Genetically Modified Motors

Mostly when people talk about design and cars they actually mean styling. For example "That 70's Ferrari is a beautiful design" - No it isn't. The styling is sublime but it appears to have been designed for a double jointed ape with stubby legs and 2 metre arms. To put a tin lid on it it was then 'built' by some bolshy Italian plumbers, with old FIAT parts.

Where was I? Oh yes design. The current state of innovation and design in cars and bikes is poor, tough times mean that no manufacturer is willing to stick their neck out, leading to a tide of 'me-too' boxes. Of course it's exactly at such a time that a little bit of thought would stand out from the crowd, good design costs exactly the same as the bad stuff after all.

The new Vauxhall Corsa has a bumper that pulls out to form a rack for mountain bikes or snowboards, taking the number plate and lights with it. How fucking cool is that? Actually how fucking sad is that - a small piece of good design stands out like dog turd on a bowling green.

Vauxhall have been making mediocre bland 'me too' cars for well over a decade now (no the VX220 is a Lotus, accept it), but if they had the vision to insist that every new model had 5 ideas this good, this simple and this cheap within another decade they would have a brand envied and imitated all over the world.

And more importantly for their bottom line people would buy shitloads of them.