TDIMOFO said:
I wouldn't exactly call the MK VI 2010 golf in this image an improvement from a design point of view.
I would not call it pretty.
Really Can't VW do better than this?
The seams between body panels look terrible as do the little sensor divots.
the grille is a step backwards.
Maybe this is a phony mockup... One can hope.
TDIMOFO
Remember that auto stylists have a tough job. If they make a car that looks good now, it will probably look dated within its production run, which seems to be about 5 years for VW. Other car makers will be introducing new cars over that next 5 years, and the Golf will soon look stale.
Most people don't get the opportunity to go to car shows. Having worked in the auto industry, I've been to the Detroit and Chicago shows a few times. In that environment, you can see how the auto stylists look at the trends that are coming out in other vehicles. If the next car comes out with 'today's' styling, it will already look old. Think of the Ford 500 for an extreme case. Not a bad looking car, but it looked too much like the Passats, which were already looking stale. So the designers have to take some risks and design a car that might not meet with general approval now, but "it'll grow on you." A fair number of cars have come out that people thought were poorly styled, but through the vehicle's production run, and as people saw more and more of them on the roads, they got used to them and they appeared better in their eyes.
Surfers have to try to anticipate and time a wave. Stylists have to do the same, and it takes some guesswork as to where the automotive styling trends are heading, and what the population (or specific target population for a vehicle) will like. Also remember that the design process starts about 4 years ahead of the actual production of the car, so when a design theme is settled on, it won't actually be on the roads for 4 more years. That's a far-out wave to try to time.
An opposite case is the 7-series Beemer with the 'backpack' trunk. There, the stylists went a bit overboard with a style that did not "grow on you." In fact, they restyled the trunk in a year or so. I have to say I like the previous generations of BMW's. They look clean and sleek. The new ones look a little too 'busy' to me. But how will they be judged in a few more years, after people have gotten used to them?
