Design: Challenger's Challenge -- Attractive and Repellent All at Once

Chrysler's Dodge division has revealed the production version of the Challenger concept at the Chicago auto show. Of the three cars in this class, Ford's current Mustang, Chevy's upcoming Camaro and now the Challenger, I have liked the Camaro best because it's been the least slavish in aping a retro design. This is not to say that any of the three are unnatractive.

The Challenger is a close second and the changes that have been made to the exterior for production have surprisingly improved the looks. The picture above is the production model and below is the concept car by way of comparison. The most obvious change is the loss of Dodge's signature crosshair grille -- good riddance! The whole front end has been subtly reshaped and enhanced with a very retro air dam, the effect is perfect. The sidelights have been repositioned and the curvature of the sides, where the body tucks in towards the ground has been lessened. Interestingly this sets of the hiplike beltline curvature better towards the tops of the sides. Subtle and effective. Here's the full gallery.

On the production car (below) the taillights have also been revised and the whole shape of the rear bumper has been changed, with the whole topped off with a retro spoiler in black. From the back you can also see the very German black lower body form that lessens the visual heft of the sides and back bumper. Overall, a great job and a much needed boost for Chrysler's beleagured design staff.

On the other hand, the interior is atrocious. The color scheme suggest a drive through the coalfields with the windows rolled down. The steering wheel, while adequate for a sedan (it comes from the Dodge Charger) carries no sporting appeal. The materials look like the stuff you have to rip through to get to a new pair of headphones. The shifter surround is one of the single sorriest pieces of design I've seen in recent years. A giant, oblingish , fake-chrome ringed slab of cheap black plastic. The cabin seems like a place to be punished (like the black hole of Calcutta) when it ought to be as special as the car's outside. This is what the owner will see and touch when driving their rolling sculpture. Chrysler knows it has a problem in this area, but now it has to address it head on.

The Mustang interior, which is already several years old, is far from industry leading but its better than this. GM has shown with Chevy's excellent new Malibu that they are getting the inside stuff right so the Camaro will no doubt be something special. Too bad Chrysler is still behind the pack when it comes to making a car look and feel good, inside and out.

Design: GMC in Truck Denial with Denali XT

GMC is Genral Motors trucks-only brand in the United States. Despite the slowdown in SUV sales they are GM's numer two selling nameplate here currently and the General wants to protect the brands growth in the coming gas sipping era.

The Denali XT concept, to be revealed to the public at next week's Chicago Auto show, is a stab at a more efficient pick-up truck. Some commentators have compared the rwd car-based vehicle to the Chevy El Caminos and GMC Caballeros of the 60s-80s but to me this seems like a logical outgrowth of the current "crossover" craze.

Just as crossovers build a new vehicle that has truck attributes off of a car platform, the Denali XT has pickup truck features but a platform that is the same as GM Australia's new rear-drive base (which also makes it the same as the upcoming Chevy Camaro coupe and Pontiac G8 sedan.) This is unlike the El Camino/Caballero which were usually just Malibu wagons with their rear sections modified to form a pickup truck bed.

A malaise-era 1979 Caballero

As a design the Denali is very strong, and this represents a possible exciting new direction for GMC. There is a touch of Chrysler's fulls size LH cars in the stance and the high beltline/ low roofline, which makes for a chopped side window profile. The face is fantastic, aggressive without being over-the-top cartoonish. The texturing of the grille, the placement of the headlight/vent units that sweep back into the sculpted fender forms, the sides of those same forms that flow from the bumper face are all expertly handled. The rear echoes the front lamps with tailight/vent clusters of its own. The tailights are very nicely shaped, as is the oversize chrome tailgate handle. The roofline is extremely well-executed and overall the design is a real winner. Here's hoping GM follows through and produces this.