Till the early 80s most of the cars in India had bench seats in the front with a column shifter. Although the reference is only about the Indian cars in the 70s (Ambassador and Fiat), I somehow like the idea. Maybe it is because I learned to drive in an Ambassador car or maybe the idea that it allows better bonding between the family members, couples, lovers because of the proximity of occupants.
Many successful cars are sold around the world because of their looks. But people often fail to reason out why a particular car looks good. It is the designer who should get into the minds of people and find out what looks good and what does not. Of all the factors which influence the final look of the car, its proportions is the most important one.
The following are some of the factors that greatly influence the proportions.
Tyre size: The size of tyres greatly decides on the proportions. Tyres are like the legs of an animal. Powerful and fast animals tend to have longer and muscular legs, compared to their body size. Likewise the size of the tyre ( both diameter and the width) decides the character of the car. In fact the proportions of the car can be defined relative to the tyre size.
