That kind of approach never wins the gold medal. It may be good enough to take a silver or bronze, but the opportunity to take the gold is wide open now for the Camaro design team. I hope they really go for it! |
