What’s Wrong With Retro? The VW Beetle Vs. The Chrysler PT Cruiser

Elizabeth Archuleta 1
In the July 9 issue of Automotive News, J. Mays declared that retro designs for automobiles have become passé. Why should that matter? Because this announcement comes from the very man who spawned a huge retro trend with his 1998 design for Volkswagen’s New Beetle. The popularity of that design led to other retro-tinged imitations, such as BMW’s MINI Cooper, the Fiat 500, the Chevrolet Camaro, the Dodge Challenger, and many, many more. [...]

2013 Lexus GS 350: Responsible Decadence

Casey Williams
Lexus has always been about restrained decadence. It’s the luxury brand for those who want cocoons of excellence without the ostentatious flare of American and German marques. But like Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady or the clueless bros on Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, if you dress a Lexus in a new grille, slap on some alloys, and wire in LED taillamps, you get a hottie worth taking home. Re-designed for 2013, the Lexus GS rolls into its new skin. [...]

2013 Audi A5 And The Face That Will NOT Be Ignored

Sam Miller-Christiansen
Stereotyping is one of LA’s favorite past times. This constant need for categorization can make-or-break people, places, and things. German luxury cars are of course included in this: BMW has performance (people who wear bright colored polos with obscure Tour-de-France logos on them and backwards baseball hats), Mercedes has luxury (old people), and Audi has design (people who name their first-born Neutra and claim to want to move to France because everything is ‘just so effortlessly chic there’). [...]