Twenty-First Century Chrome: A Return to Ornamentation

     by Steve Lovett, Senior Editor

I’ve seen many trends come and go. More often than not, I’m happy to see them go and don’t mind if the door hits them on the way out. Many older automotive trappings come to mind: pin-striping, wire wheel covers, faux convertible tops…

While all of these things added something to the appearance of the vehicles which were saddled with them, none have the flair and grace of what I’m noticing now; the return of ornamentation. Through the 60’s and 70’s ornamentation was the name of the game. Think of older Cadillacs, Town-Cars, even Caravelle’s. In fact body ornamentation almost overtook the emphasis on the vehicles themselves. Then as we entered the 80’s and 90’s, the clean, unadorned look ruled the day. Almost overnight, chrome, fake wood and metallic accents went away. Everything on the exterior was body color, including bumpers, mirrors, beltlines etc, and everything on the interior became monotone plastic. Ford’s Taurus was the epitome of this cleaner more European design.

Now that quality has improved and engineering is less of a differentiator, we are now seeing a justified return of body ornamentation to spice up and differentiate models.

Take the front-quarter-panel gills on Range Rover models. These gills are reminiscent of those on 70’s era Ford LTD’s. While non-functional, they have the appearance of helping the powerful engine behind it breath, inhaling and exhaling for performance. Their similarity to gills on a shark is no coincidence. In fact Corvette has been using this cue for its past 3 generations. Land Rover is not alone in its adoption of this stylish cue. It can be found on the Saturn SKY, Jaguar XK, Aston Martin Rapide and even the Dodge Nitro.

Another example is heat extractors on hoods. While these have been used in various muscle cars over the years, a new more opulent execution is taking form. Take the extractors on the 2007 Saturn SKY. They blend sharp angular design, with proper proportions of chrome and wonderful, flush craftsmanship. This level of detail and sophistication is available on a car that is under $25,000. The Cadillac Escalade (so called King of Bling) brings a high level of ornamentation to the GMT900 platform. The fine detailing of chrome within each of the eighteen ports of it’s massive grill is extraordinary in it’s feeling of quality and opulence. Each section has it’s own individual cross-hair pattern of chrome that is simply magical in its appearance. Escalade also features open gills in it’s front quarter panels with a chrome surround and bisecting jeweled bar.

Ornamentation is also on the comeback with vehicle interiors. Just ten years ago, vehicle interiors were a single-tone, low-gloss oasis of black & grey plastics. Today the return of woods, metals, and exposed stitching on leathers give a much richer appearance. The return of the analog  clock is a fine example. First to the recent trend was Infiniti, with it’s first generation I-30. This compact rear-drive sedan offered is passengers a view of a tasteful, jewel-like clock in the center of the instrument panel. It was not the easiest to read, with no improvement in functionality, but it looked precise. Since then, other automakers have rushed to this trend, adding ornamental clocks to everything from Chryslers to Cadillacs.  When you look at new vehicle interiors, notice the use of chrome in any perimeter area. The surrounds of cup holders, clocks, door handles, vents, gauges, gauge clusters all of these and more are now being penned with chrome outlines.

I believe ornamentation is here to stay. Now that quality and performance are becoming price of entry, these emotionally driving details are just as important to make an impact on consumers.

Comments

[Dan]

The vents on the Sky and the upcoming Vue look great. It is nice to see automakers willing to invest a bit more in cost without any functional purpose in order to enhance the design. Great reporting!

[Van Gainey]

The comment about the analog clock and Infiniti needs correction: the first Inifniti with an analog clock was the original Q45 in 1989-1990 and further correction: the I30 was a front wheel drive vehicle; the G35 was the rear wheel drive car.

[Van Gainey]

A further comment; the I30 that you have in mind could have been the J30 but again it came after the Q45. The J30 was introduced in 1993.