Some choice xm images....

[casalingua]

That Mercedes does nothing for me, sorry. The feature lines and creases are stylistic clichés. The tail-lamps lack articulation. What underlies all of these curlicues looks almost like an S-type coupe. This has to do with the c-shape of the lamps. They have managed it a bit better than on the Citroen C5 Series 1 and Jaguar S-type Series 1 but I can´t say more than that. The rear wheel arch is grossly overdone. No, sorry, I find it unremarkable. It might have other qualities but it´s not something I would want to look at for very long. Of the present batch of Mercs, only the angular G-wagen and outgoing C-class were much good but it´s not saying much. I´d have to pick an Audi A5 as one of my favourite new cars. The Volvo S80 is also rather good but woefully cramped for such a large vehicle. The Opel Insignia is also a successful large car, one which gets rather too little credit. I think even if its exhaust gasses cured cancer people would still find grounds to criticise it, merely due to the badge.

[Dieselman]

What about this?

[casalingua]

Awful colour.

[Charles M]

The last Mercedes I thought had superb styling was the old CLS - all those arcs crossing and resolving at the rear. The front was somewhat less successful but it was also the last interior that was coherent in design.





I loved the Honda Civic design so much I bought one. It's ride was hard though and the seats had no support, so after crippling back problems (the only time in my life when I was doubled up) I sold it.

[captainhaddock]

I don't disagree Casalingua. What do you make of the the CLS model. I would agree the sunroof, this time, really spoils the lines. Something I don't easily say..but true this time.

http://files.conceptcarz.com/img/Merced ... 8-1280.jpg

[captainhaddock]

Charles, you thought about the CLS too. I, like that model's design too.

[Charles M]

What about this?

It's ok, but too butch, I prefer the R171 which had that lovely SLR nose.

[russ92xmsed]

The newer SLK is too blocky and crude. The older one is too bland with a stupid F1 style nose on it. And as for the original...yuk!
CLS, good...but a bit droopy. I think they are about to launch a new CLS estate tourer....I think that will look quite good.

One of my favourite new cars is probable the Audi A7... Only as it reminds me of a modern day Rover Sd1!
Liked the Laguna Coupe very much till they dropped it.
Was I have found, is there isn't a design out there, that is like the XM..meaning 100 % right first time. Modern designs always seam to have something that jars. Look at the Jag XJ. Nice front...bloody awful back end. Yet Bertone came up with a great looking concept a few years ago.

Bertone know how to design cars!!

[casalingua]

About the banana CLS: there is a crease that runs right to the front wheel arch. Peugeot have done this as well. They simply didn´t handle this professionally. You get a fillet on the feature line that collides with a flat area of the wheel arch and the resultant surfaces have to be forced to merge. It´s quite horrible. The proper solution has been executed elsewhere lots of times and it´s pretty simple. Fade out the crease before the lip of the wheel arch. That Mercedes didn´t have a designer who could propose this is hard to fathom. And on the boot: there´s a garnish that leaves on either side of it the very shutlines it´s meant to garnish, as if they ran out of chrome. It´s not as bad as the Peugeot 508 where the garnish floats 10 cm above a shutline as if they didn´t even know what the garnish was originally for. But still, it shows a lack of refinement in the functional semantics of the car. And I won´t overlook the banana shape. That said, the interior is rather grand and if I could approach the car at night or wearing a blind fold, you could talk me into driving one.

[russ92xmsed]

Oooo....yeah 408 nasty from behind. Talk about dull. Awful thoughtless design.