Are automakers listening to Autoblog?
We really doubt many automakers take our suggestions seriously but we can't help but point out when changes we've advocated here actually take shape on a production vehicle. When the Porsche Cayenne came out I thought it was a beautifully crafted SUV. But it had this atrocious chrome bordering all the windows. It made a mean machine look gaudy. In Detroit I saw the new model year Cayennes on display and the base model (above) had no chrome, while the Turbo (click below) had replaced the chrome with a frosted silver plastic (also noticed that on some Audis). Both are vast improvements and I salute Porsche for making the change, even if it had nothing to do with us.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Andrew 10:59PM (12/18/2005)
Yeah, for some reason around 2001 all the entry-luxury and mid-luxury cars started sprouting chrome all over the place. The 2001.5 redesign of the VW Passat, Audis, BMW's, all got really gaudy with the chrome. Maybe it was a matter of keeping up with the Joneses, and maybe the design had taken place a year before in 2000, just before the whole dot-com ostentatious style imploded.
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010111 10:59PM (12/18/2005)
oh wait... the *base* Cayenne is out now? that is... not the V8 "S" or the Turbo V8 "Turbo"... but like the 3.2 VW-sourced V6 that is just "Cayenne"? thats out? whats the pricing on it?
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paul 10:59PM (12/18/2005)
mistake taking out the chrome bordering. to me chrome makes everything look cheap, unless done properly. then it can look quite prestigious. looking at the porsche, it now seems that there is a void. I'll bet X5 will keep the chrome bordering, unless they go into a completely new direction with their new designs.
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