Wheels for One
The Royal College of Art recently unveiled some eye-catching car designs. The concept below, by Paul Howse, is rather fetching, if perhaps a tad impractical. I mean, for one thing, where does the shopping go?
More. Related: Vintage Wheels, Smart Car Monster Truck.
Um, where does the engine go?
I’m guessing there’s been a breakthrough and it’s powered by art.
Any cargo can be strapped to the fender like a slain deer on its way to the butcher.
Can-do.
Here’s a comment from the linked story by “hughmom”:
“These vehicles are studies into the language form of transport not the engineering principles of it.
Buliding better cars is easy, making people accept discontinuities in the very embodied culture of the car is something else entirely.
These students are doing an amazing job of provoking the socio-cultural understanding of transport using the current high technology vernacular and yes that vernacular currently is awash with what some people might refer to as political correctness.
But this is the way to real change. Not by saying this wont work or these are bad ideas but saying what about these ideas affects you and in what way? Thats design led research at its most pure.”
“Building better cars is easy.”
Cue sounds of car designers thumping their desks and tearing their hair. I can’t help thinking that art students, like sportsmen and musicians, should keep their mouths shut and get on with whatever it is they’re actually meant to be doing.
“These students are doing an amazing job of provoking the socio-cultural understanding of transport…”
*guffaw*
“These students are doing an amazing job of provoking the socio-cultural understanding of transport using the current high technology vernacular and yes that vernacular currently is awash with what some people might refer to as political correctness.”
…in the same way, and to the same degree, that my son’s first crayon drawing of a dog was a bold and delightfully impertinent challenge to the stodgy, traditionalist notions of canine physiology.
The designs do look rather pretty and would be home in a movie set in some utopian future. They remind me a bit of the cars in Minority Report. All shiny and rounded surfaces. A shame they don’t conform to aerodynamics.
On the subject of car design, I’m longing for the days of the 50’s and 60’s when design mattered more than aerodynamic performance. We’re approaching car standardization as the ideal shape for pushing through the air while on four wheels is becoming known and required in order to provide high fuel economy. The Prius is the shape of the future. The doorstop-car might be efficient, but give me fins and big chrome grills.
Candice,
I’m also partial to sculpted fins and bubble-domes, just as I was at the age of five; but it seems to me there’s never been a greater variety of car designs, many of which are impressive both technologically and aesthetically. I was in a large car park recently and it dawned on me that as a five-year-old I’d have never imagined such variety of materials, design and colour.
Süper
David,
Perhaps I just long for a vanished era of big cars. It might be a difference of geography and culture- I am American and you are British. When Ford released the latest design of the Mustang I rejoiced. It evokes the design of the 60’s. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Mustang.
Growing up in the 80’s, cars were ugly. I learned then that cars of a bygone era were more attractive as my dad and I went to car shows. My preferences were fixed, and cars such as the Prius offend my sensibilities. Living in Southern California is a daily struggle. The Prii abound, swarming over the highways and byways spreading their doorstop aesthetic.
As an aside, what do you think the lifetime maintenance is of one of those hybrids? New batteries are expensive and parts will all be dealer-only.
Candice,
The only things I know about the Prius are what I learned from South Park. The Thin Man’s a bit of a petrol head, though; you could always collar him.
Candice
I too, feel a bit robbed of cool cars – I learned to drive in the late 70s and started buying cars in the 80s – and beauties like the 64 – 73 Mustang, for example, had bloated up into the 79-93 model – YUK!
Many of the models I really loved were by that time RUINED by the stupid “Californian” Bumpers that by then were required. They spoiled the MG-B and the Fiat X1/9 for example. Mmmmmm Fiat X1/9 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiat_X1/9
But the 80s also had some TRULY ugly cars – by design. In fact the Telegraph has been running a series on the 100 ugliest cars as voted by readers:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/main.jhtml?xml=/motoring/2008/08/25/mfuglycars123.xml
Screw the Prius – the heavy metals in the batteries will make disposal a nightmare – not to mention the fact that the carbon footprint of transporting the battery components twice round the world to make the bloody things probably means that a Prius will have a much bigger env. impact than a standard car.
If you want to be really green the current best bets (IMHO) are the “Bluemotion” VWs or the BMW 118d (BMWs “Efficient Dynamics” package is very clever)- capable of 70mpg by UK standards.
You have to admit the design of that car is quite sleek. It’s almost like an F1 car, though the art students certainly made an effort to give the vehicle a unique design. Well, concepts like this are nice. Out of the box, perhaps, but a bit of knowledge can still be gained from them.