Mirror Image

Mirror Image
(From Metropolis by Paul Goldberger).(Img: Seen at the Detroit Auto Show: Ford's Five Hundred and Kia's Amanti, both strongly reminiscent of cars by other manufacturers, and Lincoln's concept Mark X).

I grew up thinking that every make of car had its own identity. This was back in the days when people only used the word brand for things like Oreos. But in today's terminology, we would say that cars then had strong brand identity. A Ford looked like a Ford, a Chevy like a Chevy. Though they changed from year to year, there was a continuity that tied each year's models together and distinguished them from the competition. Buicks had those funny little portholes on the side. Fords generally had round taillights. Cadillacs had spectacular tailfins. Pontiacs were wide and leaned toward spor