Imperial Convertible, 300 Sport Wagon. Past Retro.

A mid 2000s 300 front clip, an extended wheelbase and a '69-'71 fuselage era-inspired Imperial body combine to make this very elegant 2008 Imperial Crown Convertible.

S H A M E L E S S   S E L F - P R O M O T I O N — My two little blogs clicked over 400,000 combined hits recently. Yeah, lol! To "celebrate" here are two more retro-inspired Chryslers I've created. These were done in my early days of rendering cars in Photoshop, 2005 or 2006, and the quality is a bit rough, but I love these two cars. Thanks to everyone that checks out my work and makes this blog-thing worthwhile!

An original '55 300/Imperial front clip is mated with a restyled 2005 Magnum sport wagon body. I also added typical Exner-period chrome rocket taillight tubes in the rear. I would love to see this car on the road, lol.

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1964 Imperial Crown LWB 5-passenger Sedan

Inspired by the 5-passenger Mercedes Benz 600 of the mid 1960s, I've smoothed out Elwood Engel's '64-'66 Imperial's styling for this long wheelbase Crown sedan. I think it's the poster child for mid-century coolness and modernity.

C H O P S — And now for something completely different from my exuberantly elegant Exner Imperial redux, the dark blue '62, here...

... Elwood Engel's '64 clean-lined Imp elongated and smoothed out for this long wheelbase owner-driven Crown sedan. The cabin is enlarged and extended rearward for maximum second row accommodations. The color palette is "subtle Turbine car" with a much darker copperfire hue for the body and a lighter gunmetal gray for the vinyl roof and leather-and-broadcloth interior. Pulled up next to an appropriate mid-century house, this Imperial is ready for an early morning, high-speed run out to Palm Springs with four jet-setting friends and their perhaps, dubious, luggage.

B  O N U S   P I C :

I've also chopped this Imperial Crown Coupé 2-door limousine. This would be an ultra smooth, long wheelbase chopped roof luxury express.

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2014 Regal Century coupe

It's time there was a coupe in the Buick showrooms. Or five! I'd like to see two door versions of the Verano, Regal and LaCrosse and a new dedicated sports coupe. Buick showrooms should also offer a choice of front-, rear-, and all-wheel drive platforms. Above, is my Regal Century coupe. I've slightly reproportioned the entire body. Notably I've reduced the front overhang and extended the wheelbase in front of the windshield, hinting at its newfound rear-wheel drive setup, and massaged the roofline and greenhouse. The famed Buick "sweepspear" is now an angular indentation shadowing the window space above it.

Other possible new Buick coupes from artandcolour:

Skyhawk, RWD 2-seat GT hatchback

LaCrosse Centurion, AWD luxury 5-seat coupe

Regal GS, FWD 4-seat coupe

Verano Apollo GS, AWD turbo hatchback coupe

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1962 Imperial Lebaron Southampton: Facelifted

This chop of a 1962 Imperial LeBaron 4-door hardtop, or Southampton, is a facelift that might seem pretty minor unless you were to see them side-by-side. After Exner's classic 1957s came out with their sculpted-in-form lengthy rear fins, which put the emphasis on the rear of the car, he began thinking about his "next" look. This next look, as previewed by the 1960 Valiant, would have gone back to classic proportions with a long hood and short rear deck. There was an emphasis on fender forms, as evidenced by the Valiant and the '62 Fury and Polara. "Ex" suffered a major heart attack before these cars could be finalized, the so-called "S-cars," and his successor, Elwood Engel, took things in a different direction.

"My" Imperial, above, takes the '57'-63 chassis and body, but changes it in some ways to more closely replicate this new emphasis on the front. I lengthened the hood and wheelbase around six inches in front of the windshield, giving a more classic steering wheel:axle proportion. I shortened the rear deck by about the same amount, giving a forward rather than rearward "motion" to the car. I also gave this imposing sedan rear fender skirts. I'm not really positive Exner would have, he was very much moving into a classic look with full wheel cutouts, but I like skirted rear wheels. I like to think I might have been able to talk him into it, at least for one year, lol. I left the amazing separate chrome front- and rear lights, but I lowered the roof about three inches for a bit more of a custom look. I also "finished" the chrome rocker panel trim behind the now-skirted rear wheels, the entire bottom of the car now edged with chrome.

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Cool technology for Audi A6

Cool technology for Audi A6

We do write about cars often, but with the Singapore Grand Prix happening this weekend, we're suffering from a little bit of motoring fever.

Thus,  for 3G connectivity so that you can surf the Web, too (Warning: Not recommended while driving).we hopped into an Audi A6 hybrid--because we're trying to be environmentally friendly--which has just been introduced in Singapore.

On top of your usual run-of-the-mill Bluetooth connectivity and proximity sensors, the vehicle features an impressive range of (optional) add-ons, too. For example, Google Earth offers turn-by-turn navigation and displays more details about your destination, such as contact information.

Of course, there's a SIM card slot for 3G connectivity so that you can surf the Web, too (Warning: Not recommended while driving)

The onboard multimedia interface (MMI) navigation system has an integrated touchpad that has handwriting recognition. There's also voice control as well, so that you can search for destinations or contacts by speech, but we didn't manage to test it out.

Using a combination of sensors and cameras, the A6 hybrid is even capable of helping you to park by doing the steering (you'll still need to engage the gears and foot pedals). The night vision assistant uses thermal imaging to sense any pedestrians or animals in dark areas, highlighting and emitting warning sounds if you fail to spot them.

he vehicle runs on a parallel hybrid system, meaning that the engine runs on fuel, while the electric motor runs on batteries located in the trunk. Unlike all-electric vehicles, you don't need to charge an A6 hybrid.

Audi claims the car can reach a top speed of 238kmh, but that drops to 100kmh on electric power alone. And don't count on going too far on electric power alone either--you'll only travel up to 3km at an average speed of 60kmh.

The upside is knowing that you're doing your bit for the environment--the electric motor is able to recover energy when you decelerate. This "recuperation" ability converts the vehicle's kinetic energy into electric energy, which is then stored in the battery.

Plus, you're saving more money by consuming less petrol, with the A6 hybrid sipping a mere 6.4 liters per 100 kilometers.

In Singapore, the eco-friendly car costs S$278,150 inclusive of the certificate of entitlement (COE), about S$30,000 more than the normal saloon version. It's the first Audi hybrid to be commercially available in the city-state, although there are other models from car makers such as Lexus, Honda and Toyota already.

We also saw the Audi A1 e-tron concept car, which is scheduled for road testing in Southeast Asia in the near future. The A1 e-tron is powered by an electric motor and a Wankel engine, which kicks in when the battery supply is depleted and acts as a "range extender". Since it's a concept vehicle, you can't exactly go to a showroom and ask to take it out for a test drive, unlike the A6 hybrid.

We can tell you how it sounds like, though: Not much. The electric motor is so silent that Audi's acoustics experts have created an "e-sound" for its e-tron models. Our verdict: It lives up to its name with an audio signature straight out of the "Tron: Legacy" movie.

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Bentley's 2-Seater V12 TD/h Super Coupe

How about a longitudinally mounted V12 Turbo Diesel hybrid-assisted 2-seat Bentley supercar? 

C H O P S — My Blue Train Coupe would take on the AMG SLS, certain Aston Martins, Maseratis, and Ferraris. Its combination of diesel and electric power could provide typical Bentley massive low-down torque. This new luxury supercar would be able to traverse continents with speed and grace.

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They Took My Advice: 2013 Enclave

The 2013 Buick Enclave, top of the illustration, has finally resolved its greenhouse treatment in exactly the way I suggested they should in September, 2010, bottom of the illustration.

D E S I G N   A N A L Y S I S   U P D A T  E – In September, 2010, I wrote a post named, "My Cranky Old Man Andy Rooney Moment." I gave a short design analysis of the 2008 series Buick Enclave's greenhouse, or window treatment. Briefly, I didn't like the side windows rimmed in chrome for a unified look, while the enclosed B- and C-pillars were treated differently. The B-pillar was matte black and the C-pillar was always body -olored. They should both have been matte black or both body-colored. It just didn't work as a design detail, to me. For the original post, click here.

I guess I can count Buick as one of my readers, lol. The brand new face-lifted 2013 Enclave has taken my advice and treated its B- and C-pillars equally, both in matte black. Since the area is rimmed with chrome, it just looks so much better to have the darkened windows and pillars acting as one shape.

The bright Buick crest on the C-pillar is a really nice new touch. I'd love for them to bring their "Tri Color" logo back with its red, white, and blue, shields. A bit of color used on today's updated all-chrome logo would look great. 2014, perhaps?

My version of the current Buick logo. I like the updated facets and clean style Buick has created, but without color, it seems too flat to me. I've added color back into it, above.

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