Photo: sugardesign_1/Instagram
We all know that in the eternal Audi-BMW-Mercedes war, one of the key players has started running amok and smacking everyone (including fans) with ultra-outrageous designs. Those not only stand out in any crowd but potentially disperse them like a fire hose set loose on an unsuspecting gathering of people.
Of course, you guessed correctly, we are talking about the Bavarians over at BMW, which now has a habit of giving us quirky or darn ugly stuff like the latest Minecraft-styled M2, the double-coffin-grilled 4 Series and M3 plus M4, the split-headlight X7 LCI and 7 Series plus i7, or the uncategorizable (we’re trying to be mild and mannered, wink, wink) iX or XM crossovers. So, what if the German automaker took a swing at the lucrative sector of luxury people haulers?
You know, the lot that has to do with five-star hotels and on-the-move corner offices rather than what Volkswagen’s commercial vehicle division has in mind when announcing the hybrid Caddy, the next-gen Crafter EV, and especially the upcoming new iteration of the iconic California camper. So, in other words, something more along the lines of Hyundai’s Staria, not hippie Volkswagen MPVs. I’m sure you get the mental picture by now (with soccer moms and hockey dads, plus the entire team of kids).
If not, no worries, as the imaginative realm of digital car content creators is always ready and willing to help. And they are doing it not only virtually but also quite fast, with help from AI design tools like Midjourney. This is the helper of choice, as of late, for Sugar Chow, the digital artist better known as sugardesign_1 on social media, who is now regularly fiddling with AI-assisted tools of CGI styling, and the results are always ‘pretty.’ Or horrendous, it all depends on your POV, of course, as beauty is always in the eye of the beholder.
Anyway, after a couple of initial attempts of the “Touring the world!” variety (as he always loves to dabble with station wagons and Shooting Brakes, first and foremost) that presented us with an Audi A7 Avant and Volkswagen Arteon Wagon, he dived right into the AI-designed projects with stuff like the next-generation BMW 3 Series sedan, a sleek Jaguar XF follow-up, or even a posh Bentley Flying Spur Estate. And it seems that the results are becoming more and more reliable and less prone to making everyone uncomfortable and feel like something is definitely amiss.
Now, though, both the author and his AI partner have taken a swing toward awkwardness because the brief called for the digital development of a ritzy BMW minivan. There is more than one attempt, of course, each slightly different from the one before it. Alas, we did settle on the model tucked in a multi-store parking lot because it feels like the only one that has found balance regarding the humongous kidney grille. Otherwise, most others try to keep the proportions and use much smaller versions of the former radiator grille – which now serves no purpose other than aesthetics because all these attempts are EVs.
You know, the lot that has to do with five-star hotels and on-the-move corner offices rather than what Volkswagen’s commercial vehicle division has in mind when announcing the hybrid Caddy, the next-gen Crafter EV, and especially the upcoming new iteration of the iconic California camper. So, in other words, something more along the lines of Hyundai’s Staria, not hippie Volkswagen MPVs. I’m sure you get the mental picture by now (with soccer moms and hockey dads, plus the entire team of kids).
If not, no worries, as the imaginative realm of digital car content creators is always ready and willing to help. And they are doing it not only virtually but also quite fast, with help from AI design tools like Midjourney. This is the helper of choice, as of late, for Sugar Chow, the digital artist better known as sugardesign_1 on social media, who is now regularly fiddling with AI-assisted tools of CGI styling, and the results are always ‘pretty.’ Or horrendous, it all depends on your POV, of course, as beauty is always in the eye of the beholder.
Anyway, after a couple of initial attempts of the “Touring the world!” variety (as he always loves to dabble with station wagons and Shooting Brakes, first and foremost) that presented us with an Audi A7 Avant and Volkswagen Arteon Wagon, he dived right into the AI-designed projects with stuff like the next-generation BMW 3 Series sedan, a sleek Jaguar XF follow-up, or even a posh Bentley Flying Spur Estate. And it seems that the results are becoming more and more reliable and less prone to making everyone uncomfortable and feel like something is definitely amiss.
Now, though, both the author and his AI partner have taken a swing toward awkwardness because the brief called for the digital development of a ritzy BMW minivan. There is more than one attempt, of course, each slightly different from the one before it. Alas, we did settle on the model tucked in a multi-store parking lot because it feels like the only one that has found balance regarding the humongous kidney grille. Otherwise, most others try to keep the proportions and use much smaller versions of the former radiator grille – which now serves no purpose other than aesthetics because all these attempts are EVs.
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