QUESTION: Why do some things just LOOK GOOD or are COOL?

I'd like some input. I'm putting my monthly column together and this time it's about why some things in hot rodding just plain look good or are inherently cool. Like the right stance, the right amount of chop, certain motors. Why are some body styles better than others? Is it that they truly, universally look better, or have we been conditioned to think that they are? Why do flames and scallops have such universal appeal? You get the idea.

What do you think? What are some examples of inherent cool?

 

Iron Crosses, bro.

 

Swastica pedals

 

Cool is in the eye of the beholder the same as beauty. The status quo of a "beautiful woman" these days is the airbrushed, cellulite free broomstick with giant perky tits we're sold in the magazines and on T.V. Classical painters however considered a beautiful woman to be the symbol of motherhood: big hips, a potbelly, saggy breasts, double chins. Although the "what is beautiful/cool" is in the eye of the beholder, it really seems to be affected by the masses and what "they" consider to be cool or beautiful.
However there seems to be a difference between classic and trendy. We used to think jacked up muscle cars were the shit, and at one point (raise your hands) a lot of us owned camaros or t-top trans-ams. Those have gone by the wayside, but a traditional hot rod is STILL cool. Always has been cool, and always will be cool. Aesthetic appeal has a lot to do with it, but I think there is an inherent recognition of what "looks good/cool". Paint/proportion/stance/etc. I hate to even say it, but there are plenty of ignorant persons out there who think Boyd and his Billet style is truly cool. It's all an opinion thing.

P.S. rereading this .. did it make any sense? Good luck writing THAT article.

 

it is the universal 'ism'....
beauty is.
it exists unto itself.
cool/attactive co-exists with beauty but in the sphere of appreciation.

deuce roadster.
halibrands.
quick changes.
front motored fuelers 62-68
funny cars 71-87
the hemi
40 ford coupes
36 ford coupes
55 chevys
black laquer
oxblood leather
german wool carpet
full house flattys
strombergs
cast fenton headers
the list goes on and on....
model A lakes car on deuce rails.
streamliners
multi engine hot rods
7.0-16 WWW's
banjo steering wheels
auburn
cord
dusenberg
offenhauser 4
barris
roth
westergard
jeffries
winfield
watson

 

It's all because of the Golden Ratio.

1.61803399 to 1.

 

Conditioning...and acceptance...Can you imagine the first guy that put flames on his car...he probably got laffed right out of the club..."What the hell is that supposed to do for the car?"

Acceptance..."Ya know Joe, them "flames" don't look half bad...I think my painter can do a little better job with a spray gun than what he did with a brush."

Conditioning...What was the first guy that chopped a Deuce thinking..."This is going to cut down on air resistance on the flats"...or..."I am going to be so kool at the cruise tonite."

Acceptance: "Ya know Joe, that so-called "chop" doesn't look half bad...I think my body man can chop a top a little more evenly...maybe even take an inch or so more out of it... "

Acceptance: ON a kustom...wide whites, hubcaps, fender skirts...

R-

 

What a load of Fibonacci!

 

14.7:1

 

Some things are subliminally familiar. Take for example Raymond Lowey's
Coke bottle design, it looks like a womans figure and we all know how
pleasing that can be.

Other things like a good smooth chop with proper proportions probably fall
into the same category. I don't remember much from my psycology and
biology classes but there are some universal proportions and ratios' that are
imprinted in our brains, things that match those proportions are more
pleasing. Somehow a mildly chopped Merc with the back window moved
forward instead of laid down seems to be one of them.

 

Sometimes you can't explain cool. Or WHY something looks RIGHT. Can't explain the FEELING. Ya know???

 

1940 merc's are one example that comes to mind, they just look better chopped. An engine with 6 dueces on top allways seems to "cool".

 

Some things just look right - there is no explanation to it.
Other have been conditioned into our brains by society. There is no reasonable explanation for '32s to be bringing so much more money these days than any other old car with killer lines.
And yet other (Boyd/Billet) are shiny. Those who don't know any better go for shiny.

 

I think the "What's Traditional and what Isn't" debate is kinda silly, IF you accept (and you may not) the definition of Hot Rodding--the original definition--as being whatever the builder chooses to do; a matter of personal tastes and an expression of one's individuality.
I see some people using the term "period-correct" on this board, and I think it's more accurate to say that, rather than "Traditional," and I think you're less likely to get into an argument about what's "period-correct" and what Isn't. But it also puts you closer to the "Resto" category than some of you feel comfortable with, if you're aiming for something historically authentic.
I may be wrong, but that seems to me what the HAMB is about: Period Correctness. And me personally I got no problem with that.

 

For the most part, yes, that's exactly it. However, you also gotta factor in the "trends" and "peer pressure" that heavily contribute to what's commonly accepted as cool, then and now.

 

Very close to where my mind is on this. Form and function - either is OK but when the two meet...look out.

 

More good thoughts. Some things are scientifically more more appealing than others. Humans are subconsciously drawn to certain universally appealing shapes etc. These are the things I am asking about, not the temporary trand based things. For instance trends can lead people down the path of chopping cars too much. We are seeing some of those results in the hobby now. Some people think that if some chop is good , more is better. That is rarely the case. A chop should accentuate and better the lines of a car, not overwhelm the rest of it. We'll all stare at the radical, but some things are just plain right and have lasting appeal.

 

To me its about
Primal urges.....
Power.....
Flow....
Lines...
Stance....
Unity....
Sex....

 

Yep, just like you can "feel" something is wrong with a look, and not be able to spot it. Some things just look right.

 

years ago i was sitting at a red light.
A 1968 Chevelle drove by,I thought "that car has the right stance,the rear tires are perfect-not too wide or too short,fits the wheel well perfect."
Then I thought,I bet nobody else at the intesection even gave the car a second thought.

Car guys are just different.Cool is in the eye of the beholder.
Have you ever seen a horrible brass T-bucket win peoples choice at a show when there was cars like the Pierson bros coupe there?
ugg,keep me away from the keyboard.
I do read your column KIRK!,keep up the good work.

 

I agree as well...There are elements,whether they have been pounded into us or are just innate, whether it's a car or a painting or whatever, that make something look cool. It has to do with balance, composition, colors and for things in the 3D realm-shape. Look at what Leowy did with products. Streamlining a pencil sharpener did nothing for it's function, but people liked it more. Same with a car. Fins (or lack thereof) did nothin' for the function, but it certainly made a difference to the viewer/car buyer. Look at a painting from the Renaissance- they had a formula for the composition that worked...a painting with the same content that doesn't have the right composition just doesn't work. Just my $.02

 

I'm not sure I agree with the "either is OK". Seems to me that when form overshoots function, the result is likely to be either a trailered show car or a rat rod.

 

True!

 

Exactly my point. It's a puzzle and interesting to ponder.

 

It is all in the eye of the beholder. I have kind of oversimplified what someone else said previously in this thread. i shouldn't have thought so long. Someone done said it, sorry for being the retard.

 

"COOL" is like getting your pipes cleanedon't bother to try and understand;just lay back and enjoy it!

 

What's cool? Cool is when total strangers see something cool and can all agree it's cool- instead of automatically aguing with each other about WHY it's cool. I think we could use alot more cool in this world-

 

A car can have too many cool things and then not be cool at all. Cool for the sake of being cool, isn't cool...Cool just happens. Some people try too hard.

Spike

 

For me it's form and function. Styling or aestethics seem to reveal themselves automatically when a designer can bring the two together.