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Old 05-21-2013, 06:18 AM   #53
Wizard1183

 
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Drives: ABM SS2/RS M6
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Lafayette,LA
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Doc View Post
Mechanically the 6th gen is going to be a better car, but after seeing the "refresh" I'm more than a little worried about the looks. The back of the 2014 refresh looks boring and cheap; it doesn't look exotic, powerful, muscular or exciting in any way, shape or form. The front's "okay" but a bit out-of-balance in the design elements. The hood bulge is too wide, the hood vent looks like an after-market JC Whitney-esque add-on. I understand and agree with the value of the hood vent, just not thrilled with the design/looks.

While a muscle car is clearly about performance, it's also a serious style statement. The key word is "muscle". The designer responsible for the 5th gen understood and delivered a gorgeous, powerful, muscular design that I love to look at every time I walk into my garage. The 2014 refresh looks like 4 different committees worked on it; one for the lower front, one for the upper front, one for the hood, and one for the rear of the car. Those 4 areas do not match in look, style or feel. That's a problem and a style/design weakness.

A car design should be masterminded by one designer who "gets it" and has a clear vision of how it should look and feel. The 5th gen concept car and resulting production car clearly demonstrates what that ideal produces. Design by committee is always the lesser product.

GM Management if you read this PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE have the vision and courage to give the 6th gen design to a single designer who understands what "muscle" looks like and designs the car accordingly. You did it with the 5th gen, you can do it again. Look at how the "risk" you took paid off with the 5th gen; in reality, it wasn't a risk at all which is the lesson you should be taking away from the experience with 5th gen sales.

A bold, muscular design should also have bold colors; don't chicken-out and put tame, "toned-down" colors on an exciting car. Pick a stop-you-dead-in-your-tracks blue; a rocking kick-ass orange; a deep ooh-aah exciting red; a solid 'this is a race car' yellow; a shimmering buttery silver; a supernatural foam white; and of course, a deep-space obsidian black. These should be people-stopping-and-taking-pictures kind of colors.

Pull all the stops out; financially this is a bread and butter car for you. Don't get gimmicky and don't chicken out. Do NOT "compete" with anybody; don't let other companies dictate what you do. Have a clear vision of what YOU would like to own and drive, then make it happen.
While I agree, its extermely hard to recreate the same success as your previous. The guy who designed the 5th gen, CANT try to out do himself with the 6th. It wont happen. But I'm going to say it was a team of designers on the 5th as well. I dont know who designed it, but whoever did needs to take a break and have someone else work on the 6th. Otherwise, the refined 5th gen (2014) will be 100x worse on a 6th gen. Theyve blown all their steam creating a VERY HIGHLY successful car. They will never duplicate it. I'm afraid there will be much dissappointment with this coming out style wise. We'll see.....
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