As fans of the marque know, Apple released its new iMacs last week -- glass, aluminum, plenty of alluring stuff under the hood. I'll be getting myself one soon (might wait until the new Leopard operating system comes out in October, or maybe I won't, or . . . but that's another story).
Anyway, the folks at Britain's ConceptCar Automotive Design News checked out the launch of the new Apples, too -- but noted something strangely familiar about the styling. And then it hit them: Ah, yes, these new high-fashion desktops look like they could've been designed by Audi. They weren't, of course, but the similarities are there: smoothly contoured lines, a deep black frame around the screen/windshield, imposing black logo/grille front and center. If the computer had four interlocking rings under its screen instead of an Apple, you'd have no problem believing that the style-conscious German automaker had built it.
Naturally, comparing the Apple and the Audi is just lighthearted fun, but it does highlight a growing trend. As advances in electronics, materials, and manufacturing techniques are increasingly leveling the playing field in performance and quality (i.e., Brand A is no longer a quantum leap better than Brands B or C), companies are putting more and more energy into innovative design to make their products stand out. Argue all you want about whether Audi builds a better car than, say, BMW or Mercedes-Benz, but the company is clearly staking out its own turf in design -- particularly with its gorgeous, brilliantly executed interiors. As a writer who started in this business way back in the design-dreary 1980s (one of the coolest cars then was the Ford Taurus, for crying out loud), I'm loving the profusion of pulchritude on today's roads.
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