Half a croissant, on a plate, with a sign in front of it saying '50c'
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Beautiful car

 Lovely.
 
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A British Motoring magazine recently published an article on what it considers to be the 100 most beautiful cars ever. Purely subjective, of course, although I happen to agree with their no 1 choice of E-type Jaguar. It made me think, however, that most cars are only beautiful as cars. Even the most beautiful, it has to be said, are still obviously machines covered in painted metal.

So what would make a car truly beautiful when shape is so severely limited by function? I believe the popularity of silver as a colour (at least in the UK) is due to the unique way in which it varies in hue as it reflects the light. But it still looks like painted metal.

Envisage, if you will, a long, low, gorgeously curving machine, its pearlescent paint shimmering with a thousand iridescent hues, each one reflected through a crystal clear resin coating. The resin is deep enough to further catch, magnify and reflect the light as the car glides gracefully past. Concave and convex surfaces create trompe l’oeil effects, as light from hidden sources swirls and lumesces within the coating. The whole effect serves to veil hard surfaces within a soft transparent cloud of light. Beautiful.

—egbert, Nov 29 2002

Holographic Designs in Car Paint. http://www.amasci.com/amateur/holo1.html
This is not the above idea, but it's pretty cool. [Amos Kito, Oct 05 2004, last modified Oct 06 2004]

Pearl-Ex http://www.dharmatr...l/eng/1933-AA.shtml
"Pigments that change color depending on the light angle." [Amos Kito, Oct 05 2004, last modified Oct 06 2004]

(?) For DrCurry http://www.barchett...ours-1/img0076.html
[thumbwax, Oct 05 2004, last modified Oct 06 2004]

(?) Beholdable Beauty? http://www.jrdrags....raphics/dotson1.jpg
Sleek and low-slung, lotsa chrome, pearlescent paint, trompe l'oeil effects, and a transparent veil of dancing exhaust swirls when operated at full speed...but I guess this isn't quite what you meant. [jurist, Oct 05 2004, last modified Oct 06 2004]

(?) Beauty is in the eye... http://www.speakeas...ocschlk/twinkie.gif
...of this car, named "Witness"... [Dog Ed, Oct 05 2004, last modified Oct 06 2004]

Mile Deep Paint http://www.johndago...Royal%20Empress.jpg
When it comes to truly beautiful custom paint jobs for classic cars, John D'Agostino of Southern California is hard to beat. [jurist, Oct 05 2004, last modified Oct 06 2004]

Kustom Kars of California http://www.johndagostinokustomkars.com/
John D'Agostino's Kustom Kars web site. Amazing none the less. [hollajam, Oct 05 2004, last modified Oct 06 2004]

aye aye of the beholder http://www.halfbake...20th_27_20Kingswood
could'nt help myself [peter2, Oct 05 2004, last modified Oct 06 2004]


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Annotation:







       //Envisage.... Beautiful//   

       Why, that almost perfectly describes my car! Except for the first bit, the last bit and the bit in the middle. Otherwise its exactly like a Vauxhall Corsa.
—Jinbish, Nov 29 2002
   

       Thank you boy racers for painting a £20 vauxhall nova with a £2000 pearlescent paint, cant exactly call that beautiful can you?
—locochilean, Nov 29 2002
   

       Can you not see the beauty in the machine? All those bits working togther in (more or less) harmony to move you down the road - that is where the true beauty lies. But I can see your vision as a work of art, more than transportation.
—rbl, Nov 29 2002
   

       "Pearl-Ex" [link] has an interesting effect. Reflect & refract in creative ways, to produce an aura.
—Amos Kito, Nov 29 2002
   

       Sounds a bit girly to me .... what's wrong with British Racing Green ?
—8th of 7, Nov 29 2002
   

       british racing green looks like baby poo, but looks very nice on old classics
—locochilean, Nov 29 2002
   

       There was a TVR at the Birmingham motor show a few years back that had something similar to this. It was done with some kind of translucent, pearlescent paint, and the colours changed as your viewpoint moved. It looked shit.
—sild, Nov 29 2002
   

       How can a car be "beautiful" when you can't see the engine? Bah!
—DrCurry, Nov 29 2002
   

       a car shape and design is aesthetically beautiful, the engine is beautiful in the way it works engines are ugly to look at unless they are plastered with chrome etc
—locochilean, Nov 29 2002
   

       sild, is that shit as in "the shit" i.e. "that car looked so good! it was the shit!" or is that shit as in "absolutely a piece of poo"? it's so difficult keeping up with the youngster's hip talk these days.
—mihali, Nov 29 2002
   

       so what exactly is beautiful then???
—locochilean, Nov 29 2002
   

       bliss seconded. I have, after all, seen beautiful engines.
—DrCurry, Nov 29 2002
   

       starting a car on a snowy day and its starts first time - man thats beautiful.
—po, Nov 29 2002
   

       putting chrome on an engine to make it 'beautiful' is like adding make-up to a naturally beautiful woman, it doesn't do anything for it. engines are beautiful because form follows function.
—rbl, Nov 29 2002
   

       can I have my lipstick back rbl?
—po, Nov 29 2002
   

       //All those bits working togther in (more or less) harmony to move you down the road - that is where the true beauty lies. //   

       [rbl] I couldn't agree more, but its a conceptual beauty in that even though you know it's happening you can't actually see it. The beauty of this car is for the eye, rather than the mind.   

       And [tyskland], the random nature of the light patterns generated within the resin are indeed random in nature and can therefore be said to be providential.
—egbert, Nov 29 2002
   

       egbert, I'm the type of person who keeps engine parts (cleaned and polished of course) on my living room table. I'd put my motorcyle in hear too, but there isn't enough room.
—rbl, Nov 29 2002
   

       MEOW !!lets not fight GIRLS.
—SOPSALSO, Nov 29 2002
   

       Who's fighting? I stated right at the beginning that beauty is purely subjective. If someone doesn't like the picture I've painted I'm OK with that, but it doesn't mean I can't enter the discussion.
—egbert, Nov 30 2002
   

       Well if god made man, and man made a painting, then god made the painting didn't he? So wouldn't it be beautiful then? That is if you belive god made man. Though I don't understand what beauty and providence have to do with each other. Beauty   

       n 1: the qualities that give pleasure to the senses [ant: ugliness] 2: a very attractive or seductive looking woman [syn: smasher, stunner, knockout, sweetheart, peach, lulu, looker, mantrap, dish] 3: an outstanding example of its kind; "his roses were beauties"; "when I make a mistake it's a beaut" [syn: beaut] Maybe I'm just stupid.
—notme, Nov 30 2002
   

       I must be stupid, too.
—bristolz, Nov 30 2002
   

       Well, I couldn't have written it with out him.
—notme, Nov 30 2002
   

       If God had intended Man to fly, he'd have bought us tickets on Concorde. How could *anything* happen on Earth that God didn't either intend or permit? And how can God not take joy in the creations of his people?
—dalek, Nov 30 2002
   

       [dalek] exactly. Not that I am saying that I agree with that, but its what I meant in response to tyskland. Personally I think humans are capable of beauty without divine intervention.
—notme, Nov 30 2002
   

       I second (third?) that, [notme]. If everything man made was nothing but an inanimate piece of bastardised trash, there certainly wouldn't be much to look forward to. And I daresay artists and their fans alike would be pretty put out.
—Caracal, Dec 01 2002
   

       One of the best one-liners I've heard, [bristolz] since Gracie Allen. Compliments on your perfect timing and multi-level wit.
—jurist, Dec 01 2002
   

       Two days of talking about cars, paint jobs, the nature of art , beauty with a capital "B". It is almost hard to believe that no one has yet brought Tom Wolfe's very first book, "The Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby", into the conversation.
—jurist, Dec 01 2002
   

       [jurist] feel free to provide a synopsis.   

       That John D'Agostino work is incredible. Are you sure that image wasn't computer enhanced? It's the sort of thing I was envisaging as a start point, before adding the outer coating, lights etc.
—egbert, Dec 01 2002
   

       egbert, I'm familiar with airbrushing. I do recognize its nuances in this image. Of all the cars featured at J. D'Agostino's web site, this is the only one that appears enhanced or airbrushed entirely. It's possible the photo taken of this car was unsatisfactory for its realized beauty so an artist was employed to clean up the image. I'm not trying to discredit his work, so I'm putting his home page link for convenience for all to appreciate.   

       (+) [egbert]
—hollajam, Dec 01 2002
   

       [Tsk] I didn't mean for you to disappear completely!   

       [HJ], thanks for the link. Is that you in the pictures?
—egbert, Dec 01 2002
   

       Are you calling me a car?   

       Wait, green halter? She's cardboard, egbert. I'm the girl next door. I'm more like Julia Roberts...definitely.
—hollajam, Dec 01 2002
   

       <Grampa Simpson>"Hot Diggety, that's good enough for me!"</Grampa Simpson>
—egbert, Dec 01 2002
   

       So the idea is for car paint?
—phoenix, Dec 01 2002
   

       "colo(u)r is acceptable and it's not repulsive and stupid looking"   

       Depending on your taste, those can be tall orders. I mean, what if you find every car that's not a red Maranello repulsive and stupid looking? Huh? Huh? What then?
—bristolz, Dec 01 2002
   

       // what if you find every car that's not a red Maranello repulsive and stupid looking? Huh? Huh? What then? //   

       Nothing much, except they have to increase the stength of your medication.
—8th of 7, Dec 02 2002
   

       I think the Aston Martin DB5 is the most beautiful car ever. I understand UnaBubba has one..?
—Parvenu, Dec 02 2002
   

       no UB is 008.5, thats a mini cooper driver.
—po, Dec 02 2002
   

       ooooh, car sounds lovely! I can't wait to sink my teeth into it.
—Sonny Beaudlaire, Dec 02 2002
   

       [waugs]: I agree. Give me a Pacer any day.   

       I think a glass car would look quite nice if it were cleaned regularly. "Transparent Car" is on here somewhere, I believe.
—snarfyguy, Dec 02 2002
   

       //ooooh, car sounds lovely! I can't wait to sink my teeth into it./   

       "...and an inexplicable craving for ice cream in the stomach of Arthur Dent"
—egbert, Dec 03 2002
   

       I propose a car that is just as beautiful as the proposed car here, except the bits that aren't quite so beautiful be made more beautiful, for an overall more beautiful car.   

       I may post this as a seperate idea.
—bungston, Dec 03 2002
   

       What DO you mean? There ARE no unbeautiful bits. It's all beautiful!   

       This makes your idea pre-baked.   

       Is this a first? If so, congratulations!
—egbert, Dec 03 2002
   

       (rbl) must agree, function is beautiful. egbert, sweet notion. all that surface , and so little, usually, done with it. and of course , the form , the sculptural.
—peter2, Apr 27 2003
   

       I saw a 2CV yesterday. That is the most beautiful car ever made. It looked even better in a california parking lot next to some oversized pickup trucks.
—stilgar, Nov 25 2004
   


 

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