Cadillac Escalade

This is an all new Escalade that is a twin to the Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon. The Escalade was an LA Auto Show debut, but in its long wheelbase (ESV) and unique pickup (EXT) forms it debuts at Detroit.

At the front upright slim indicators now sit within the lamp cans as part of the brand's typical vertical lamp design, and the grille comprises of chrome sided square holes in a body colour front panel. But overall the Escalade fails to disguise its truck underpinnings and crude construction; there is no tension in the surfaces or crisp creases, the running boards are not integrated into the design, and there is a huge amount of space in the wheel arches.

Inside there are greater improvements over its predecessor, but the inoffensively handsome design still has many join lines and employs some cheap feeling materials.

It is unlikely that existing customers of the unusually fashionable Escalade will be disappointed by this new design. But given that it competes in market sector in freefall, is a very profitable vehicle, and just around the corner faces a threat from import brands, it seems that the Escalade is the product of an rather short sighted strategy.

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Kia Soul Concept

The Soul is a small front wheel drive crossover from Kia that will most likely be soon followed with a similar production car.

At the front the hood features one simple surface flanked by a very well controlled surface that extends forward from the shoulder to envelope around the lamps. Moving rearward this shoulder wraps upward in parallel to the DLO at the C-pillar and then forwards again into the roof in a similar way to the Saab 9-3X and the Kia Mesa concept of last year's Detroit show.

The interior theme complements the exterior well being similarly not overworked and is notable for the circular themes on the IP which particularly emphasise the speakers.

The Soul is not a very radical design, and arguably borrows its concept from Skoda's Yeti, but this is a distinct, well resolved and handsome design from Kia.

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Kia R10 Mesa Concept - Detroit 2005
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Chrysler Aspen

The Detroit Auto Show is renowned for the showmanship of its car launches and this year the Aspen took honours for the most impressive show, driving onto a stage through a dramatic, and quite realistic snow storm!

The Aspen is a large SUV (set to go head to head with the new Cadillac Escalade) – a first for Chrysler. With the biggest version of Chrysler's retro corporate grille and the brand's archetypal hood ridges, it is unlikely to be mistaken for a product of any other brand, but once the plastic snow flakes had settled it became apparent that other than these superficial elements, the car is pure, generic big SUV.

It has huge bumper offsets, crude running boards, little sophistication or innovation in surface resolution and a bland, old fashioned interior with cheap feeling materials and a plethora of join lines – even around the passenger airbag.

Despite this, the Aspen is quite attractive and given the market and the Chrysler brand's fashionable allure it is likely to be commercially successful – at least in the short term.

Lexus LS460

This is the new Lexus flagship which will compete in the class defined by the Mercedes S-Class. Previewed in Tokyo last year with the LF-Sh, the LS460 features a rounded but prominent body side crease, the new Lexus 'slingshot' DLO which kicks up into the C-pillar and a series of rather odd, curvy shut lines around the rear fender, bumper, light and trunk. Other notable elements are exhausts integrated into the rear lower valance, subtle chrome appliqué at the base of the doors and a faultless but rather conservative interior.

The LS460 is a more distinctive design than its predecessor, although relative to the imposing BMW 7 Series, unusually dynamic S-Class and classically svelte Jaguar XJ and Maserati Quattroporte it is very much in the old school luxury car idiom. But given its new found sophistication, the brand's ever elevating position and its competitors arguably nonsensical abandonment of the luxury car middle ground, this might just be one of the best judged designs of the year.

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Lexus LF-Sh Concept - Tokyo 2005

Lincoln MKS Concept

The sedan unveiled by Lincoln previews their next contender for the Cadillac STS sector. Developed under Design Director Patrick Schiavone, the project was initiated in California before being completed in Dearborn. Clean and sinuous, the MKS concept is non-retrospective, with tall stretched flanks intended to lend the design timelessness, and accented with dulled chrome. A high waist supports a shallow shoulder, the crease wrapping to form the lip on the rear deck.

The DRG features a 'waterfall grille' with the hood shut lines coming in to separate it from the lights, as first seen on the Volkswagen Phaeton and more recently the new Honda Civic. Inside, Lincoln's design team has used wood, metal and hide in a wide range of finishes to good effect, creating a contemporary and comfortable environment, with innovations like looped-tassle mats and silvered bird's eye maple inspired by the Milan Furniture Fair.

Infiniti Coupe Concept

Designed in Japan for the American market under Koji Nagano, the Coupe Concept previews the next Infinti G35. Similar in silhouette to the current car, the concept shows more integrated forms and greater movement between surfaces: note the volume above the swage at the rear flattening as the line drops behind the front arch, the transition almost in-line with Lexus's L-finesse theme.

At the front, the hood drops at the sides between pronounced flutes, while a central crease washes out towards the rear. The headlamps have grown to become more L-shaped, like the rear ones, and sit comfortably within an uncluttered DRG. In profile, momentum is added by a new feature-line that defines the sills before cutting down behind the front wheelarches.

The interior is as appealing as the outside, and uses aluminium and black contrasting trim to good effect. The low visual centre-of-gravity emphasises serenity, distancing the Coupe Concept from the more aggressive 350Z. Though conceptually there is little new, the thorough resolution should ensure that the next G35 retains its appeal.

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