This blog will expand on themes and topics first mentioned in my book, "The Automobile and American Life." I hope to comment on recent developments in the automobile industry, reviews of my readings on the history of the automobile, drafts of my new work, contributions from friends, descriptions of the museums and car shows I attend and anything else relevant. Copyright 2009-2020, by the author.
Friday, July 10, 2009
GTOs and Pontiacs -- Do grills represent faces and personalities of owners?
Hi folks -- big event featuring GTOs and Pontiacs this weekend in Fairborn, Ohio, very near Dayton at the Nutter Center. The above photos show the progress of grill faces that Pontiacs had beginning in the late 1920s and going to the near present day GTO of 2004-6. I have to say that given the tremendous product loyalty that was demonstrated today in the huge turn-out for this event, GM chose the wrong brand to eliminate. Buicks are for old folks. Who wants to buy a Buick so that everybody knows you are old? I doubt the boomer generation wants to admit that sad but inevitable fact of life.
An article that appeared on MSNBC.com July 6 featured the work of Dennis Slice, shape analysis researcher and professor at Florida State University. Slice, and co-workers at the University of Vienna, have examined the frontal shapes of automobiles, and are hoping that "their work one day may help designers determine what parts of a car, such as the headlights, grille or windshield, they can change — and how — to project traits that make cars more appealing to different kinds of customers." For Slice and his colleagues, some cars project strong masculinity and aggressiveness, while others reflect innocence or submissiveness. What do the Pontiacs shown above convey to you about their owners, past and present?
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