It’s no secret Buick and Opel are forging deep ties in terms of design. And, as the ties deepen, expect to see more styling language to be shared among the two, including Opel’s new “floating” roofline.
The 2016 Opel Astra debuted with this new trademark design and, as Automotive News reports, it has a purpose.
“When you keep the same height but squeeze some size out of the car, it becomes more square-ish and can look taller and stumpier,” Opel design chief Mark Adams told AN. “That’s not good, so we needed to hide it visually.”
The 2016 Astra arrives with greater interior room, but a smaller overall footprint. Though, Opel wasn’t ready to rush the 2016 Astra out with a boxy, stumpy design.
The C-pillar has been blacked out, and the chrome stripping extended to the car’s spoiler to create the optical illusion of a floating roof.
“With a conventional C-pillar, your eye visually travels to that C-pillar and then stops,” Adams said. “What this does is allow your eye to travel all the way through it. You’re stretching the shape, making the car look lower and more coupe-like.”
GM’s global design chief, Ed Welburn, said it’s a design cue Opel will see more of in the future and, subsequently, Buicks.
Comments
I love that design!!!
Why is it that some manufacturers , like Opel , GM and others who are hungry for more market share have to do so by playing with the greenhouse area to be perceived as being hotter and more appealing to their intended cuistomers ?? The biggest seller in Europe , outselling everything available by a wide margin is the VW Golf . Talk about plain Jane , talk about basically an unchanged profile for many years , but it is unmatched in popularity !! Opel and GM , here is some important news ….your buyers are FIRST AND FOREMOST …..PRACTICAL PEOPLE !! They are driving in highly congested cities and towns where great sightlines are required as is a small exterior footprint for driving and parking . The Golf is unmatched for open greenhouse/minimized exterior and it’s pricing is putting this company over the top .
Opel can’t match VW for price , as far as I can see , for VW’s assembly factories have been paid for years ago ,. so Opel goes for glitz , for a hot look….. why don’t we severely slope the roof , add a hot dimension to this people mover and gain a big market share ?? Well , limiting your success big time , goes right back to the theme here …..your buyers are first and foremost PRACTICAL PEOPLE !!!