Why Have Cars Got So Ugly?
Discussion
I’ve been thinking this for ages then I read this piece in today’s Daily Telegraph. Sorry about the paywall but there are ways around.
http://digitaleditions.telegraph.co.uk/data/2404/r...
http://digitaleditions.telegraph.co.uk/data/2404/r...
It's partly fashion - these days people seem to want their cars to look "aggressive' for some reason.
Another, probably greater, contributor is safety. Metal is obviously stronger than glass, so in order to improve the crash safety of cars they have tended towards more metal and less glass. Also the requirement that a pedestrian's head can bounce off your bonnet without hitting the engine block or suspension strut-tops has pushed up bonnet lines with a similar effect on styling - modern cars have the shoulder line set far too high which leads to them looking both under-wheeled and slab-sided. In order to try to disguise that, manufacturers have taken to using weird surface treatment on the sides of cars which makes the styling look fussy and over-complex. Plus of course fitting absolutely huge wheels which ruin the ride and handling.
Another, probably greater, contributor is safety. Metal is obviously stronger than glass, so in order to improve the crash safety of cars they have tended towards more metal and less glass. Also the requirement that a pedestrian's head can bounce off your bonnet without hitting the engine block or suspension strut-tops has pushed up bonnet lines with a similar effect on styling - modern cars have the shoulder line set far too high which leads to them looking both under-wheeled and slab-sided. In order to try to disguise that, manufacturers have taken to using weird surface treatment on the sides of cars which makes the styling look fussy and over-complex. Plus of course fitting absolutely huge wheels which ruin the ride and handling.
croyde said:
I think that's why the latest Renaults have been so liked. They actually look like cars.
Specifically the 5 and the 4.
Agree. Also saw a new Megane last week and I thought it looked mega. Thankfully it seems some brands are making some nice looking cars again.Specifically the 5 and the 4.
The uniblob shape seems to have been premiered by Tesla and copied by brands who want to be a cheaper Tesla. I wouldn t say they are ugly, but they aren t inspiring.
BMW and VAG however seem to be completely lost in a design wilderness. VAG are mostly achingly boring to look at, and BMW are the taking all the prizes for ugly cars.
Edited by Cloudy147 on Thursday 16th April 17:45
When cars were seen as a cutting edge object the manufacturers were constantly trying to out-do each other, automotive design was flying at the time, this produced some wildly styled cars just look at some of the American cars of the 50's and 60's.
Over on this side of the Atlantic things were less extreme but we were still designing some very pretty cars in the 60's,70's and 80's, again things were moving rapidly with one model year looking completely different to its replacement...apart from Golf's and 911's.
Moving on...sadly cars have now become more about transport than looking flashy and exciting, we now drive ugly white goods boxes with a whining electric motor to push it along instead of screaming four cylinder engines in hot hatches and beautiful sounding big capacity motors in sporty saloons and estate cars.
Christ I miss those days so much.
Over on this side of the Atlantic things were less extreme but we were still designing some very pretty cars in the 60's,70's and 80's, again things were moving rapidly with one model year looking completely different to its replacement...apart from Golf's and 911's.
Moving on...sadly cars have now become more about transport than looking flashy and exciting, we now drive ugly white goods boxes with a whining electric motor to push it along instead of screaming four cylinder engines in hot hatches and beautiful sounding big capacity motors in sporty saloons and estate cars.
Christ I miss those days so much.
I hate how most new cars have got so big, so high off the road, with huge grilles and massive wheels.
They all have a high waistline but I really don't like is how the waistline tapers upwards towards the rear. Is it to pretend it looks like a Coupe - if so lowering the roofline would be more convincing. You end up with really shallow windows in the rear which must lower visibility and make the interior seem a bit claustrophobic.
They all have a high waistline but I really don't like is how the waistline tapers upwards towards the rear. Is it to pretend it looks like a Coupe - if so lowering the roofline would be more convincing. You end up with really shallow windows in the rear which must lower visibility and make the interior seem a bit claustrophobic.
Clad-Hach said:
Moving on...sadly cars have now become more about transport than looking flashy and exciting, we now drive ugly white goods boxes with a whining electric motor to push it along instead of screaming four cylinder engines in hot hatches and beautiful sounding big capacity motors in sporty saloons and estate cars.
Christ I miss those days so much.
I don't think I could have put it better. Christ I miss those days so much.
A lot if the ugliness is down to size.
The Kia Picanto is pretty ugly, but it's a lot less offensive than the similarly styled Sportage simply because there's about half of much of it despite it doing much the same job.
I don't think the safety regulations makjng every car much the same shape are the main cause though. There are plenty of bland but not excessively ugly cars about. it's the relatively minor (from an engineeting perspective) design features such as as grilles and light shapes which introduce much of the ugliness.
The Kia Picanto is pretty ugly, but it's a lot less offensive than the similarly styled Sportage simply because there's about half of much of it despite it doing much the same job.
I don't think the safety regulations makjng every car much the same shape are the main cause though. There are plenty of bland but not excessively ugly cars about. it's the relatively minor (from an engineeting perspective) design features such as as grilles and light shapes which introduce much of the ugliness.
Think this might be a subjective topic; I recall articles from the 90s bemoaning why all cars had a similar silhouette. I would say I like Renault's current EV offerings, Peugeot make several handsome cars. Thinking about it, some of the more interesting cars are the EVs , Hyundai's show a little quirkiness. Think every generation likes to look back with rose tinted glasses...I love seeing an old Impreza drive around, even the bugeye versions.
The EV manufacturers seem to think they have to make their products look nothing like conventional cars just to be different and to standout.
ID4? Just make a Golf with electric running gear.
Tesla? Does it have to resemble a hump backed whale?
Cherry, Jaywoo, BYD or what ever the Chinese s
t are called, just No!
ID4? Just make a Golf with electric running gear.
Tesla? Does it have to resemble a hump backed whale?
Cherry, Jaywoo, BYD or what ever the Chinese s
t are called, just No!LightweightLouisDanvers said:
ID4? Just make a Golf with electric running gear.
Tesla? Does it have to resemble a hump backed whale?
Cherry, Jaywoo, BYD or what ever the Chinese st are called, just No!
Yes, cars are often very ugly.Tesla? Does it have to resemble a hump backed whale?
Cherry, Jaywoo, BYD or what ever the Chinese s
t are called, just No!The ID VW are odd. VW have made cars that have gently evolved in appearance for decades and sold them in huge numbers. The ID cars (other than the ID Buzz)look terrible and nothing like a VW.
The Chinese cars look like copies of Tesla or uglier JLR products. I did see a lot of BYD cars for a while, but now it appears to be Jaecoo(?) Everywhere or the odd Leapmotor.
BYD may have stealth camouflage and blended into the background very effectively.
Ian_SW said:
A lot if the ugliness is down to size.
The Kia Picanto is pretty ugly, but it's a lot less offensive than the similarly styled Sportage simply because there's about half of much of it despite it doing much the same job.
I don't think the safety regulations makjng every car much the same shape are the main cause though. There are plenty of bland but not excessively ugly cars about. it's the relatively minor (from an engineeting perspective) design features such as as grilles and light shapes which introduce much of the ugliness.
I think the Picanto is well styled for a unibox city car with some interesting features.The Kia Picanto is pretty ugly, but it's a lot less offensive than the similarly styled Sportage simply because there's about half of much of it despite it doing much the same job.
I don't think the safety regulations makjng every car much the same shape are the main cause though. There are plenty of bland but not excessively ugly cars about. it's the relatively minor (from an engineeting perspective) design features such as as grilles and light shapes which introduce much of the ugliness.
There are some abominations out there. Most of the VW ID range are so bland. And the most gopping of them all is the EV Ford Capri - a coupe SUV says it all.
Looking at future sheds, I quite like the Renault Megane Estate for a conservatively styled car.
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff