2006 Dodge Charger

Well... Isn't that a shame. Another legendary name is being flushed down the toilets! This new Charger is nothing more than a Chrysler 300C, with a different nose, and a weird, ungainy rear treatment. That new back end consists of a more horizontal rear window. Which will, no doubt, decrease rear headroom. It is supposed to make the car look more like a coupe. A total visual disaster. The Charger used to have its own design. It's bad enough that they turned it into a 4 door sedan. But they did it on the cheap and re-used as much as they could from the 300. It's not modern, it's not retro, it's a terrible mistake. Before teh Mercedes take over, Chrysler had shown us an idea of what a modern day 4 door Charger could look like.

This is the result: the 1999 Charger concept. everybody loved it! And 7 years later, we get this ugly brick! I mean just look at the difference! Sure it has a big V8. But these cars used to look "cool". That thing looks like a red neck mobile...

2006 Citroen C6

It took them long enough! Citroen showed a really amazing looking concept car in 1999 called the Lignage. That was supposed to become their new "top-of-the-line" car. Here we are, in late 2004, and that car is still almost a year away! But they've been showing it to "select' dealers in Europe for over a year. And recently to a small group of journalists. The car is pretty striking. And it is big! But unlike large Citroen of the past, like the DS and CX, which were almost affordable to someone who just wanted a large roomy car, the C6 is rumored to start at over $45000! And it could go way up from there. Whith even a longer version coming later. That's a radical change. They are now positioning themselves against the German luxury cars and Jaguar. And they don't have the reputation for it...

Even thought the C6 is one of the most modern design out there, you can see that quite a few things "went wrong" in the translation from the Lignage concept (above) and the production car. The C6 lost that light, dreamy appearance. And became quite heavy and almost bloated looking...

Another obvious inspiration for the C6 is Citroen's own CX from the early 70's. And that car still looks more modern than most other models out there now!!!

2006 Sentra should look like:

Save the cash and just bring the Renault Megane design over here! Whether it is a hatch, or the more conservative trunk design, this car looks better and sportier than the Nissan Tiida! They just need to "body color" the bumpers, and build it in the US.

And look!!! They already have the hardtop convertible version ready!!! If we don't get the Focus convertible, maybe Nissan can step in and give us this one!

2006 Mercedes M Class

From Germany we get an early look at the next M Class. Nothing really new here. It does look better than the previous one, but that's not saying much... Let's hope they can finally get the quality/reliability problems under control. They should be ashamed of themselves with the current model's reputation. Still made in the US. Next to the new G Class.

Peugeot 407

About the same size as a Passat, that new Peugeot seems to have what it takes to make it over here. Even the choice of engines is similar to what we get. A 2.2Liter with 160hp, or a 3.0Liter V6 with 211hp. But Nooooo.. Peugeot is still "thinking about re-entering the US market". So don't hold your breath.

The best of all is the SW Wagon version of that car. That's a photo of the production car!! The all glass roof is also part of the deal! Imagine driving this instead of a dorky mid-sized SUV!!!

The GIUGIARO GIRLS, part 2

Nothing to say really... Except, that now,the maestro also designs sneakers for kids...

2006 Miata Part2

Here are 2 more shots of what the next Miata might look like. Latelly, some prototypes have been spoted in Europe, undergoing some testing. And they seem to look like an updated version of the current design. Which itself, was an "updated' version of the previous design! Will fear dictate the new design direction? Let's hope not...