In the scramble for new car sales, motor manufacturers are increasingly employing good design to attract customers.

We’ve seen a lot of designs over the years – some garish, some with only fleeting appeal, and some really good, timeless designs. Some that come to mind from years past are the pre-war Packard phaetons, Ford roadsters and convertibles from 1932 to 1940, Lincoln Continentals of the 1940s, the late ’40s MG-TC, the Jaguar XK120, the first Corvairs, and the original Mustang. Chryslers of 1957, and Buick Riviera of 1963-1967 are also worth mentioning.

Except for the MG and the Fords, these are all big, fairly expensive cars. The most challenging problem has always been to design a small, inexpensive car. The cost, space, and technical constraints have inspired some brilliant solutions. Try to picture a Renault 4CV or Citroën 2CV of the ’50s, a Fiat Topolino of the ’30s/’40s, the original Mini. The VW Beetle, dating from 1938, and produced in essentially unchanged shape until last year (66 years) must have been a good design to last so long.

Bad designs can sell. The Hummer was popular for a while, for reasons I don’t understand – its gun-slit windows? Its intimidating size? Poor fuel economy? It lacks the essential honesty of a WWII Jeep.

Think how hard it is on good designers when mistakes hit the marketplace. BMW has introduced several controversial designs in the last two years, notably the latest 7 series. They hurriedly devised a partial fix, but many buyers looked elsewhere.

GM has tried to give the Cadillac some “zing,” and their sales are improving. For good design at low cost, consider these three:

1. The Mini Cooper. Cheeky, cute as can be, useful and practical, it’s a sports car that will do everything.

2. The Mazda Miata 2-passenger Roadster. Introduced 14 years ago, and little changed; it’s as pure as that MG-TC of 1946.

3. The latest Scion from Toyota. The tC, a neat little coupe, reminiscent of the Alfa Romeo GTV’s of the ’60s, is tasteful, performs very well, and only costs about $16,000, including most things you’d want in a new car.

Costly beauty comes in these three:

1. Bentley Continental GT. 553 hp, 198 mph – at $160,000 a bargain of sorts, for all the Bentley bloodline that owners VW-Audi have packed into it.

2. Aston Martin DB9. A worthy challenger to the Bentley. Maybe even more beautiful at a similar price. Shows what Aston’s owner, Ford Motor Co., is capable of when they really try.

3. Ferrari 612 Scaligetti. The latest front engine V-12 Ferrari, although in a switch, this Italian is not in the same aesthetic league as the two aforementioned Brits.

In the huge middle between these extremes, two companies stand out for their good design: VW-Audi and Nissan/Infiniti. Look at the tasteful range offered by Nissan – the Altima sedan, the 350Z, and the Murano sport utility. And their Infinitis – the brilliant G35 sedans and coupes, and another original, tasteful SUV, the FX. The increasing sales of both Nissan and Infiniti suggest that good taste does pay off.

The Audi S4 Cabriolet, my favorite “top-down” design, is the most costly and powerful of three variants on the same design. For around $40,000 you can get an A4 Turbo Cabrio, which looks just like the S4, but is more modestly powered.

If you need more power, there’s the A4 3.0 V6 or the 4.2 V8 S4. The S4 offers near-supercar performance combined with everyday usability, a superior and quite beautiful design, at a price somewhere between economy and excess.

Look at its two natural competitors, the BMW 3 series convertible and the Mercedes CLK convertible. Where the Audi is clean, simple, and beautifully drawn, the other two suffer by comparison.

Is design really getting more attention? The recent reorganization moves at Toyota, arguably the most successful motor manufacturer of all, are one indication. Compared with a Honda Accord, Nissan Altima or VW Passat, even the most partisan Toyota supporter must admit that in looks, the Toyota comes last.

So Toyota is reorganizing their company, making all functions subsidiary to design. They’re determined not to become “your father’s Toyota.” The results will be increasingly visible and will probably scare the hell out of their competitors.