Another observation visitors to the Geneva motor show might make, is the way car designs are more holistic than ever before, with all of their components integrated more seamlessly. One of the most significant trends in this area, that Car Design Research has recently picked up on, is the way front and rear lamps bleed into the surrounding body panels and thus progressively integrate into the rest of the exterior design.

There are numerous other car design trends visitors to the show can see – check out new small SUV Crossovers such as the Mini Countryman and the Nissan Juke, the way small premium cars are taking off with the Audi A1 and the Aston Martin Cygnet. The slick new compact Citroen DS High Rider and Alfa Romeo Guilietta and the lastest ‘uber’ sedans from Germany: the BMW 5 series and Audi A8 are all also packed with new design ideas.
 

The Death of the Sedan?

For much of the mid-20th century dominant car body-type was the ‘three-box’ sedan (so called because in profile there are three boxes: the engine or hood area at the front, the main taller cabin area in the middle, and the trunk area at the rear). During the seventies, eighties and nineties, the hatchback eroded the sedan’s dominance in Europe and parts of Asia, just as the SUV did in the US. But, over the first decade of the 21st century, the international market share of the sedan body-style rose again as the Chinese car market grew almost exclusively on the back of sedan car sales. Yet now, brands such as BMW, Mercedes Benz and Audi, are growing their range of cars with new body-types that are alternatives to the sedan. And as these premium brands have historically been trend-setters, other brands - including Chinese brands - will undoubtedly follow.

Take a look at the cars at Geneva to see for yourself: the Mercedes F800 Style concept debuting in Geneva picks up where their trend setting CLS left off to show how far the sedan has moved away from being ‘three-box’. The Opel Flextreme GT/E concept also debuting here shows the latest take on the coupe-style four door, and the recently announced BMW 5GT and Audi A5 Sportback are two recent production designs on the show floor that are also alternatives to the conventional sedan.

	With the most gentle of transitions from its short hood to its cabin to its very short trunk, the Mercedes Benz F800 Style concept that is debuting in Geneva shows clearly how the world’s most famous car brand is set to evolve the sedan
Also debuting in Geneva is the Opel Flextreme concept; another large coupe-style four door car than challenges the accepted idiom of the premium sedan
	The 2009 BMW 5GT shows another new body-type; a slightly tall fastback 5 series
The 2009 Audi A5 Sportback is a five door coupe that cleverly uses the branding and design details of the A5 – witness the flowing body-side crease and diving roofline – to differentiate itself from the A4 sedan with which it otherwise shares much of its design

Bleeding lights

Lights used to sit on the upright or near upright front and rear ends of cars, and long before that they sat on the car’s separate fenders/wings. Then they began to recline as the fronts of cars became sleeker, and to wrap around into the sides to reduce the apparent length of cars’ overhangs. The next step in the evolution of car light design was when they became the corners of a car and connected the side, upper and front or rear surfaces. Now we’re seeing a new trend; that of the car light that bleeds into the surrounding body panels with its shape now being defined more by the shapes of the surrounding elements and some of its corners bleeding into thin strands that reach out of the main light graphic.

Have a look at some of the car design debuting at Geneva to see what we mean, notably the Peugeot SR1 concept - particularly its rear lights that bleed forwards from the top and bottom side corners to run forwards into the rear wing. The Opel Flextreme GT/E concept also has front and rear lights that reach far into the surrounding panels. The Proton concept by Italdesign Guigiaro, the Citroen DS High Rider concept, and the new Ford Focus are other designs whose light designs are defined more than before by the shapes of the panels surrounding them.

	The Peugeot SR1 concept debuting in Geneva has front, and particularly rear lights, that bleed into the surrounding body panels
The Opel Flextreme GT/E, another Geneva debut concept, has front and rear lights that reach far into the surrounding panels
	Another Geneva show debut is the Citroen DS High Rider concept, note how its rear lights bleed around the side fender/wing shape just behind the rear wheel
One of the most important European debuts at the Geneva Auto Show is the new Ford Focus, another car with bleeding (rear) lights