Changing Trends
A Hundred Years of Automotive Design
This isn't an exhaustive look at the history of the motor industry, or indeed, what we see as the modern motorcar. What I have tried to do is look at the styles that evolve over time, highlighting some of the stand out cars through the decades. While I do touch on certain issues economical and cultural, I have tried to keep design focused. Here are the basics; the first real 'car' was the Benz Patent Motor Wagon, submitted for patent on January 29 1886 by Karl Benz. Fast forward a few decades to October 1, 1908 and Henry Ford unveiled his Model T to the world, the first mass produced, affordable car for the people. Generally considered to be the first car with modern controls, the Cadillac Type 53 was only produced in 1916, but the layout was copied and popularised in 1923 by the Austin 7, the 'baby Austin'. So by 1920 the motor car was well established, although not well evolved. The Texas Oil Boom and major technological leaps in the petroleum refinery process, coupled with the production line model refined and pioneered by Henry Ford, costs tumbled and the public imagination was fired. Americans bought nearly 26 million cars in the '20s alone, and by 1923 there were well over one hundred British car marques. Germany, widely recognised as the home of the modern motor car, would continue to refine the industry, usher in a golden era of motor-sport and become one of the true manufacturing power houses of the world. The final corner pillar of the automotive world, Japan, is equally rich in history, and many other countries are worthy of note, France and Italy to name a few. The famous quote by Henry Ford of 'Any colour as long as its black' was mainly down to his investment in asphalt baked paint, the alternative at the time being coach paint, which was a long and expensive process. With the advent of Duco paint in 1923, the cost of painting a car dropped drastically, giving manufacturers the chance to offer more colours, admittedly only a handful in the early days.
It can be said that although the auto-mobile was invented in Europe, it was popularised in America. With the passing of the federal highways act and the explosion of new manufacturers, the twenties was the decade which saw exponential growth in the sector. While the turn of the decade saw luxury brands like Rolls-Royce and Mercedes being imported by rich Americans, the domestic market was quick on the uptake. Marques like Cadillac, Packard and Duesenberg would take on the established Europeans, but the more affordable end of the scale was squarely in Fords pocket, the model T made up for almost half the cars on American roads. With the costs of motoring tumbling, and car culture finding its feet, America became studded with motels, drive in movies and restaurants, and criss-crossed with smooth tarmac roads, enabling the growth of the motor industry. With popularity inevitably comes progress, to say there were hundreds of car makers in the twenties would not be much of an overstatement. Technological improvements in suspension, brakes and tires would allow for longer, lower forms, that could handle the increasing power. Sweeping running-boards, exposed headlights and chrome grilles would contribute to the evocative forms that we picture today, with two tone paint schemes and spoked wheels. At the beginning of the decade, companies that had previously made horse drawn carriages would turn to automotive paths, and the open tourer that was made popular in the previous decade would be over taken by the closed sedan, as more and more buyers wanted comfort and privacy. With the economical highs of the early twenties, inevitably comes the crash, and the great depression of '29 would see many of the independent marques either fold, or become subsiduaries of GM and Chrysler.
In the wake of the great depression, manufacturers would take a few years to bounce back, but by the mid thirties, new cars were starting to appear on the worlds roads. This period would see the car refined, and streamlined, with windscreens and grilles sloping back and lights incorporated into arches. The 1930s saw a great deal of technological innovation, and the use of aluminium was becoming more prevalent with weight shed everywhere, particularly with the monocoque chassis. This was the decade that Ferdinand Porsche would design the bullet shaped Auto Union Types A-D. Mercedes Benz would also feature heavily in their streamlined grand prix cars, famously named the Silver Arrows, although there is an equally famous debate on whether the German cars were running in silver before the weight restrictions of '34, where the legend stems from. Away from the track, the thirties saw the birth of the art deco car. Sleek, opulent, works of art, these cars were only for the very rich and were never produced in large numbers, but today the likes of the Talbot-Lago
Teardrop, the Bugatti Atlantic or the Delahaye 135 sell for eye-watering sums. The working and middle classes didn't miss out in this decade either, Ford moved on to the Model B by 1932, the year Britain overtook France to become Europe's biggest car manufacturer, cars like the Riley Monaco and the Morris Tourer typifying the look. Other notable auto companies of the time are Volvo, with the V36 and the PV36, and BMW, whose 328 Roadster has been shortlisted for the Car of the Century. Although designed and developed in the thirties, Ferdinand Porsches other creation, the Beetle, would not go into production in any real numbers until the following decade.
World War Two understandably had a huge impact on motoring in the 40s, with the first half of the decade consumed by conflict, masses of resources were channelled into the war effort, and many British car makers would never recover. Indeed, in the post war years it would take even the victors a few years to get manufacturing back up to speed, and the shortage of aluminium following the war meant that many components had to be made out of iron or steel, so the weight of the cars increased, and thus their size. The major trend of the dacade would be Pontoon styling. Essentially the style incorporated the headlights, fenders and running-boards, some cars of the time appear bulbous and slab sided. The American cars of the time like the Plymouth Deluxe and the Pontiac Streamliner would resume production in 1945 and the pontoon design features heavily here. In Britain, cars like the Land Rover series 1 were debuted, and the now classic Morris Minor was given a re-model. The Jaguar XK120 would not only go on to win many races but also shares the evocative look of the time, and Ferrari would unveil the 1949 Ferrari 166 MM Touring Barchetta, one of its now legendary models. 1949 saw the japanese government introduce the Kei car. To stimulate the car industry, Kei cars were limited to a certain size of body and engine, giving access to affordable transport.
The fifties was a big era for car design, the Americans were certainly upsizing their cars, massive engines under long curved hoods, radical designs were common, the Fabulous Fifties had arrived. After the austerity caused by the great depression and the war, chrome and fins dominated, the jet age bringing technology and more tools to aid the designers. Over the decade, American designers would pen such efforts as the Ford Nucleon, GM's futuristic, seven winged Firebird 3 and Fords flying saucer like X-2000. Of the cars that made it to the road, the Chevy Bel-air is an iconic American car of the period, along with the huge finned Cadillacs, with the more refined Chevrolet Corvette and the Ford Thunderbird. Bright, flashy colours and pastels were used and a brief resurgence of the two tone colour scheme. Station Wagons and pick-ups also gained popularity in the fifties, while less family orientated subcultures like hot rodding also see their roots in the decade.In Europe, however, there was a shift to smaller, more economical cars. European designers tended to shy away from the brash American designs and favoured clean, rounded lines. Aston Martin's DB4, the iconic Mercedes Benz 300sl with its gull wing doors, and Jaguar's XK120 laid the seed for the supercars of the sixties. Post war japan used the motor car as a means to economic growth, and although the fifties were spent making mainly trucks and taxis, the japanese market would grow exponentially from the mid fifties onward, with Toyota making its own -albeit jeep modelled- land cruiser, and its first luxury car, the Crown in 1955.
The sixties would see the emergence of the supercar, speed and luxury tempered together to make the ultimate status symbol. All over the world, manufacturers were sculpting art in aluminium, but no one makes supercars like the Italians. While Ferrari's road cars were always grudgingly sold to fund their racing teams, tractor maker Ferrucio Lamborghini built the Muira to challenge his rival. The roots of supercars are in motor-sport, a proving ground for manufacturers, Jaguar would use successes at British tracks to sell its road going E-types, but ultimately, they were no match for Ferrari's 250gt's on the long European tracks. It was down to the Americans to beat Enzo, and in a famous battle at La Sarthe, the iconic Ford GT40 would be projected onto the world stage. Porsche would add the now legendary 911 to its fleet, and Mercedes' 60s era SL badged cars are bucket list cars for many modern enthusiasts. While the American market would spawn a few supercars, the real trend would be the muscle car. As the big three, from their Detroit power houses, began to produce ever lighter, and more powerful cars, young drivers were given turn key drag cars to race light to light. Widely considered to be the first muscle car, the Pontiac GTO, designed by John Delorean was soon challenged by the Dodge Charger and the Ford Mustang.
In Japan, the car industry was growing massively, and the sixties saw a huge jump in exports.
Until now, the Japanese had generally either licensed other manufacturers models, or partnered with them, but as Japanese companies started to design their own cars, and compete with each other on the domestic market, they started to offer comparable cars to the already established European and American models. New kei cars like the Subaru 360, nicknamed the lady beetle for its striking similarity to the German offering, is a stand out from this era, with the Mitsubishi Minica and the Mazda Carol. Mid sized cars like the Datsun 510 and the first Nissan skyline sold well, and the sports cars like the Toyota 3000gt, or the lotus-like Mazda Cosmo sport have all become classics.
The turn of the seventies saw another bevy of gas guzzling muscle cars from America; Ford refined their Mustang with the Boss 302, built for the Trans Am races, and rivalled on the street by the likes of the Dodge Challenger and Chevrolet's Chevelle. These models, along with the unfortunately timed release of the Plymouth Road Runner, would have their sales stifled by the gas crisis of 1973, leading to the production of the now notorious Gremlin and Pacer, with their un-American economical engines. Across the Atlantic, British cars of this era can boast in their ranks the Ford Cortina and Escort, the Cortina echoing muscle cars of the USA, the Escort becoming a firm favourite on the rally stages of Europe. This era of British motoring is marred by politics, however, the strikes of British Leyland didn't stop them unveiling the hideous Austin Allegro or the equally stomach churning Morris Marina. In the land of the rising sun, car buyers had a much better choice, the Toyota Celica Lift back, often called the baby mustang, became available in '73, and two years later came the first Japanese super car in the Toyota 2000GT. Japanese designers' penchant for minimal bumpers and striking looks would captivate the world market with these and Nissan's offerings, the sweeping lines of the Fairlady 240z and the boxy Skyline GTR selling well from the get-go. The Germans would begin their trend of square bodies in the seventies as well, 1974 saw the release of the M cars predecessor, the BMW 2002Tii, along with the first Golf from Volkswagen.
Audi too found success with the 1972 Audi 80, and Mercedes' efforts to corner the luxury market resulted in the 116 and the 126. Supercars that were born in the sixties were evolved and refined in the seventies, with Ferrari's 365 arriving in'73, and Lamborghinis brutal and iconic Countach and the latest 911, the '74 Turbo. In 1978, BMW delivered the striking M1, its wedged line only interrupted by its pop up headlights.
Uncertain times were ahead as the 1980s dawned, the 1979 energy crisis would see another trend toward the economical, and safety features would see an emergence. Styling tended toward the boxy, and the decade saw rally and touring cars take the main stage of the public's imagination. That said, there are a great many iconic cars of this era, and as many sub cultures that can trace their origins to the eighties. In America, the fuel crisis would spell a troubled time for its favourite son, the muscle car, but it wasn't all bad, unlikely favourites have sprung up in modern times, the Fox Body mustang, the Buick GNX and the 1980 Pontiac Fire-bird, which was still offered with a potent 301. the eighties would also see the decline of the iconic station wagon so beloved of the American seventies family, to make way for the minivan now favoured by soccer moms. In Britain, the turbulent seventies had changed much of the motoring industry, leaving British Leyland the only company not owned by outside influences. The rest of the market was made up of American owned Ford and Vauxhall, and Peugeot-Talbot. British Leyland continued to function over the next few years, a deal with Honda produced the Acclaim, and a deal with the government to produce mass-marketable cars resulted in the Maestro, a particularly unforgettable car, and the learner favourite Metro. The fame of the World Rally Championship at this time led to massive popularity in Europe, and birthed the subculture of hot hatches, with cars like the Peugeot 205, the Renault 5 Turbo, and the latest Volkswagen, the Mk2 Golf Gti. Some cars from this era have become legendary, Lancia brought the Delta and the Stratos, the Audi Quattro with its game changing all wheel drive system, and the Group B story deserves an article to itself. Supercars were also prevalent in the eighties, Porsche even managed to bridge the gap between rally and supercars with the ultra rare 959, made for Group B, and teenage boys bedrooms across the globe were covered with super cars from this era, Ferrari brought the F40 and the Testarossa, lamborghini boosted the already impressive stats of the countach, and the Detomaso Pantera would also find cult following in later years, along with the movie famous Lotus Espirit. More ordinary prospective car buyers had plenty to choose from as well, the boxy, wide arched BMW E30 and Mercedes 190E spilled over from DTM, while Vauxhall Cavaliers battled with Ford Sierras and even Volvos. This era sees what would provide the bedrock for the western petrol heads, Japanese cars like the Honda Crx, Toyota's MR2 and MK3 Supra, and Mazda's RX7 FC, and Eunos at the tale end of the decade. The most iconic car by far from this bunch, however, has to be the Toyota AE86. A variant of the Corolla, its rear wheel drive power train meant it found fame on the cult Manga series Initial D. Much over looked is the R31 Skyline, which would evolve into an altogether different beast in the following years.
Although every decade has its economic ups and downs, the automotive industry has steadily grown throughout the century. There will always be a demand for status symbols and with the advance of the 90s, after a stutter, there came the inexorable rise of the every day supercar. Having broken through to the mainstream in the 80s, supercars became more affordable, and reliable. With the advent of the Honda NSX, the established brands had to take note, here was a mid engined, rear wheel drive super car at a fraction of the cost that Ferrari, Lamborghini and Porsche were offering.
Another example of up and coming brands in the supercar market came from Mercedes. They had long been established in the Formula One championship, but wanted to compete in the GT championship, and so the CLK-GTR was born. One of 25, its rarity is trumped by the Nissan R390GT, a road going version with an eye-watering price tag of a million dollars, with only one of the two being sold. Both these examples are typical of the prototype series they race in, and the Mercedes would beat the Porsche 911 GT1 Strassen-version in competition. On the streets, Ferrari's F50 would compete for sales with the latest Lamborghini offering, the Diablo, fully specced capable of reaching 215mph. For a while the Jaguar XJ220, with its Rover 200 rear lights, and excruciating turbo lag, was nonetheless capable of 217mph, but was knocked of its pedestal by the technological marvel of the decade, the McLaren F1. Although it came early in the decade, and is often recognised to be the defining supercar, the Bugatti EB110 was eclipsed by the F1 in stats, but the Bleu de France made famous by the likes of the Type 35 is worn well by its eventual successor. The end of the 90s would see the release of the Pagani Zonda, a design exhibition in itself, and powered by an AMG V12. Another new brand that would also take design queues from jet aircraft was the swedish brand, Koenigsegg, whos evocative CC prototype would unveil in 1997. The 90s also saw a shift toward aerodynamic features, with computer modelling software designers had their own virtual wind tunnel. Japanese manufacturers had, in the previous decade, made their statement of intent; and it continued not only in the NSX, but models like the Skyline, by the start of the 90s the GTR had made itself known on the racing circuits of Japan and Australia, earning a legend of its own, and the nickname 'Godzilla'. Not to be outdone were Toyota with their A80 Supra, and some of Honda's 90s cars can be counted in the definitely good looking category, Preludes and Civics stand out. Mitsubishi and Subaru would battle it out for sales of their road going rally cars too, and the Impreza 22b and Mitsubishi Evo 6 deserve mention.
The year 2000 saw a glut of re-imagined mainstays of the car world. Dividing opinions the world over were the new, and BMW penned MINI, and Fiat resurrected its 500 line. Dodge too were guilty of playing on heartstrings of its customer base, breathing new life into its Challenger model, as their compatriots at Ford would do for the GT. If some minds were in the past, that would soon change with the arrival in force of the SUV. Soon roads were choked with 'chelsea tractors' the main idea is to take a perfectly functional 4x4 and remove all off road capabilities. Prominent offenders are the Porsche Cayenne, the Lexus RX and the BMW X6, all of which made debuts in the early noughties. Another buzz word in the automotive world of the 2000s was Grand Tourer, not a new classification by any means, but led by the likes of the TVR Cerbera, Aston's DB7 and DB9, Lexus' newest offering, the LFA and the Mercedes SLR McLaren. Audi would unleash the blistering and beautiful R8 on the world, and little known brand Spyker, would unveil the C8. Continuing the trend of beautiful, fast and unattainable cars, drivers were treated to a host of delights, the Ferrari Enzo would debut in 2002, and would spawn the arguably better looking Maserati MC12. Hot on its heels were the Bugatti Veyron and the ZR1 Corvette. Another resurrection of the noughties would be Nissan's GT-R, the spiritual successor to the Skyline. Average road users were not left out here, Alfa Romeo would wow the motoring world with its Brera, BMW had moved onto its E46 body-shape, and Honda would release the wedge shaped seventh gen Civic. Across the board, there was a definite shift toward subtly, with sharp, low body lines, and headlights that flowed into the sides of the car.
It would be safe to say that the twenty tens was hit and miss from a design perspective. With many brands under the same umbrella, and platform sharing being common, many manufacturers didnt even bother to change the lights. However, there were many innovations, and the big story at the start of the decade was the 'holy trinity hyper-cars'. Porsche had decided to return to endurance racing, and to do so, needed to produce a road going car, so the 919 was born, debuted as a concept in 2010. McLaren were quick to bring the P1 to life, and Ferrari completed the sequence with the La Ferrari. Engineering was once more to the fore, and the decade saw the rise of the track day car. Like the factory built race cars of the muscle era, many manufacturers offer models that lack comforts to instead offer the driver a stripped down, speedier car that you can -as the name suggests- drive to and from the track, with a good thrash in between. While many of these are versions of their weighty, road going cousins, some brands like KTM and Caterham only produce specialist models. Across all genres there was more aggressive styling, angular headlights and larger grills, with active aero and more vents. Headlights became more aggressive in their styling, and the economical pressures put on manufacturers led to even greater focus being put on aerodynamics, as engines become smaller and more efficient. This trend of pre-customised cars also saw a rise in the '10s, as the WRC rally shifted focus from saloons to hatchbacks, and that showed on the streets, hot hatches like the Ford Focus and Fiesta, Citroen's DS and the Renault Clio having their share of the spotlight. The age old battle between Subaru and Mitsubishi saw their iconic Impreza and Evo lines losing their trunks. Korean manufacturers also broke into the world market with hyundai and Kia making big strides. With the inevitable rise of hybrid power, and the starts of a shift away from petrol and particularly diesel, some manufacturers kept to traditional designs, incorporating new technology into their existing lines, some brought new, futuristic models into production, like BMW's i8 and i3. This decade also saw a rise in cross-over style cars, small SUV's with offroad styling, the Honda CRV or the reimagined Toyota FJ. Arguably the biggest splash in the pond was the arrival of Tesla. With a whole fleet of cars that were not only ahead of the curve where technologically is concerned, but had luxury at the forefront in design. Ford and Mclaren also wowed the automotive world with their exercises in aerodynamics, the latest GT and the Senna, respectively. Honda once again proved that they can keep up with the established supercar marques with its new hybrid NSX, and in 2019 the mk5 Supra was released, albeit based on a BMW chassis.
With the first year of the decade under our belts, we can look ahead to the designs and features that will shape our motoring for years to come. The inexorable rise of the electric car, human driven and autonomous, will no doubt see futuristic cars once more to the fore, with manufacturers like Volkswagen already markedly shifting in this direction. As battery and charging technology advances, more and more cars will be challenging Teslas grip on the EV market, Volvo's Polestar 2, the Mustang Mach E and the 2021 Jaguar J pace to name but a few. Already we can see headlights becoming smaller, while grilles have grown, some real and some simulated. Small cars like the Mini and fiat 500 will have electric variants, but specialist models like the Honda E and VW ID3 will forego the combustion engine altogether. Indeed, in the wake of the dieselgate scandal of the previous decade, Volkswagen have elected to concentrate on the electric market with many of its models phasing out petrol and diesel over the next decade, which means subsidiaries like Audi and Porsche will also be taking that route. There is still some good news on the horizon for petrol heads, however, as not all manufacturers are leaving fossil fuels behind. BMW has already unvealed its new M3, and we know there will be atleast one Golf R yet to come. The new Audi RS6 avant looks as fast and as mean as its predecessors, and Mini's steroid fuelled John Cooper Works will support the brand into its new era. Aston Martin and Alfa Romeo will join the SUV market, to challenge the new wave of German models, and even Lotus are developing their own. Accompanying the project, codenamed Lambda, Lotus will field its Evija hyper-car, bringing the brand humming if not creaming into the new decade. The Evija will certainly not be alone, Aston Martin will unveil the Valkyrie, Mercedes AMG are developing their Project One, and McLaren have the Elva in the works. Ferrari's retro inspired Monza SP2 and Roma will battle their age old rival, Lamborghini, with the Sian, and Bugatti will enhance its Chiron range with an anniversary model, as well as the customary Sport. Expect to see big ticket prices for the likes of the Koenigsegg Jesko, the new Pagani Huayra and the Rimac C_Two.