So I get that even for a Cold Start, a series that doesn’t really have any rules, standards, or, let’s be honest, morals, this is kind of weird. See that image up there, from a 1950s German Blaupunkt ad? See how the face of the radio is re-purposed as the “face” of the car, with the volume and tuning knobs standing in for headlamps, and the tuning dial for the grille, and so on? Sure you do. It’s a fun, cute ad, and I’m sure we’ve all seen this sort of phenomenon, right? I mean, I know I have. And, so far, as best I can tell, this is one of the very few published examples of this car-part-as-car-face out there – aside from the at least two times I’ve written about it.
Perhaps it has come up a lot more and I’ve not seen examples; I kind of hope so, as it often feels so obvious and blatant I don’t know how people haven’t used it more.
Here, let’s look at the full ad image:
I mean, it’s charming as hell; in fact, if you have any sort of charm allergies, you should probably close this window and wash immediately. Our insurance doesn’t cover charm-related allergic reactions, you see. We don’t need that kind of hassle.
In this example, the radio face works really well; the tuning buttons stand in for the bumper, too! It feels extremely car fascia-like.
The other examples I’ve used before are similarly good, I think, like these dome light units used on GMs (and similar ones were found on Ford and Mopar cars):
The Blaupunkt radio feels more like a ’60s era car, though. Like a Falcon or Rambler or something. The other example I had was a taillight used on an old Alfa Romeo that looked oddly like the front of a Jeep:
There should be a name for whatever this phenomenon is: a small thing that’s part of a larger thing that looks like a larger part of the larger thing. The word synecdoche means a part of something used to represent the whole, like when people refer to their car as their “wheels.” So maybe we can call this, um, automotive visage-synecdoche. That rolls off the tongue!
I’ll think of something better. But after I publish this, because it’s late, dammit!
Are we supposed to come up with different name for recarsion? Something like Autoboros?
Alec in the discord made cool visuals with speakers as headlights.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1215100604343656458/1230009315058909255/image.png?ex=662b2af1&is=6629d971&hm=e72e4e81a1b90412ede8ca627279f3b86f60264b87d795be2945bbe74d25ed4d&
https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/1215100604343656458/1230035345094217838/image.png?ex=662b432f&is=6629f1af&hm=99c2ae5ad3bfa858610d00ddfea9c2b4f624417889e1db47a14e5ccac36d0506&
And a freaking Kenwood receiver in the bumper – I love it, combining two great passions in one great face (with apologies to Reece’s)!
Not my pic, but I got a 600T like that one for $20. Sold it for $600.
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71QCq1l5VEL._UF1000,1000_QL80_FMwebp_.jpg
Sturgill Simpson’s 4th album definitely saw this old ad.
Also features some pretty solid road tunes and a bonkers companion anime / companime
I had some Milwaukee power tool chargers, and they looked like little Jeeps.
This is what I’m talking about.
Could it be called “minimotormorphism”?
Not a face, but a butt – the i8 pooping out a 911.
Also, at the front end, the i3 is eating some 60% scale BMW sedan
Unfortunately all of the manufacturers these days have switched to Double DIN.
That’s probably why the front of all new US pickup trucks are so tall – they had to be made taller to suit a Double DIN stereo fascia!
Thanks for ‘splaining! Judging by how few smileys my wise crack got, you are the only one that got it.
I wish they had inside the car, instead of those giant non-standard systems.
Well, crap Torch. I knew as soon as seeing the first example that I’d seen it before.
But where? Were these images ever used in the sales of VW products? Thanks.
It’s all there in the topshot
glücklichpunked
Self-similarity in most cases, except in the case of the Alfa part looking like a Jeep – that was just a prophecy that those two cars would share a manufacturer one day.
Anyway, a part of a thing looking like the full thing is a fractal. This is the front of a car replicated inside of a car – it is a frunctal.
Car parts, sure. But Toyota has been using electric razors for the fronts of their vehicles for about a decade.
And don’t forget about the buck toothed BMWs. Or rather please please please, can we banish and forget about the buck tooth BMWs?
I know most people say beaver for the BMW’s. I say naked mole rat: https://www.lpzoo.org/animals/naked-mole-rat/
I mean look at this: mole-rat-talllll.png
Well. I’d love to unsee _that_ picture.
It’s Johnny 5!
Autopariedolia.
This. And the person (er, writer) suffering this malady is an apopheniautopian. I suspected the whole staff is afflicted.
That’s easy – Autoaussehendesautoteil
Carry McStereoface?
Ha ha ha. Charm allergies. Nice one.