Giugiaro Mustang concept

Presented by Fabrizio Guigiaro and Jay Mays, this Mustang based one-off is a clever way for Ford to gain some useful publicity for the Mustang brand when the car is approaching its mid-life point and both GM and DaimlerChrysler are speedily preparing production versions of the pony car coupes they presented earlier this year in Detroit as concepts.

The Guigiaro Mustang is similar in many ways to the GG50 Ferrari 612 based one-off shown last year at Tokyo: it has a huge windscreen / glass roof, a fastback profile and open through load area, and adds dynamism with a lower nose and fast screen.

At the front the car has a cleaner DRG (down road graphic) reminiscent of the Mustang concept that previewed the current production car, a subtle but effective surface impression in the lower door side, a very deep section clamshell hood (which thus reduces unsightly shut lines) and a slightly odd concave rear surface with a pair of three vertically orientated lights that reference the original 1964 Mustang.

The interior is quite baroque with fur, polished chrome and unusual detailing - see the decorative gear selector and handbrake. This gives the car an aesthetic very different from the standard Mustang and shows the potential for future Mustangs to offer a broader variety of design packages and thus develop beyond the tightly focussed current macho Mustang image.

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Mazda Nagare concept

This is the first car presented by Laurens van den Acker, since he took over from Moray Callum in May this year as General Manager of the Design Division at Mazda. Designed in the California studio under Director of Design Mazda North America, Franz von Holzhausen, the Nagare builds on the themes explored by the trilogy of Mazda concepts developed last year (the Sassou, Senku and Holzhausen's Kabura). Holzhausen told Car Design News how Nagare introduces 'flow' as a new form language direction that will influence future Mazda design.
 
This idea of 'flow' is evident in the concept's simple flowing monospace form and the decorative flowing crease lines at the rear of the flanks and on the inside upper surface of the front fenders, and also in the front and rear lights.

The concept was presented, like the Acura and Honda concepts also debuting at the show, as a hard model with no interior, although a central front driving position was indicated by the upper part of a seat and steering wheel visible through the canopy. The car's lack of doors, the way the wheel design included the tyre area and other production-unfeasible elements underscored the Nagare's very conceptual status, but it was also well resolved, unarguably handsome and received a very positive response at the show.

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Nissan Ultima Coupe
 
The Ultima Coupe was one of very few new production debuts at LA, with most brands waiting for Detroit to unveil new metal. But for a niche product from an import brand, this LA debut makes a lot of sense as the Nissan would likely have been more overlooked by journalists and visitors at the larger show in the north.

The Ultima Coupe will appeal to a relatively conservative sector of the market and as such is not a radical design. But it does have an overall balance and quality of execution that impresses and some strong design features such as: a trunk lid that distinctively drops into the rear bumper, lights that cleverly extent from the truck surface and cap the rear corner of the car, a high quality full depth IP moulding, and a rear window graphic that extends into the upper trunk surface.

But despite some clever design elements, the Ulitma coupe is hobbled by inheriting the sedan's long wheelbase and having overly small wheels. This and a few other details (notably the large leading edge bonnet shut gap) compromise what is otherwise an appealing new design.

More LA Highlights coming soon...