Q. An observation and a question about car styling. I saw a 2025 Hyundai Sonata, and it reminded me of the 1958 Packard Hawk’s front grille. Do you think the designer saw the1958 Hawk at a car show?

A. Designers take inspiration from many places. I remember talking to, at the time Ford’s head of design, J Mays, and he told me he would walk around Target and get inspiration for design and color in the housewares section. Another designer told me he was struggling with a fender shape and found the exact curve in a vintage Electrolux vacuum cleaner. So could a Hyundai designer see a design in a Packard? It is certainly possible. There is an expression “that everything old is new again.”

Q. I own a 2022 Volkswagen Atlas with 65,000 miles. Recently the air conditioning on the two driver si

See Full Page