Mitsuoka has a habit of making perfectly normal cars look like they arrived from another decade, and the LA1 might be one of its most interesting transformations yet. The Japanese coachbuilder take
Long before carmakers filled dashboards with screens, an important piece of engine information was displayed outside the windshield. Early automobiles often carried their radiator filler caps at
The Hyundai Ioniq 5 N already has enough performance to make most hot hatches look slow. With up to 641 hp and a 0-60 mph time of 3.25 seconds, it hardly needs help in the speed department. But design
Inside a modern automotive design studio, there are enormous screens, virtual-reality headsets, laser scanners, 3D printers and computers capable of rendering a car so convincingly that its paint appe
The woodgrain paneling on an old station wagon rarely fools anyone. Even when new, the printed vinyl was not likely to be mistaken for hand-finished mahogany. It was wood in the same way a kitchen
Look at an American car from 1971, then find the same model from 1974. The earlier car may have a slim chrome blade tucked neatly against its body. Three years later, the bumper appears to have lef
Nothing about the rear of a 1959 Cadillac suggests moderation. Its fins rise above the trunk like extravagant pieces of roadside architecture, edged in chrome and carrying two red taillights shaped li
Few automotive features can make a parked car look as alive as pop-up headlights. Turn the switch and two neat sections of bodywork rise from the hood, pause with theatrical precision and reveal the l
A bright red car, a metallic blue car and a taxi painted the color of a highlighter will normally leave the factory with exactly the same footwear. Black tires. The color seems so inevitable
Park a 1940s Jeep beside a Chevrolet sedan, an early Volkswagen Beetle and a British roadster, then look closely at their headlights. The surrounding bodies could hardly be more different. The glass c