Whither Toyota's RAV4?

When I was 30 or 45 years old, I would have been astounded to learn that, in the future, I would be buying three Toyotas.  Especially ones with bodies having station wagon features.  Not the sleek and sexy sort of car that I preferred (but couldn't afford) in those younger days.

But when I retired, Toyota RAV4 SUVs made sense.  A handy configuration for hauling the occasional large objects.  From a firm with a strong reputation for reliability.  Large production numbers implying plenty of replacement parts.  A large dealer network for servicing.  And so on.

The RAV4 Wikipedia entry is here.  Scroll down to "Sixth generation (XA60; 2025)" for background on today's subject RAV.

By the way, early in 2019 I posted critical thoughts regarding the fifth generation version.  I wrote: "Now that the 2019s are here, I'm not at all sure I want to buy a new RAV4.  That's because of the styling."  Well, a few months later I bought one anyway.  It's a fine car from a driver's and user's perspective.  Though I still don't like the exterior styling

Would I buy a sixth generation version?  No.  Why?  Because no purely internal combustion powered models are available in the USA -- only hybrids and plug-in electric versions.  Big mistake on Toyota's part.  Pure EV sales are down due to lack of government subsidy and several negative characteristics such a recharging time and the risk of battery fires.  Nearly half of the high-production Gen-5 RAVs sales in recent years are hybrids, but if American buyers shun EVs and PHEVs, this implies a serious cap on potential RAV sales: those recent hybrid numbers.  RAV4s for China have conventional motors, so I won't be surprised if 2028 RAVs for the USA have them as well.  It's too large a market for even Toyota to lose.

All that said, the present post deals with styling.  Unlike previous RAV4 generations that each got distinctive designs, the 6th-Gen RAV is essentially a facelift.  Possibly a financial consideration to offset high development costs of EV powered cars.

Images below are all via Toyota publicity.  The 2026 model's photos were of a Belgian-licensed car.

Gallery

2019 fifth-generation Toyota RAV4
Too much going on here.  Plenty of angles, but inconsistent.  Note the bumper shape that doesn't quite match the nearby upper grille frame.

2026 sixth-generation Toyota RAV4
Recent styling of electric vehicles has been simpler than the fussiness seen on many conventional cars over the last decade or longer.  The Gen-6 facelift detailing is simpler than Gen-5 here and there.  The frontal design here is more coherent than that in the previous image.  But the grille zone on this likely PHEV car is too industrial-looking for me, though functional-purist observers might disagree.

The rear has similar angle problems to those up front.

Simpler, more coherent.

The facelist can be seen most clearly in these two side images.

Aside from side sheet metal sculpting, extreme front and rear transition detailing, and the shape of the rear side window, all else seems the same.  Note the car's profile, the wheel openings, door cut lines and main side window shapes.

1948 Oldsmobile Convertibles: 68 and 98 Compared

General Motors' model year 1948 Oldsmobile brand is interesting because its various model lines each used one of GM's three basic body platforms.  Entry level Olds 60-series cars were on A-bodies (aside perhaps from fastbacks), 70-series cars used B-bodies, and line-topping Ninety-Eights got GM's redesigned for '48 C-bodies that 1948 Cadillacs also used.

Oldsmobile styling for 1948 was attractively restrained.  In my post "General Motors' Best-Looking 1948 Car," the winner was the 1948 Olds 98 convertible coupe.

Just for fun, today's post compares that C-body convertible to Oldsmobile's 68 A-body convertible that used a design dating from 1940 and massively facelifted for 1941.  Given that the 68 had a pre- World War 2 design and the 98 was a new design, I suppose the greatest styling interest in such a comparison is how the designers dealt with visual brand identity.

Gallery

1948 Oldsmobile 68 Convertible Coupe - BaT Auctions photos
My post "Oldsmobile Grille Evolution: 1946-1957" shows that the grille design seen here first appeared in model year 1946.  The style of upper grille framing continued through 1954.  This was in contrast to the elaborate 1942 grille.  Headlights placed inboard from fender outer edges was an Oldsmobile-only feature for General Motors over much of the 1940s.

1948 Oldsmobile 98 Convertible Coupe - Mecum Auctions photos
Besides the grille theme, similarities with the 68 car include the crest and word "OLDSMOBILE" on the front of the hood.

Side view comparison.

Wheelbase is 125 inches (3175 mm), 6 inches (152 mm) longer than the 68's.  This car is lower than the 68, part of an industry trend.  Both cars have bold chrome strips abaft of the front wheel openings and rock guards on the lower forward faces of the rear fenders.  The larger rear wheel opening on the 68 made a horizontal chrome strip on its rear fender impractical.

Rear quarter perspective.

Tail light assemblies seem to be the same despite the different bodies.  Rear ends of cars in those days were still simple, decorations given little attention by stylists.  That changed during the 1950s and later.

The 68s dashboard was largely the same as those on 1941 Oldsmobiles.

A new design with a new dashboard.

1939 Bentley Corniche Prototype

A unique and specially honored Bentley is the prototype 1939 Corniche design.  Its body was designed and  built in France on a chassis supplied by Rolls-Royce's Bentley subsidiary.  Perhaps even more unusual was its total lack of an identifying Bentley grille.

The Bentley Motors Limited web site about the car is here.  It stated:

"The ‘Embiricos’ Bentley 4¼ Litre of 1938 inspired Bentley to create an aerodynamic Mark V called the Corniche.  Although the original body was destroyed in the war, it was the precursor to the iconic R Type Continental of 1952.  To celebrate Bentley’s 2019 centenary, the Corniche was recreated using a combination of original Mark V parts and the specialist fabrication skills of Mulliner, Bentley’s in-house bespoke and coachbuilding division.

"In the late 1930s the ‘Embiricos’ Bentley, designed by Georges Paulin and bodied by Pourtout, had shown the value of aerodynamics for fast road and track driving.  Its success inspired Bentley to commission a one-off 4-door Mark V in a similar ‘streamlined’ style.  A Mark V prototype chassis (14BV) was sent to France, where Bentley designer Ivan Evernden worked jointly with Paulin at the Paris workshops of Carosserie Vanvooren.  The car, named ‘Corniche’, was intended to be shown at the 1939 London Motor Show alongside other coachbuilders’ offerings for the Mark V chassis."

Unfortunately, the car was destroyed in an August, 1939 crash.  The recreation was part of Bentley's 2019 Centennial celebrations.

Photos below are via Bentley unless noted otherwise.

Gallery

First, three black-and-white photos of the original car.  The concept was an aerodynamic (in the late 1930s sense) four-door saloon.  In those days, bodies with "streamlining" features tended to be coupés.

An earlier Bentley saloon with aerodynamic pretentions (keeping in mind that Bentley did not offer "factory" bodies before World War 2).  It's a 1936 4 1/4 Litre Airflow Saloon by Gurney Nutting - R.M. Sotheby's photo.  Standard wheelbase for this series was 126 inches (3200 mm).  Compare its proportions to those of the Corniche in the image below.

Mark V Bentleys such as the Corniche had 124 inch (3150 mm) wheelbases.  This car's passenger compartment is placed farther forward than that of the Airflow.  And its proportions are more sensible and attractive.

The odd styling feature is the frontal composition that will be examined in more detail below.

Right profile of the replica.  The strong falling-off of the beltline abaft of the A-pillar is a French feature, but usually found in less-exaggerated form on English saloons.

No doubt Paulin gave plan-view feature shaping considerable thought.

Looking down on the front end - image via Classic & Sports Car magazine.  Teardrop shapes aplenty here.   Unusual is the prow lacking a grille.  Suggestive of pre-1930 Renaults.  It's flanked by actual grilles that seem rather small for providing cooling air to the radiator.

Head-on frontal view.  Not at all Bentley-like.  The advent of World War 2 shortly after the original Corniche was destroyed ended any chance of production.  Given the lack of factory bodies, it's possible that Corniche buyers would have retained Paulin's frontal design.  Or maybe Bentley might have provided a front end or even a hood-grille unit that was more Bentley-like, though not necessarily as seen below.

An example of a 1939-vintage Bentley front end.  The car is a 1938 4 1/4 Litre Sports Saloon by Mulliner - Bonham's photo.

1955 Studebaker President State Hardtop Trim Alternatives

I practically worshiped Studebaker's 1953 Starliner hardtop coupe design when it first appeared, and I still regard it as classic.

So I was shocked when the 1955 facelift was announced.  The most shocking feature was the massive chrome grille framing that destroyed the attractive, logical grille shape of 1953-54.  Added to that was the awkward two-tone paint schemes on coupes and hardtop coupes. Then there was the Speedster with a wide chrome band reaching over the C-pillars and across the roof, delimiting another two-tone pattern.

I discussed the '55 facelift in an early post titled "What Were They Thinking?: 1955 Studebaker Starliner Facelift."

Today, I deal with Studebaker's President line's non-Speedster hardtops that had more sensible trim features.

Gallery

1955 Studebaker President Speedster - Hyman Ltd photo
First, a Speedster for context.  The main styling differences from regular President hardtops were the two-tone paint scheme and the wide chrome band at the C-pillar that can barely be seen in this photo.

1955 Studebaker President State - Mecum Auctions photos
The standard President hardtop.  It shares the chrome trim of the Speedster (apart from the C-pillar band). But it has an added chrome link between the basic side trim and the forward base of the C-pillar.  This defines the two-tone paint scheme.

The two-tone scheme is more apparent from this viewing angle.  Not a nice scheme.  It's awkward, almost arbitrary, and serves to visually shorten the car's appearance.  A sad, unfortunate decline from those classic 1953 versions.

1955 Studebaker President State - car-for-sale photos
This car has a more normal two-tine paint scheme.  I've seen a few more examples on the Internet, so I think this might well have been a buyer option available, but not seen in Studebaker publicity.  Back in the 1950s, it was common for a buyer to order a car from a dealer and specify desired items,  Then the buyer would have to wait weeks for that car containing his specifications to be assembled and delivered.

Much better than the basic President State.  That wide chrome slab on the side is not aesthetically helpful, however.

1955 Studebaker President State - car-for-sale photos
Ah, a car without the slab.  Might this too have been an order option?  Or was this car mildly customized?  I've yet to notice another like on the Web.

That said, it's the most attractive of the cars shown.

1955 Studebaker President State - photo via Hemmings
A definite post-production change is the painting-over of the grill frame.  Seen above is one of a few cars I saw on the internet with painted snouts.  Not well executed.

This is a 1955 Studebaker coupe with a better front end paint job.  No photo source, I don't know if it's a Champion or a Commander.  The front end looks more attractive than the production version's.  Actually, this should have been the production front end.

1981 2-door Lincoln Town Car: One Year Only

Actually, that car was produced for two model years.  For 1980, it was the Lincoln Continental Coupé, with a wheelbase of 117.3 inches (2979 mm).  Not to be confused with the 1980 Lincoln Continental Mark VI Coupé whose wheelbase was 114.3 inches (2903 mm).  The 1981 2-door was part of the newly-named Town Car line.  It was called a 2-Door Sedan in some publicity literature, and I've also seen it referred to as Town Coupé.

In that same 1980-81 time frame, Ford Motor Company produced 114.3-inch wheelbase Mercury Marquis 2-door sedans and Ford LTD 2-door sedans on the same wheelbase.  That is the same as the 1980 and 1981 Continental Mark VI 2-door.

The circa-1980 setting had Ford Motor Company producing cars on five different wheelbases, simplified to four wheelbases for 1981.  Given its three car marques (Ford, Mercury, Lincoln), those basic bodies were shared across the line, with a few exceptions.  Ford and Mercury lacked 117.3-inch models, whereas the 114.3-inch wheelbase was Lincoln's shortest.

Lincoln Continental Mark VIs included 2-door models into the 1980s and beyond, on increasing Mark numbers.  Lincoln Town Cars were 4-door sedans from 1982 until the line was dropped after the 2011 model year.  Those 117.3-inch 2-doors did not sell well: 7,177 and 4,935 for 1980 and 1981, respectively.  So management probably decided continuing that style was not economically realistic.  Further, it clarified the Town Car's image as a 4-door sedan only.

Gallery

1980 Ford LTD 2-Door Sedan - car-for-sale photo
This design debuted for the 1979 model year.  The massive B-pillar was for rollover protection required by government regulations.

1980 Lincoln Continental Coupe - car-for-sale photo
The longer-wheelbase Lincoln appeared for the 1980 model year.

1981 Lincoln Town Car 2-Door Sedan - car-for-sale photo
Basically the same design, but given a different model name.  Boxy, plenty overhang, slightly fussy abaft of the B-pillar.  But fairly attractive, aside from those quad headlights.

1982 Lincoln Continental Mark VI Coupe - BaT Auctions photo
Mark VI coupes were produced model years 1980-1983.  Its wheelbase is the same as the Ford's in the first image above.  In 1981, 18,740 were built, compared to only 4,935 2-door Town Cars.  Which probably explains why the latter was dropped for model year 1982.  That oval opera window seems silly.  Also, the opera window fad was nearly over.

Regarding Cadillac's Mid-1950s Side Trim Revisions

A while ago I posted "Cadillac Side Trim Theme: 1948-1959" dealing with theme continuity and evolution over a decade of model years.  Today, I treat that in more detail.

The theme had to do with faux air intakes at the forward edge of the rear fender zone.  At one point, the design took an odd twist -- the subject of this post -- and how it evolved in following model years.

Details are in the image captions below.

Gallery

1950 Cadillac 62 - car-for sale photo
In the earlier post I noted: "Cadillacs were redesigned for the 1950 model year.  They were big, long cars which was why they were able to carry the vertical element where the rear fender begins.  The usual styling approach was and is to emphasize horizontality in order to make a car look longer and lower than if it were unadorned.  Another interesting detail in that vertical element is that it is a fake air intake -- something that became something of a styling fad two years later on hoods and sides of the redesigned 1952 Ford Motor Company line.  For some reason, the public and car buff press didn't make a big deal of Caddie's faux scoops at the time."

1954 Cadillac 62 - BaT Auctions photo
Cadillacs were redesigned for 1954.  The side trim theme is essentially that found on the '50 Cadillac.  A curious carryover is the design of the passenger compartment greenhouse if the windshield is ignored.  Taller windows, but compare the details around its aft end.  Yet another instance of General Motors' tooling carryover?

1955 Cadillac 62 - BaT Auctions
The next model year side trim was revised.  The horizontal chrome strip was connected to the vertical "air intake" and the latter eliminated below the junction.  I never liked this change from the time I first saw it back in my high school days.  To me, it's a lazy, so-what? detail.  Yet it was continued for 1956.  Apparently it didn't bother Cadillac buyers.

1956 Cadillac 62 - car-for-sale photo
For '56 stylists added that spear shape on the rear fender area.  It served to distract attention from the L-shaped trim.  Also, the latter's vertical part was made bolder, somewhat divorcing it from the slender, horizontal part.

1957 Cadillac 62 - photo via Hemmings
Cadillacs were redesigned again for 1957.  The spear shape is longer, bolder.  And the vertical element is now below it, a better solution.  Moreover, the pretense of being an air intake is gone.  It was finally eliminated in the 1959 redesign.

1950 Cadillac 62 - Barrett-Jackson Auctions photo
Here and below are images showing the side trim on hardtop convertibles bodies.

1954 Cadillac 62 - Barrett-Jackson

1955 Cadillac 62 - car-for-sale photo

1956 Cadillac 62- car-for-sale photo

1957 Cadillac 62 - car-for-sale photo

Three Designs, One Major Facelift in Four Model Years: Buick 1956-1959

General Motors dominated the American automobile market in the 1950s, as it had for most of the previous 30 years.

Part of this dominance was due to its styling unit led by Harley Earl.  Market share and design features fed on one another, forcing other carmakers to at least pay strong attention to GM's designs.  Happy days on Detroit's West Grand Boulevard.

Suddenly, change happened.  Chrysler Corporation's new 1957 designs created under the leadership of Virgil Exner were sensationally successful, whereas new-for-1957 GM designs were comparatively heavy looking.  It seemed that the once-magical Harley Earl touch was gone (note that he was nearing compulsory GM retirement age when those design were gestating).

Today's post considers styling of GM's Buick brand during those years of reacting to the collapse of styling dominance.  As the headline notes, the introduction of completely new bodies was rapid, given that three or four year production runs per body design were typical for the corporation during the first two thirds of the 1950s.

Buicks were radically redesigned for the 1954 model year, a futuristic (at the time) feature being wraparound (panoramic) windshields.  These cars sold well during the body's three-year production run.  Then came the '57 redesign that was less exciting than Chrysler Corporation's new 1957 offering.  So Buicks were given a crash facelift for '58.  And the 1959 model year saw GM launching another redesign.

As things turned out, Chrysler's post-1957 facelifts resulted in weaker sales.  Meanwhile, General Motors styling remained in the doldrums until 1961, when Bill Mitchell, Earl's successor, was able to create new designs.

Cars pictured below are all four-door sedans to facilitate comparisons.  Examples of 1954 and 1955 Buicks are included for some historical context.

Gallery

1954 Buick Century - Hessney Auctions photo
This is the least-sexy model of the very futuristic (as of release date in the Fall of 1953) new design.  Buick Specials and Centurys were based on GM's B-Body.

1955 Buick Special - Hemmings photo
This model year's Buicks received new grilles and revised rear fender tips.

1956 Buick Special - car-for-sale photo
Again, another new grille.  Rear wheel openings are enlarged, rounded.

1957 Buick Special - Mecum Auctions photo
Harley Earl's unfortunate new design.  The A-pillar is more crisp, but the the rest of the greenhouse is heavy-looking -- especially the backlight window segment dividers (seen in profile here).

1958 Buick Special - car-for-sale photo
Here is the massive facelift that was a crash-reaction to the 1957 Chrysler Corporation design.  Front and rear ends were redone (not seen in this profile view).  Lots of new chrome.  Real wheel opening reverts to '54-'55 style.  The large spash in the rear fender zone does not relate to the traditional (at the time) Buick Sweepspear also seen in the images above.  Tasteless.  Especially coming from a styling studio that once led the industry.

1959 Buick Invicta - photo via driveshare.com
Special and Century names were replaced for '59.  This is the new body with Chrysler-inspired tail fins.  A lot less unnecessary chrome decoration.  Interesting sculpting, but not a very successful design.  As mentioned, Bill Mitchell's influence did not really kick in until the 1961 models arrived.