TECHNOLOGY

Car design, the human face and MKZ

I am not a trained car designer but I do know that there is a relationship between modern car design and the human body – usually the female body.

The overall shape and lines emulate the idealized, smooth female body and its curves.  Men don’t call their cars “she/her” by accident. And a car’s front and rear are related to the human face.    Headlights are our eyes, the grill our nose or more often mouth, the front bumper our jaw and the rear tailings our ears – the only part of the head visible from the back.

Headlights

Round headlights mimic unadorned eyes while the new trend to stretched and curved headlight assemblies, and new LED variations, suggest a woman’s eye makeup and drama.   Think Lady Gaga or any Goth. 

When recessed headlights are used, the ‘masked” concept is mimicked – creating a sense of mystery as in Batman or ninjas.

 Front Grill

This is today – with wide grills - the mouth, lips and smile/teeth equivalent. It sets the tone of the car’s ‘face’ and can range from close lipped – thin grill, to mouth wide open – Mazda’s new super wide gapping grill, to Ford’s fixation on heavy chrome bars: reminiscent of teenage braces – a poor visual association.

Bumper

Today’s wrap around front bumper is the jaw line.  While more crashworthy, today’s oversized bumpers and their extension up to the headlights at the corners, create a jaw line similar to the  Family Guy’s Joe Swanson, newspaper Dick Tracy or Tasmanian Devil.

Tail Lights

They are the ears, as mentioned before, unless extended from corner to corner like a hair band.

In either case, their position up the “head’ and overall proportions are important to ‘look normal’.  Dumbo size taillights or mimi-size lights ‘deformities’ will not do.  Extra colours and some additions -- as with human earrings  -- are acceptable.

Lincoln MKZ

So, based on the above principles, how well does the new Lincoln MKZ do?

The front integrated grill and headlight resembles someone smirking. And I cannot get Jack Nicholson’s Joke grimace out of my mind whenever I see the MKZ front.

The rear, taillight 'hair ribbon' is also sending out an undesirable message. It is so thin as to be out of proportion to the rest of the back (and too small for adequate turn signal lighting) and makes the rear end ‘metal’ look obese, proportionally speaking.

So, face wise, it is an error prone design. 

Is Lincoln alone in this error filled design?   NO.

But for a brand famous for its past car beauties, this is sad.

For a brand trying to revive itself, these ‘features’, I think, will hurt sales more than help.

 

PS

Great Lincoln car designs -- distinctive, well proportioned and the envy of the world:

·         1960 Lincoln Continental Mark V Landau Sedan

·         1961 Lincoln Continental Convertible

·         1978 Lincoln Continental

·         1989 Lincoln Town Car

·         2003-07 Lincoln Town Car

 **** The Nissan Juke probably wins hands down as the ugliest car in decades with the Pontiac Aztek a close second -- both dismal sales failures.