Ssangyong – Driven To Write

Please Be Seated

A large chair does not make a king*, as the Korean carmaker discovered.

The brand name SsangYong is derived from Oriental legend and means Two Dragons. It stems from a fable about two dragons who longed to fly to heaven. In order to be able to embark on that journey however, they each required a magical gemstone – but they had only been given one to share between them. For a thousand years each insisted the other go first but to no avail. Moved by their altruism, a heavenly king sent down another magical gemstone so that at long last they could Continue reading “Please Be Seated”

Driven To Write’s Top Fifty Countdown: Number 2

The inimitable Ssang Yong Stavic. Or Ssang Yong Rodius Mk 2. This car moved the game along for the firm and buried the reputation it had for making visually challenging cars.

However, the car still nods to its illustrious predecessor with its distinctive roof design, redolent of the deck of a luxury yacht, the hallmark of Ken Greenly’s landmark shape. Out went the thirsty petrol engines and instead the car is powered by a 2.0 litre, Benz-derived turbo diesel which can haul up to eleven people from A to B. To recognise the achievement of the car it “was awarded “2014 Car of the Year – Best MPV Design” byGrand Prix, the most famous automotive magazine in Thailand” according to Wikipedia. They don’t come bigger or bolder than this MPV.

2004 Ssang Yong Rodius design Notes II

Further to comments today, I looked in detail at the ‘flying bridge’. The groove running parallel to the rear door frame is part of the problem but really is a little problem on top of a heap of more fundamental ones.

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The last image shows the most basic interpretation of the boxy package with a simple D-pillar. What else could they have done? Much more could have been done with the rear lamps. They could have been vertical, for example. Continue reading “2004 Ssang Yong Rodius design Notes II”

2004 SsangYong Rodius – The Essence of Luxury Yacht

…that was the intention behind the design, says Wikipedia but the allegation is not supported by a reference.

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At the moment I am conducting an inquiry into whether ugly cars can tell us anything about the aesthetic experience. This research calls for some examples and the 2004 Ssanyong Rodius is one of the great ugly cars of recent times by common consensus. What is wrong with it and how was it supposed to be seen? Continue reading “2004 SsangYong Rodius – The Essence of Luxury Yacht”