Auto Design

Can it just be a meaningless coincidence than 50% of the winners of the Car of the Century awards presented to top personalities of the Twentieth Century have been friends for almost 40 years and although both over 70, have a lot to share under the roof of Italdesign-Giugiaro?

Late in 1999, a jury of 132 professional automotive journalists from 33 different countries, under the presidency of Lord Montagu of Beaulieu, awarded the title of Car of the Century’s to Ford’s T Model and the same awards to four top personalities in the car industry through the past century.

Their choice made up for a very impressive panel: Giorgetto Giugiaro was elected Car Designer of the Century, Ferdinand Porsche, Car Engineer of the Century, Henry Ford I Entrepreneur of the Century and Ferdinand Piëch Car Executive of the Century. Read the rest of this entry »

A commentary.

In the mid-sixties, the Milanese Inter foot-club was dominating the scene in Europe, under the leadership of coach Helenio Herrera and the ownership of Angelo Moratti. Herrera had a lot of talent and a simple, pragmatic strategy: buy all the best players, even if he could not use all of them. Read the rest of this entry »

The News.

At first, the news that Volkswagen has bought a 90.1% controlling stake into the famous Italdesign-Giugiaro, surprised – and even shocked – the entire car industry world-wide. Read the rest of this entry »

In addition to the all-new Alfa Romeo Giulietta, designed in house, there were three more Alfa Romeo dream-cars to look and scrutinize at the Geneva Motor Show opening early this March. Read the rest of this entry »

This is personal message, you need not to read, unless you are a regular visitor and have been wondering why I have sort of disappeared in the past months.

Indeed, if you have not been reading from me in recent months, this is not by chance but for a few good reasons. Read the rest of this entry »

Those of you who read Car Styling magazine might have been puzzled by my report on the Geneva motor show published in the latest (and last?) issue of the magazine.
For some mysterious accident that are more common in the printed press than you can image my text was cut and mixed up. For a more accurate reading and for the records I am publishing here the original text. Just as a sign of respect for my readers.

Official statistics show that the latest and 80th Geneva Motor Show set a new record for “premieres”, with as many as eighty “new cars”, or so, unveiled for the first time there. Now, considering the space in the magazine is not growing with the number of new cars at motor shows, let’s go straight to the point and answer the usual questions: how was the show this year. What was relevant and worth recording for the years to come?

First I would say that I saw more irrelevant, disappointing or irritating cars (read designs) than interesting and attractive ones: be for their design or their lack of innovative ideas/concepts. A short list includes the Aston Martin Cygnet,  Renault Megane CC, Renault Wind and Toyota Auris.

Read the rest of this entry »

by Enrico Leonardo Fagone.

“The automobile today is an individual means of transport within a complex system of collective transport. The relations within such a system can­not be ignored. The individual means of transport has to submit to the constraints imposed by the system. This implies a form of transport that fulfils certain fun­ctions: hence a functional vehicle. The designers of car bodies are clearly faced with new structures, new tasks: scienti­fic and technological evolution is a stimu­lus but at the same time a warning not to remain anchored to the positions of the past and present.” (Pio Manzù)

Read the rest of this entry »

Auto(r) 2010 automotive design conference

20-21March, Museum of Contemporary Art Zagreb.

This is the report that Daniel Tomicic, promoter and organiser of the Conference, has been so kind to write for our blog. I hope the speakers and attendees will submit their manuscripts and comments to continue the stimulating dialogues sparked by the Conference. All photograph are from Laurent Nivalle.

Auto(r) is new automotive design conference that started last year in Zagreb, Croatia. It is the biggest event of its kind in Europe 2009 and 2010. Idea behind Auto(r) is to popularise automotive design to wide audience and not automotive professionals only. That is done by promotion of automotive designers as creative individuals equal to other product designers. Event name is a play of words auto and author in Croatian. Read the rest of this entry »

Bertone has announced that the dream car they have designed over the Maserati chassis shared by the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione will be named Pandion. The choice is consequent with Bertone’s tradition of naming their spectacular show car with animal names, such as the Alfa Romeo Testudo, Canguro, Carabo and Delfino. Read the rest of this entry »

The two-seater spider/roadster by Pininfarina

In addition to the all-new Alfa Romeo Giulietta, designed in house, there will be at least two more Alfa Romeo dream-cars to look and scrutinize at the Geneva Motor Show opening early this March. Read the rest of this entry »