Every time I see one of these coming down the street I instinctively think it's a Buick

THAT'S WHAT HAPPENS when so many car designers are trained in Southern California, where hot rods, Nike sneakers and Japanese cars are bigger influences than classic European designs.

Jaguar, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Alfa-Romeo used to build beautiful cars that were distinct products of their national cultures. But there is nothing distinctively British about the XJ above, and its styling cues come from Detroit and Tokyo.

One thing that used to distinguish those cars were their proportions, which either came from the tradition of harmonic proportions (1 to 2, 1 to 4, 3 to 4, etc.), or from the Golden Section proportions Le Corbusier used. The drawing below is a proportion study for a car Corb designed, the Voiture Minimum.

These were combined in a harmonious whole epitomized by cars like the Jaguar XKE and the Mercedes 280 SE convertible. Americans like Chris Bangle, the former head designer at BMW, who never designed a harmonious car he liked. Instead, he repeated all the Modernist cliches about "challenging design" while designing cars that emphasized details and parts that shouted "Look at me," like the Bangle Bustle. His philosophy is enormously influential at all the international auto design schools - and we get ugly cars.

After the jump, a real Buick and a bonus - the Bridget Jones Mercedes.

Some might say it's better looking than the Jag. There's another 2012 Buick or Oldsmobile with a radiator almost identical to the Jaguar's, I believe. Or maybe that was last year's car.

Mercedes-Benz 280 SE convertible