Photo: original image by autoevolution
It seems like car design is, like fashion, cyclical. Brown, the color of the 80s is back in style. So is non-metallic sky blue, as seen on old Opel Calibras and the new BMW M3 or Polo facelift. Old becomes new and vice versa.
However, what we've recently discovered during an examination of headlight and taillight modern design is that more and more companies seem to be inspired by punctuation marks and sometimes letters. It basically has to do with wanting to use the simplest most easily understood symbols that we learn at a young age.
For example, Audi's guilty pleasure seems to be the bracket. It's in a lot of their designs, which generally use straight lines tapered at the end for a cup-like shape, maybe a sign of security. Opel's reoccurring theme is seen in almost all their taillights and headlights. Especially on the Astra Tourer, their trademark look reminds us of quotation marks / apostrophes.
Lettering also seems to play a role. There's no way the "Y" elements in Lamborghini design have gone unnoticed. It's as if the supercars are asking us "Y don't you buy us?". And what about Lexus?! They blatantly admit to abusing the letter "L" for their recent designs. In the case of the new IS, however, the L has become a check mark. Headlight design? Check! Not quite Lexus… it needs a little work.
Acura have the honor of being the first carmaker, alphabetically speaking. Recently, they've rewarded us with what we can only describe as suspension points (the ellipsis). Why make a headlight that looks like a bunch of dots? Because simple is beautiful… period.
For example, Audi's guilty pleasure seems to be the bracket. It's in a lot of their designs, which generally use straight lines tapered at the end for a cup-like shape, maybe a sign of security. Opel's reoccurring theme is seen in almost all their taillights and headlights. Especially on the Astra Tourer, their trademark look reminds us of quotation marks / apostrophes.
Lettering also seems to play a role. There's no way the "Y" elements in Lamborghini design have gone unnoticed. It's as if the supercars are asking us "Y don't you buy us?". And what about Lexus?! They blatantly admit to abusing the letter "L" for their recent designs. In the case of the new IS, however, the L has become a check mark. Headlight design? Check! Not quite Lexus… it needs a little work.
Acura have the honor of being the first carmaker, alphabetically speaking. Recently, they've rewarded us with what we can only describe as suspension points (the ellipsis). Why make a headlight that looks like a bunch of dots? Because simple is beautiful… period.
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