Car Aesthetics

[masticatingcow]

Hey everyone ---

I was just curious about how people define what, for themselves, is a "beautiful" car. I mean, I'm sure people have had this discussion before, but I have to admit there's a lot more to a car "looking good" than a general, overall-type appeal. The same goes for gearheads' impressions of a beautiful machine; there's more to it than "it goes fast" or "has a lot of torque".

I guess my question is, how specific can we get when defining what a "beautful" car is? What aspects of a car draw our attention? Why? The motorhead's mind is, contrary to conventional thought, a very complicated piece of work, and to simplify the reasons why such a mind decides any given car is a beautful one down to "it's fast" and "it looks hot" seems, well, criminal! So I ask, considering the cars each of us are attracted to, what REALLY defines our ideas of automotive aesthetics?

Personally speaking, I am attracted to cars that look nice, are fun to drive, and are reliable. But each of these words (nice, fun, and reliable) have different meanings for every individual. More specifically, I think a "nice looking" car has smooth, "streamline-esque" (referring to the automotive design phenomenon forwarded by Buick in the midcentury) lines that "drape" over the car's more "functional" parts. For instance, I like the way the USDM 240sx hood "dips" a little over the engine bay (reiterating to the eye that the engine bay exists underneath it) and how the fenders seem almost "stretched" over the wheels. This gives the chassis a very seductive, "barely clothed" effect. Also great about the USDM 240sx chassis is the way the chassis itself looks balanced and evenly-distributed over the wheels, and what is great about that is that it is less of a facade than you'd think... the 240sx is a VERY well balanced car. Tre sexi.

Fun to drive for me means the car handles well around corners and has a satisfyingly "sporty" sound to it when you're on the gas. Also, I think that being able to blast your favorite tunes along with the roar of the road, the wind, and the engine is great. In short, driving the car should be an experience... a GOOD one. Cars that do it for me are my 240sx (though it took some work) and the 300zx. I drove a 300zx and just knowing I had so much power on tap was great. The 240sx has grip when you need it, but can be forced into oversteer when desired. Spirited driving is a lot of fun, and a car that can give it to you with a reasonable measure of safety and give you a soundtrack to enjoy it by makes it, I think, "fun to drive."

Reliability is uber-relative... but for me it only means that the car will get me where I need to go whenever I need it to, regardless of what it asks of me later. Also, reliability means that when you want to engage in that "spirited driving" mentioned above, the car is there for you. I don't mind replacing engine components, suspension parts, etc if it means the car will be there when I want it. I know some people who need their cars to run on crappy gas for 5000 miles between oil changes through stop-and-go traffic in California summers for YEARS before they'll concede that they have reliable cars. For me it's more simple: just take me where I want to go, and how I want to get there.

So when any one of these things (good looks, fun driving, or reliability) occurs in a car, I think that it is appreciable. But when they ALL occur in ONE car, then that machine is a beauty. This car, this beautiful car is one I can learn to love quickly, in spite of whatever shortcomings it may have. In the case of my 240sx, I don't mind it being relatively slow or having high miles on the chassis and engine or occasional rattling in the cabin... because what I think is beautiful is there. In some ways, it took the many crappy or modestly decent cars I'd driven before to appreciate these things.

I guess some people consider cars big toys, others consider them a kind of tool, but for me, so much of it is art. The way it all comes together says something to me, and maybe others too. Anyway, this is just me ranting, but I'm interested in hearing what other people find beautiful about their cars or cars they wish they had. Come on people, humor me.

Thanks for reading this long, probably boring post! He he he.

[Mr1der]

curvy with a beautiful face and ***.

has some attitude.

[Nismo_Freak]

curvy with a beautiful face and ***.

has some attitude.

:ylsuper