A Street Car Named Desire

[Raj Bajwa]

Hi,

Wanted to share this article from Today's Times Of India (Mumbai). The
article is originally by a scribe in Washington sourced for TOI by
PTI.

I find it apt to share here as for our liking/Love for our Linea stems
primarily from it's beautiful shape than anything else.

Quote - Ronald from McDonalds
"I'm Loving it"

A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE

X factor: Car’s appeal lies in shape, not tech

Washington: Ever wondered why swanky cars like BMW, Audi or Alfa Romeo
are the most preferred models? Well, a new research has claimed it’s
their unique shape, not the sophisticated technology, that makes them
more attractive.
Human instincts draw us to either curvy models or those with sharp
angles, and car makers cater to one or the other, depending on the
era, the study has found.
Consumers’ car preferences come down to two basic human habits,
said study researcher Claus-Christian Carbon of the University of
Bamberg in Germany.
One, we are predisposed to shy away from sharp objects because they
tend to hurt and angular features remind us, at least subconsciously,
of fangs, claws, thorns and knives.
As a result, evolutionary psychologists say, we usually prefer
curves — not only on women and in nature, but also in fashion and
design, LiveScience reported.
But this predilection for gentle lines can be overcome by the
second habit: looking out for new stuff. “We tend to glaze over when
surrounded by the familiar and yet jerk to attention when, say, a
tiger asks to shake our hand. And our preference for novelty can
sometimes make sharp angles appealing,” Carbon said.
Car designers, perhaps unwittingly, have been playing one tendency
off the other, suggested the research published in the latest issue of
the journal Acta Psychologica.
After asking study participants to rate the curviness of car models
from 1950 to 1999, Carbon found that curvier cars were popular during
certain eras, while angular autos were preferred in intervening
years.
The finding showcased the push and pull between rounded shapes,
which are over-represented in nature, and angles, which are both more
novel and potentially threatening, Carbon told LiveScience. The round
cars of the early 50s, the study showed, were slowly supplanted by
sharper designs — think shark fin exhaust tips and the winged 1960
Cadillac.
Boxy styles stayed trendy in the US through the 1980s. And then a
slow transition back to smooth shapes began, epitomised by the new
Volkswagen Beetle in the 90s, which, Carbon said, “looks like a half
circle.”
Since then, the cycle has been speeding up. It used to take roughly
50 years for car models to swing between circles and boxes. Now it is
more like 20 years, Carbon said, predicting an increase in sharply
angled cars in the 2010s. Other researches suggest we prefer cars that
have dominant and even angry “faces”. PTI


Source: Times of India - Mumbai April 22nd, 2009.


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[VahanPujari]

Good article & very apt !!