Opinion - Villa D’Este - the past is present, has the present a future?     by Robert Cumberford   One of the most satisfying aspects of being a judge at a concours d’élégance — a privilege I have enjoyed many times — is that one can intensively study design details of great cars of the past, cars of enough significance to have caused them to be lovingly preserved or restored to as-new condition. All the original pieces are present, the owner or person presenting the car is there to open doors, hoods, even special compartments that used to be part of coachbuilt designs, and to start the engine, giving life to what would otherwise be just a nice lawn sculpture. That personal contact may last only a few minutes, but it is infinitely richer than the experience one has as a simple spectator. My favorite old-car design competition is the Concorso d’Eleganza at the Villa d’Este because every car presented has been vetted and approved by true experts from the FIVA — Féderation International de Voitures Anciens (International Old Cars Federation) and has a passport that certifies its authenticity. So the jury members are able to concentrate on overall design and details. Absorbing all those lovely details leads to reflection, and a critical question: What cars being made now will be worthy of such focussed attention in thirty, fifty, or even, as in the case of a splendid 1925 Duesenberg Model A at Villa d’Este, eighty-five years after their first registration and use? The answer, I am very much afraid, is “very few.” There are many reasons for that pessimistic assessment, some of them having to do with economics, some with technology, but most of them pertaining to design as it is now practiced. … One severe economic constraint on exterior design today is the number of times a piece of sheet metal can be struck. Often in the past, there might be four or five different dies for the same part, used serially to achieve complex shapes and surfaces. Today some carmakers restrict most body panels to only two or three strikes of a press to accomplish shaping, flanging and trimming, which of course means that shapes must be simplified, making the designer’s job more difficult and cars more banal. Unfortunately, stultifying banality is commonplace in cars today, and it is difficult to imagine that bland present day shapes will inspire future collectors to preserve cars that look almost exactly like others, even if their badges and country of origin are different. (The article continues in Auto & Design n. 183, page 55)