Ford is reviewing all products, brands: CEO

[RichardJensen]

As long as it's the Continental concept and not the final-gen DEW98 Continental barge.

The final-gen Continental wasn't on DEW98. It was on a heavily modified Taurus platform.

[Mark B. Morrow]

As long as it's the Continental concept and not the final-gen DEW98 Continental barge.

 

 

Definitely the Continental Concept with the '61-'64 slab side styling and the suicide rear doors.

[RichardJensen]

Definitely the Continental Concept with the '61-'64 slab side styling and the suicide rear doors.

I think slab sides are passé. We may see more designs that carry contoured surfaces like the XK & MKS, or that have side sculpting like the Mondeo or '08 Focus.

[Edstock]

"I think slab sides are passé. "

 

Maybe, maybe not. There are slab-sides, and then there are Lincoln slab-sides, and from '60-'70, a number of different treatments. I'm partial to the '68 "Power Dome", myself. Then again, with modern high-luster bright metal like the roof bars on the MK S, it might be really cool done like the '61.

 

Here's a current slab-side, the Citroen C-6. It's not to my taste, but it's not preposterous.

 

 

A lot of the curvaceousness we see in today's sleds (like the BMW 5) reminds me of the advent of desktop publishing, where we got enthusiasts who would put 12 different fonts on a page. Brutal.

 

Well, today's 3-D CAD rigs can now drive 3-D milling machines to produce moulds and dies that weren't possible even 5 years ago, except by crafts types like Italian panel-beaters — compound curves used to be a real bitch. So, now you can carve the hell out of the shape.

 

Here, there be dragons. As this new tech spread, some cars, like the Pacifica, look like they're 40-pounds over-inflated. Some, like the Audi TT, approach Jello-mould perfection. Some get surface sculpting that, well, makes the Crossfire look quiet, harmonious and integrated — the new CRV front end comes to mind, as does the BMW 5.