Styling Secrets Of A Car Designer
DETROIT (WWJ) - Want to know one of the styling secrets designers use to come up with a cool looking car? It all has to do with the height of the cowl.
The cowl is the part of the car that's at the base of the windshield and its height determines a lot about a car. It affects both the slope of the hood and the slope of the windshield. It also affects the size of the side glass.
When car designers want to come out with a hot looking car, they want a low cowl. That also gives them more design flexibility with the platform. They can always raise the cowl if they need to, but once those hard points are set, you can never lower the cowl.
It's just one of the tricks designers use to come up with cool looking cars and add platform flexibility to spin off different variants.
Listen to John McElroy's report:
