Infiniti Q50S, Q60, Q60S

Car companies often think like semi-literate people.  Instead of writing whole words, they fixate on certain letters, writing them over and over again in ever more elaborate styles.  The letters most often found on cars are R, S, X and Z.  Nissan is staking out the letter Q.

Cadillac El Miraj, with drawings!

Ciel, we hardly knew ye!

 Another GM prototype appears to have reached the end of the line.

Porsche Cayenne

Some artists in industry do more than inspire.  They create orthodoxies, filled with irritating purists arguing about arcana longer than most people can stay awake.  For an example, take a tour of Taliesin West and listen to the reverence accorded to, "Mr. Wright." Still, Porsche is about the vision of one man, and it is hard to believe that his vision included elevated station wagons.

What happens when you haven't seen a prototype in a while.

You lower your standards, and you photograph a dull, white car like this Volvo.  Yes, it's a prototype.  Aren't you sorry?

Cadillac ATS 2.0T

Hyundai HCO-14

Is Hyundai smart enough to build this?  Were this from an American company, no one would look at it.  Prototypes are how Detroit tells their designers, "Nice try, but no."

Range Rover

I don't remember what specific model this is.  If you know, please comment.

Jaguar XJ L

For whatever reason, this one does a much better job than the F-Type of bringing Jaguar where it needs to be.

A Bunch of Range Rovers

This was what started the SUV boom in the US.  Sure, there were others.  You can go all the way back to the first cars, when there were very few paved roads.  As roads got paved, there were dedicated SUV's, such as the Dodge Power Wagon, the Jeepster and the Wagoneer. Their owners, however, were too rich or too weird or too outdoorsy to start a trend. In the early 1980's, Range Rovers were aspirational, hard to get, but not quite out of reach. Their wow factor changed everything.

Jaguar F-Type

LAAS 2013, Porsche Impreza

If you're not paying enough for dopey AWD cars, see your Porsche dealer.

LAAS 2013 Youabian Puma

When I saw a photo of this car, I thought it looked like a Hyundai. In person, it's much different.  The whole car is outsized.  The tires are over five feet tall.  I suspect that riding in a Youabian would be like what babies experience in their car seats.

Cadillac XTS 4

This may be 2 different cars.  The plate numbers are different.  The bottom one is a V.  Other than the numbers, I can't tell them apart.

2013 LAAS: Mitsubishi's White Cars of Haplessness

In this display, you can see headquarters trying to micromanage.  I don't remember why, but white cars are traditional in Japan.  The idea doesn't translate to the US.  Next to everything else, Mitsubishi looks like Brand X.  It appears that they have given up.  A closer look reveals that their cars look outdated. Toyota was also drowning in white cars, but theirs looked better.

LAAS 2013: The 1954 Plymouth Belmont!

This prototype helped set a pattern.   Like many others, it drew crowds and ultimately led nowhere.  It tells us why cars are appliances.  The highly functional works of art at auto shows are only for show.  Your next car will be like the one you have, with more LED's.

Unlabeled Porsche

Porsche prototypes are rare in the wild.

Mercedes Loaf of Bread

Some day, this company will hire a designer.

Seen but not photographed: The Mercedes Accord

There is an E class running around that has less chrome than the current one.  The new shape looks familiar. It is hard to believe, but a company that once defined so much is now imitating someone else's bland but very functional car.  They have inadvertently taken laziness to a new level.  It was painted in a new Honda color:  Hematite Metallic.  Will this trend extend to lower prices?

BMW Bankruptcy

Their design is bankrupt.  I just saw their two disgusting SUV's in a caravan again, still clad by Here-Comes-A-Prototype!®.

At that moment, I made an immediate editorial decision: BMW no longer exists.

I will reevaluate my decision in a year.  It's funny to write about a bad car once in a while, but tracking their missteps is too much work.

Seen but not photographed: BMW SUV again.

This one was headed the other way.  I didn't have time to get out my camera.  I wouldn't have noticed it, but for the efforts of the friendly people at Here-Comes-A-Prototype®.  This time, the car was silver, with some wrapped accents on the front and back, and following the overly slanted line down the side.  This BMW not only looks ungainly, it looks improbably cheap.  Is tawdry next?