Staring At Screens

The curious unimportance of visibility in modern car design.

2021 Cadillac Escalade. Image: GM Authority

An oft-noted, yet insufficiently regretted, development in car design in the past 20-odd years has been the ever-rising waistline of the average automobile; a development that, combined with increasingly thick window pillars, has had a seriously negative impact on visibility out of the car (not to mention the effect on interior ambiance).

Looking around at the flanks of cars nowadays, one might be tempted to Continue reading “Staring At Screens”

They’re All At It Now (nearly)

A recent announcement by Aston Martin that it will go off road soon confirms that the ranks of aristo SUV’s are now filled, just about. Anything is now possible.

2017 Rolls Royce Cullinan: techviewon.com
2017 Rolls Royce Cullinan: techviewon.com

The Cadillac Escalade arrived first in 1999, an SUV from a marque known for limousines and stately sedans. Because Cadillac’s brand value lay in the ditch by then, nobody minded much: more kitsch, they said. However, it was an inspirational move from a brand that has often – though unintentionally – led the way. Lincoln dressed up a Ford pick-up to make it into the Blackwood in 2001 and got a three year run before really piling on the trim for the 2005 Mark LT. Continue reading “They’re All At It Now (nearly)”