Was your car "designed" or "styled" ?

[F Body]

It's easy to confuse the terms 'design' and 'style,' but the Design Handbook attempts to explain the difference between the two

[Roadkill]

I'd say I design what I build.  Style, for me, is akin to fashion.  And I hate that sh!t.

That's my take.  

[Andy]

Sorry, but I was following him up to the point of the Honda Accord Vs. Chevy Impala example. The only thing you could say that was styled on the Impala was the rear arch flare line. Other than that, they both look like boring saloons. What styling needs is what the Caddy's had in the past. Ridiculous long rear wings, huge chrome tips etc etc. Of course, none of this can happen these days because these are unsafe and dangerous to the 'pedestrian'.

An example of design you'll have seen creep in is the bonnet rise. Go back 10-12 years and look at bonnets, when they come past the headlights, they don't really raise up much. Now, all modern cars have a slight kink in the bonnet from the arch going across the car to increase the bonnet height at the base of the windscreen. This was brought in to avoid a pedestrian head coming into contact with any of the engine parts under the bonnet and cushion the impact.