Aren't We A Bit Too Harsh On DC?

[tidzter]

I've been on this forum for the past one year and believe me we cribb on DC(Dilip Chabbria) a bit too much without thinking!!.
Being an aspiring designer myself, i know how difficult it is to come up with complete body transformations for Indian Cars and that too according to a car illiterate(mostly) persons need.

ok, i do agree that some hiss designs are completely hideous pieces of s**t, but you cant blame him for that...

DC designs accordin to his customers need now what can you expect him
to come up with when you give him a vintage rolls royce and tell him to transform it into a spanking new coupe?? or even a porsche cayenne which has to have the aesthetics of something like a ferrari(rear)...

I recently saw a lifesize replica of the dc go at some lifestyle shop in pune which sold dc trendz accessories...and believe you me that car was looking AWESOME!! like it looked nothing like in the pictures i have seen of it here on the internet...
like the paint,the dents,the curves,the cuts,completely flawless!!
and it was a replica imagine what the real thing would look like...

Another example lets take of the recently designed DC swift...like c'mon its a nice design...i bet the people who saw it for real liked it for once then they got saturated with thier "i hate DC" ego and made it seem to them that it was some crappy thing... like seriously i saw it on road and definately it looked fabulous!!

You know we go on cursing dc by just looking at pictures of his designs but trust me the pictures make his designs look wierd!!seriously the landcruiser we cursed of his i bet it looks waay better in reality...

And there are his buses!...like look at the interior!! mahn!! its boloody friggin awesome!!the best example would be the volove he has re done!!

In the end all i would like to say is;
Was ASTON MARTIN drunk to give him a project??
IS CARDESIGNNEWS.COM blind to list only him from INDIA on thier website??

Think about it...
do lemmie know what you think abt it...

cheers,
TD

[akshay1234]

well personally i dont like his designs. but his finish is good. i had seen that circa 2020 crap and the finish was good. but if you look at his designs i dont like any of them. like that stretched s-class and the shortened cayenne.

[GTO]

Looks are entirely subjective; some may like his designs, some dont. But it would be safe to say that an overwhelming majority of car enthusiasts dont think too much of his designs. I know I dont. Actually, I hate 99% of what comes out from the DC stables.

That said, his success obviously proves that there is a huge market for his designs and he is giving his customers what they want. In terms of interiors, fit & finish and paintjobs, his work is fantastic. What he has achieved, in terms of success and recognition, is commendable.

But that still doesnt make me like his designs.

[anonymous]

Few days back, I was watching a prgramme called "Man mange more" on Star and saw few cars modified by DC. One was Fiat Palio and other one, I do not remember. They were both looking absolutely fine but again I second GTO, "Looks are entirely subjective"

[chetanhanda]

Originally Posted by tidzter

I've been on this forum for the past one year and believe me we cribb on DC(Dilip Chabbria) a bit too much without thinking!!.

ok, i do agree that some hiss designs are completely hideous pieces of s**t, but you cant blame him for that...

DC designs accordin to his customers need now what can you expect him
to come up with when you give him a vintage rolls royce and tell him to transform it into a spanking new coupe?? or even a porsche cayenne which has to have the aesthetics of something like a ferrari(rear)...

TD

If 99% of the hardcore car crazy guys say it is crappy then I think this is a good indicator of what his design's are actually ****ty.
Arguments like "DC designs according to his customers needs" are not valid at all... as 100% of all his designs are not custom tailored to every customer.If each and every design is decided by the customer then DC is not a designer, instead he is just providing expensive bodywork paint and booth service.
Aston Martin gave him some work - good for him, but we dont care, as far as we are concerned his designs are still crappy.
If non tech guys or people who are not car crazy say its crappy then then you have a valid point...but I think nearly every car nut here hates DC.
People may say "design is subjective" - Agreed !!
but beyond a certain limit it is not, it becomes starightforward ugly and crappy, whatever DC does to his cars pushes the "ugliness" beyond such a limit that even "design is subjective" statement cannot save it from being classified as plain and simple UGLY.

Seems you are a fan of DC designs,
1] may we ask which designs you like .. can you please let me know what you saw in "DC designs" which made you start this thread ? maybe post a few links of the specific models you consider passable as good design from such a remowned car designer ..
must be one hell of an inspiration to take DC's side.
2] I would like to understand what you saw in his design which I havent ?maybe I missed out something ?

Please note - If you havent noticed For car freaks, interior design, leather seats,interior lighting, carpets,curtains, cigarette lightres, cupholders are the last things on our mind when we look at the car.
An ugly car + beautiful interior = ugly car.. beautiful interiors dont compensate for the ugly exteriors of the car.

[jesal]

the only thing i like is the alloy/tyre combo out of that stable, and that is a matter of taste and not style. so i guess 99% sucks, 1% this covers it up...

[normally_crazy]

Originally Posted by tidzter

In the end all i would like to say is;
Was ASTON MARTIN drunk to give him a project??
IS CARDESIGNNEWS.COM blind to list only him from INDIA on thier website??

Its all about publicising yourself mate. DC was the 1st designer to splash his creations across magazines / websites - that got him a lot of prominence. And then in his initial days - there was a lot of excitement over DC designs and its products. That could have led Aston Martin to him - of course they would not have given the car to him after looking at his work and fit and finish but PUBLICITY helped.

That said - I second what GTO says - his fit and finish and interior jobs are awesome but his designs are crap, IMO.

My 2 cents really.

[Bullfrog]

Originally Posted by normally_crazy

That said - I second what GTO says - his fit and finish and interior jobs are awesome but his designs are crap, IMO

This is exactly what one of the ex-employees of DC told me when I met him in UK, where he was working for Jaguar. Also attributed the finish to an excellent and skilled workforce at DC and not because of any Design genius (that is, if someone is under that impression)

This is one forum where people are SERIOUS about all aspects of Automobiles. So naturally harsh views come out.

Personally being a design engineer, I believe in 'Function over Form' which is diametrically opposite to view of DC customers.

Would like to quote Chris Bangle (erstwhile chief designer at BMW, a much loved and hated man on this forum as well ) that goes something like, 'For Designers it is a year's work to do a car. After that they get into other projects. But as far as owners are concerned they may end up looking at the car for another 20 years'

Substitute 'owners' with 'general public' and still I think the statement holds good. In fact it is the very essence of a good design that any designer should always be watchful of. I think it is this aspect where DC fails as many people feel pukey when they see his designs. And the ones in this forum that feel like that are very vocal.

Hope this post doesn't give a feel of mindless DC bashing.

[GTO]

Just a clarification : Aston Martin didnt ask DC to "design" the car....they merely asked him to make a prototype off an existing design. While it is still commendable, some have been under the wrong impression.

[Bullfrog]

That prototyping project was not supposed to be disclosed. DC took a calculated risk by telling the whole world what he has done. By that he ensured he got enough attention, but have heard that he has permanently burnt bridges with Ford though (erstwhile owners of Aston Martin) Can someone here confirm?

[contactme27]

I saw the toyoto innova interiors by DC which were published in AUTOCAR in Sept'07 month and I was amazed by their designs. With full enthu, I called them up and asked the quote for changing something similar to my Honda City GXI. They quoted exorbitantly high. 1.5 Lakhs deposit to start the design and minimum 9 Lakhs must be the sale value of the custom modifications according to our interest. I gave up. It is not worth doing it.

[rocksterraghu]

This is Deja Vu. Looks like Bose in ICE section.

I haven't seen DC designs in person, but I have seen them in magazines and a few of them on the Internet. I totally agree with Normally_Crazy. It is the publicity and the right marketing technique that gets you deals like above. If you look at Audi cars in India, they come with Bose. Audiophiles hate Bose, because they don't like a product sold on cosmetic value.

And there are his buses!...like look at the interior!! mahn!! its boloody friggin awesome!!the best example would be the volove he has re done!!

Coming to the Volvo design mentioned, I saw the pictures in 'Car India' August 2007 issue (b/n page 13 and 16). I personally think it is a very bad design, no wait, make it horrible.

Here's my rant:
1. Individual computers for everyone with touch screen? No thanks, I think the bus has to still go through the same potholes, humps and turns. I'll travel to enoy the scenic beauty and take my time off. If my business really wants me to travel that way, I'd rather take a flight than spend 5 or 10 times the time in a claustrophobic room with computers and internet connectivity.

2. Cable television? What is with the idiot box anyway?

3. What is the point in having four seats on either side facing each other? I wouldn't want to sit in the rear seats of those rows and travel, it looks ridiculously stupid to me. When they have 180 deg powered sleepetress, if I'm traveling with my girl, I'd rather not have anyone looking at us .

I've also seen the Innova design. The seats are at the rear end of the cabin, almost sticking to the boot door. Is that where you can have the best ride in an Innova? Oh I forgot, the bling should make me forget it. I should watch 'Kyunki saas bhi' and forget the pain, right?

[sids911]

Originally Posted by rocksterraghu

This is Deja Vu. Looks like Bose in ICE section.

I haven't seen DC designs in person, but I have seen them in magazines and a few of them on the Internet. I totally agree with Normally_Crazy. It is the publicity and the right marketing technique that gets you deals like above. If you look at Audi cars in India, they come with Bose. Audiophiles hate Bose, because they don't like a product sold on cosmetic value.

OT: Unlike DC, Bose's earlier products were actually good IMO.

[rocksterraghu]

Here are some pictues, some of the designs that I really did not like:

An accord:





An Ikon:





A Santro:





A Palio:





These pictures should help the discussion.

[Bullfrog]

This is one of DC kits. Shot this image at a MASS. It has Orange (Yes !!!) interiors...