Full size fronts on compact cars
Discussion
Im thinking of following the ideas of the more premium car manufacturers and putting up a new front on my house. It'll be made of plastic and resemble a 7 storey mansion, making my small new build two up two down look like the home of a millionaire.
It started with Golfs and Audi A3's I think, the fronts started to resemble the next model up, I suppose to attract buyers who only look at their cars from the front. You could reverse your car into the garage, then invite friends around to marvel at your premium purchase.
The BMW 1 series took this concept to a new extreme, then Audi decided to outdo them by makng the actual car behind the front even smaller without BMW noticing, and created the A1.
Now Mercedes have just gone too far. The new A-Class has more frontage than page 3, yet backs it up with Mercedes most compact and budget orientated car. It looks completely mispropotioned, like a cut and shut shop only had the front of a G-Wagon and the rear of a Clio, and thought "what the heck, no one will notice".
So if the trend continues we should soon see Audi produce a new super compact A0.5, with the front of an A8 welded to it. BMW wont let them get away with that, so will come out with a 0.25 Series, with the front of an X5, not sure what Mercedes will do next but I think they build trucks too, so they have options.
It started with Golfs and Audi A3's I think, the fronts started to resemble the next model up, I suppose to attract buyers who only look at their cars from the front. You could reverse your car into the garage, then invite friends around to marvel at your premium purchase.
The BMW 1 series took this concept to a new extreme, then Audi decided to outdo them by makng the actual car behind the front even smaller without BMW noticing, and created the A1.
Now Mercedes have just gone too far. The new A-Class has more frontage than page 3, yet backs it up with Mercedes most compact and budget orientated car. It looks completely mispropotioned, like a cut and shut shop only had the front of a G-Wagon and the rear of a Clio, and thought "what the heck, no one will notice".
So if the trend continues we should soon see Audi produce a new super compact A0.5, with the front of an A8 welded to it. BMW wont let them get away with that, so will come out with a 0.25 Series, with the front of an X5, not sure what Mercedes will do next but I think they build trucks too, so they have options.
TA14 said:
Loplop said:
It's nothing new...
Shouldn't that be on the Aston Grill thread?The VDP Princess was probably a good example of how it's been this way before
and the Riley Elf
The thing is that modern "small cars" are actually huge.
LuS1fer said:
Yes, it's quite clear what they were up to, eh, eh?
The VDP Princess was probably a good example of how it's been this way before
and the Riley Elf
The thing is that modern "small cars" are actually huge.
Haha!The VDP Princess was probably a good example of how it's been this way before
and the Riley Elf
The thing is that modern "small cars" are actually huge.
I have a Morris 1100 and I'm soon to have a 1300GT... How am I gonna tell them apart? Seriously masses of space in Billy Blunders (Youtube) though, I'm a tall chap and I can sit in the back pretty comfortably, pretty soft ride too!
It was difficult enough when my Dad had every variation of the A60 Farina bar the Magnette, though the 2.1 Pinto Powered Cambridge was the preferred choice :-)
It's not a new thing for manufacturers to want to make their products look alike - i.e. have similar 'faces' on each model - but their desire to take this to the next level, exacerbated by impact and pedestrian safety legislation has certainly upset the proportions of many 'smaller' cars.
I actually think that VW did the opposite with the Mk 6 Golf. The Golf always was "above" the Polo. Bigger, better looking, more powerful. Everything on the Golf was intended to be just that bit better than the Polo- and that was always reflected in the price.
But then they went with this new "edgey" front end, which appeared first on the Polo, and then the Mk 6 Golf. By doing it that way round it makes me think that the Golf now looks like a Polo. A bigger, fatter, Polo.
But then they went with this new "edgey" front end, which appeared first on the Polo, and then the Mk 6 Golf. By doing it that way round it makes me think that the Golf now looks like a Polo. A bigger, fatter, Polo.
Edited by 8vFTW on Tuesday 8th January 10:26
Sorted that for you 
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