New Mazda show car, latest HSV Grange, extravagant Ferrari and beautiful Bugatti ...

[2ndclasscitizen]

They had a bucketload of G8 front clips they had to shift in Australia, so they made a special edition model that sold gangbusters

And it sold so well they've decided to use it in general production runs. Goddammit.

[Dino Scuderia]

The Furai designer was the worst thing to happen to Mazda, glad he's gone.

It appears the new guy knows shit from Shinari.

[IBrake4Rainbows]

The Furai designer was the worst thing to happen to Mazda, glad he's gone.

It appears the new guy knows shit from Shinari.

Jensen Van Ackels (I believe I've got the name right there) was a genius in terms of the Furai. It just didn't translate well to the Gaping mouth Mazda3.

Without that mouth, the MS3/3MPS is fricken awesome looking, the complex surfacing is a refreshing change from the plain staid fixings of past cars.

The Shinari concept looks good so far, I wonder how it will translate.

[LeonOfTheDead]

wasn't Franz von Halzhausen in charge of Mazda's design during the Furai period?!

Unfortunately the best incarnation of that design theme is the recently unveiled Mazda 5. An mpv...

[Dino Scuderia]

Jensen Van Ackels (I believe I've got the name right there) was a genius in terms of the Furai. It just didn't translate well to the Gaping mouth Mazda3.

Without that mouth, the MS3/3MPS is fricken awesome looking, the complex surfacing is a refreshing change from the plain staid fixings of past cars.

The Shinari concept looks good so far, I wonder how it will translate.

The Furai was some cool designing but not for a real functional car. Genius? No.

[fpv_gtho]

The Grange has no direct competitor. LWB Falcon's don't exist anymore.

Holden LWB sales are on their last legs as well apparently. Depending on how many US PD's pick up the Caprice PPV we could end up with Chinese imports or CKD,both of which HSV wont see much profit applying their usual methods to.

I think HSV are likely to keep the majority of their target market though. Until theyre prepared to fit either the LS7, LSA or LS9 to their mainstream models FPV have them covered with both their model lines now on straightline performance but the HSV's are a stronger track platform at the moment and it will take FPV some time to develop in areas to compete now that 90% of their budget wont need to go into their engines

[digitalcraft]

Yeah I don't know how anyone thought the mouth on the 3 was a good idea. The rest of the car was great though. I've noticed that in black, the 3 doesn't look terrible because you can't tell the gaping mouth so much.

The 6 was redesigned under the furai look though wasn't it? It looks rather nice, if not a little 'generic japanese sedan'. The last gen miata (mx5) was pretty good looking too. Instead of looking like a budget roadster, it seems they're trying to move it up segments, which might be a bad idea really.

[Ferrer]

Yeah I don't know how anyone thought the mouth on the 3 was a good idea. The rest of the car was great though. I've noticed that in black, the 3 doesn't look terrible because you can't tell the gaping mouth so much.

That's a recurring solution on many cars, like the Punto Evo as well. But while it improves it, it doesn't completely erase the problem.

[IBrake4Rainbows]

As the expression goes;

You can't polish a turd, but you can roll it in Glitter.

(yes I'm aware mythbusters has proven this wrong, but it's still applicable.)

[Kitdy]

That's a recurring solution on many cars, like the Punto Evo as well. But while it improves it, it doesn't completely erase the problem.

Actually my friend and I were discussing this the other day - it seems to be a widespread phenomenon.

Black hides the ugly. I felt I came across this independently, but it seems as though even if I did (which I may well not have) it has been well known for some time and by many others.

[LeonOfTheDead]

That design of the front end is affected on many cars to improve the results achieved in crash tests involving impact with a pedestrian.
The larger and higher the front is, the better result you get. Consider Audi's grille as the best example (not saying it's the safer or better looking).