German Car Forum

http://http://www../cadillac-cts-wagon.html

That massive C pillar looks very strange on a wagon ....Hmm.

It is so boxy (it is the 2nd car I am using that term to describe today ) and bulky it looks more like a a crossover than a wagon.

The new E class has a very similar aesthetic.

haha, I was trying not to say that, but now that you have, there will probably be an indignant outburst now.

But, it probably is the bad picture/angle that accentuates it.

I've been saying it for a while, Mercedes has taken some 'inspiration' from Cadillac -- or at least has been influenced.

I don't see how that can be Rob. Mercedes' have looked like this before, Cadillacs haven't.

M

So I take it the designer of the Aztek still has a job?

Well, the W204 and the X204 have this aesthetic .....but Cadillac have been on this track for a decade.

You mean this used to be called art and science thing? Sure they've been on it a while, but Mercedes' have been boxy or boxy with rounded edges in the past much longer than that. Cadillac didn't start this new look really until the 2003 CTS. I don't see the connection or influence. Before that Cadillac was a totally different looking car.

M

While many would attribute Mercedes current stying direction to the teutonic snausage days of the late 70s and 80s, Rob you seem to have a point. Cadillac's Art and Design philosophy and BMW's bangalization certainly seem to have taken effect on Mercedes overall design trends over the past few years.

In any event, I doubt this wagon will do well in the US. I don't think we're ready to embrace wagons again... yet. Certainly not ones that look like this.

On the other hand, having spent the last few days in and around the bay area, wagons seem to be a hit. So what do I know? I'm apparently just not living in wagon-friendly territory...

Cadillac has a history of razer-edges and flat panels.



Let me remind you that the same year Caddy showed this (1999):



Merc showed this:



Cadillac captured the zeitgeist for the following decade much more accurately.

So they've both been at it for a while. Still don't see where one has influenced the other if they've been at it for years. We all know Mercedes' have been angular and flat also. I have no idea what that last picture is, it surely isn't a SLR.

Yet, still...all of this irrelevant because at the end of the day a Benz doesn't look anything like a Cadillac and vice versa.

Cadillac showing an edgy concept in 1999 doesn't say much Rob. Mercedes was just finishing up their latest brick-like and wedge/angular era then with the W140 (1998) and R129 respectively.


M

Thanks, it has been the cause of several arguments

People keep comparing these new Mercs with the Sacco models -- but they have an entirely different character to the Sacco cars.

I have never suggested that they are carbon copies ...and I am not suggesting that Merc has copied Cadillac -- really, I am giving kudos to Cadillac for being so bold and taking a major risk ...and contributing to the trend/direction the industry has been going in. A lot of noise is made about how influential BMW has been ...but Cadillac has also been very influential.

BMW, yes (unfortunately for some like Toyota, Acura and others who saw BMW and goofed their imitation of BMW big time) has been very influential, but I don't see where Cadillac has been. They've turned a complete 360 on the caliber of car they make inside, out and under the hood, but design wise I just don't see where they've been anything but a also ran. Mercedes was the one to copy, emulate from the ground up at one time, then Audi (interiors) and now BMW(exterior design), the latter 2 still hold that status more than Mercedes does now.


M

Cadillac's influence can be found in GM products around the world -- and look at the new Acura.

There are some subtle similarities in the design language of some of GM's products and Mercedes' recent models.

Disagree, disagree, disagree Rob and Acuras are so ugly and hodgepodged in their styling its hard to tell where it all came from.

M

LOL

The new TL is very ugly ....it does pick up on the obvious V theme of this aesthetic.




This V-shape (chevron) theme has spread around the car industry like a virus -- seen on exterior and interior stying. Mercedes did have a very subtle arrow shaped bumper on the W129 -- and the Bentleys (particularly before the Arnage) also had a subtlety pronounced V shaped grille.

Mercedes reintroduced this theme (on its production cars) when they face lifted the current E class.

I think I've mentioned this before, but I always think of this comment when the comparisons between Caddy and MB are made:

Q & A: Mercedes-Benz's Bruno Sacco - Latest News, Auto Show Coverage, and Future Cars - Automobile Magazine


Maybe MB Brass listened and took note of what Cadillac was doing design wise... Perhaps to return to where they were with Sacco...

^ or maybe Sacco was a little more perceptive than the team that succeeded him


I'm joking a little bit there ...it is interesting that Sacco liked the Evoq -- but I really hope the new SL doesn't end up looking like a stealth fighter.

You guys are really taking this over the moon. Sacco also liked the Ford Taurus back in the 80's also and yet no Mercedes-Benz looks like a Ford Taurus. Sacco has been retired for years so why would the next SL look anything like any of those things?


M

^ LOL Marcus, nobody is suggesting that Sacco was pushing Mercedes in that direction.


We are simply talking about trends -- and it is undeniable that Mercedes has been affected by some of the bold styling ideas emanating from other design studios -- it is not a criticism, just an observation.

haha, now we know where MB got the quad oval headlights from. J/K, I know 210 came first.