Automobile Body Style

Automobile Body Style

All images are from Morguefile.com

Pickup

A pickup is a 2 or 4 door vehicle that are one of the most popular styles of vehicles in the US. It has a cabin in the front with a flatbed used for moving things on the back. This is normally a utility vehicle

Sedan

The Sedan is one of the most popular styles around the world today. It is a passenger car and thus, it has seating for four people, with a trunk in the back.

SUV

   An SUV, or a Sports Utility Vehicle is similar to a station wagon, but it is higher up from the ground and they are bigger. They are typically able to drive on and off road and are 4 wheel drive. They have the passenger capacity of a van and the hauling power of a pickup.

Coupe

A coupe is a two door, more sport variant of the Sedan.

Convertible

A convertible is typically a 2 door car with the ability to retract the roof. This retractable roof is usually made out of canvas or vinyl, although they are starting to be made out of plastic, aluminum or steel

 

Automobile Design

I had no idea that they made clay models or made the large design on the wall. I only thought that they had someone design the car on paper and then translate that to a computer.

Designers must consider the future trends of cars. They can't look too old or too different. If it is too different it would take time for consumers to get used to the look, and sales would suffer because of that. 

The clay model making method was first introduced by General Motors. The advantage that clay models have is that it is easy to add or remove bits of clay to create adjustments to the design.

Using a computer to make a model has a lot of advantages. Designers are able to design a car and change the color of the model on a whim. This requires an exceptionally powerful computer. Once the designer is satisfied with the design, he can print it out a solid 3D version of the car. It is much faster then traditional methods of design.