Japanese Nostalgic Car

Today, April 27, is World Design Day, formerly known as World Graphics Day. It celebrates graphic design, the art of making text and images look cool. The world would be pretty boring if every piece of text was in Times New Roman, and luckily automotive fonts have not disappointed. The typefaces used in badges, decals, and brochures are among the most evocative ever created. The very best can generate emotion just by looking at the word.

Which Japanese car had the best font?

The most entertaining comment by next week will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “If you could be a car designer, which company would you work for and what would you do?“. Continue reading →

Car design is an incredibly difficult job. You have to fit everything inside a package that seats enough people, carries enough stuff, meets the engineering requirements, and passes safety regulations, all while evoking emotion. Yet, we wouldn’t be car enthusiasts if we didn’t have a mountain of opinions about what makes a good looking car, which ones are ugly, and what should be changed.

If you could be a car designer, which company would you work for and what would you do?

The most entertaining comment by next week will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “Have you ever bought a car (or not) because of the color?“. Continue reading →

Color is clearly an important factor when it comes to choosing a car, but can it make or break a purchase? We have friends who will accept a car in any color, as long as it’s a model they like, but others who will absolutely refuse a bucket list car if it’s the wrong color. Other times the car may not be a bucket list buy, but the color is just so charming you can’t help it. Would a 1979 Mazda GLC wagon be as desirable in silver? With older cars, when there’s a dwindling pool to choose from and beggars can’t be choosers, but color can still be a dealbreaker.

Have you ever bought a car (or not) because of the color?

The most entertaining comment by next week will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “What do you do with your stickers?“. Continue reading →

Today, April 6, is Sticker Day in Japan. It’s a play on words, combining four (shi) and six (ru), for shiru, which means “sticker” or “seal”. It’s probably safe to assume that, as car people, we’ve all accumulated significant collections of stickers. Some are given away at car shows, others are prized and purchased, some come as a bonus with a car part. Stickers can act as a roll call, mementos of experiences, decoration, graffiti, or whatever. Do you fulfill the sticker’s destiny and put it on your car or toolbox? Stow them away in an album? Adhere them to something completely unrelated?

What do you do with your stickers?

The most entertaining comment by next week will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “How do you find the car of your dreams for sale?“. Continue reading →