All cars are ugly. Discuss

[robinessex]

Sitting in the nice new 4 lane section of the M25 in a traffic jam the other day, I was idly looking at the surrounding cars when I realised how bloody ugly they all were. I can't at the moment think of a current everyday car that I find desirable on it's looks. Why?

[kambites]

I agree - I can't think of a modern mainstream car that's particularly good looking. They're all bland, ugly or both. The fact that 90% of them seem to be silver, grey, black or white doesn't help either.

Having said that, I think aesthetics have been going continuously down-hill continuously since the 60s, so it's hardly a new trend.


It is, of course, an entirely subjective thing though.

Edited by kambites on Tuesday 25th September 09:09

[StottyZr]

robinessex said:

I can't at the moment think of a current everyday car that I find desirable on it's looks. Why?

Because looks are subjective and your a moody git?

[deltashad]

I think the same thing. White goods cars anyhow, for the most part along with much pricier cars are fugly.

Haven't been excited about a new car design for years.

[Riley Blue]

No idea what goes on inside your head and which car(s) you might be attracted to - sorry.

[Disastrous]

StottyZr said:

robinessex said:

I can't at the moment think of a current everyday car that I find desirable on it's looks. Why?

Because looks are subjective and your a moody git?

I don't think it makes him moody. I'm quite chirpy today and feel much the same. Designed is most definitely based around wind-tunnels, impact safety and mass-appeal these days and it doesn't excite me I'm afraid. I'd need to be spending upwards of £80k to find something current that I want.

The Maserati GT is stunning IMO but all the 'normal' choices bore the tits off me.

[ikarl]

I think the nicest looking everyday car I have seen (only in pictures) is the New Ford Mondeo. Hopefully once I start seeing those on the road I'll think they still look 'pretty'

[LuS1fer]

Looks started going downhill for two reasons:

Safety regs now dictate hard points and clearances so we get massive bulbous bonnets and big bumpers and secondly, since the 80s. manufactuers have been struggling to achieve homogeneity in trademark designs.

In short, when BMW tyle a car, they are not styling a car to be beautiful, they are styling it to be a BMW usingf all their "trademark" styling cues. That is why the original BINI has grown so hideous, it doesn't lend itself to being what it is and looking like a BINI.

Ford's range in the 70s has a Fiesta with it's trapezoidal headlights, Escort with pinched grille then plain rectangular grille, Cortina with it's Yank-style grille then rectangular headlight grille, Granada with it's bluff then sloping front - all different. Now it's all about the same shape in different sizes so if you don't like their trademarks, you have to buy someoen else's.

Give me a Citroen GS/CX any day of the week.

[robinessex]

StottyZr said:

robinessex said:

I can't at the moment think of a current everyday car that I find desirable on it's looks. Why?

Because looks are subjective and your a moody git?

Correct. I was moody at the time. 'Cos I sas sitting in a bloody traffic jam on the brand new widened section of the M25, done at a cost of £6b, which was being caused by collecting the toll money for the bloody Dartford Crossing, you know the one, it was going to be free when it was paid for, which happened about 6 yrs ago. And I still think modern cars look ugly. So there. Rant over.

[Bill]

robinessex said:

And I still think modern cars look ugly. So there. Rant over.

For the most part I'd agree, although most cars are bland rather than ugly. That said I do like the A5 and, bizarrely, the 5 door Evoque

[CurvaParabolica]

In before someone posts a picture of a 159

Plenty of good looking cars out there, but beauty is in the eye of beholder etc etc.

[LuS1fer]

robinessex said:

'Cos I sas sitting in a bloody traffic jam on the brand new widened section of the M25, done at a cost of £6b, which was being caused by collecting the toll money for the bloody Dartford Crossing, you know the one, it was going to be free when it was paid for, which happened about 6 yrs ago. And I still think modern cars look ugly. So there. Rant over.

Ah, like the Severn Bridge but of course building a new one meant they couldn't make the old one free, maintenance costs blah blah so at £6 a car it remains a real trade barrier for Wales. I wonder if I can take it to the European Court of Human Rights saying it restricts my personal liberty.

[GroundEffect]

robinessex said:

Sitting in the nice new 4 lane section of the M25 in a traffic jam the other day, I was idly looking at the surrounding cars when I realised how bloody ugly they all were. I can't at the moment think of a current everyday car that I find desirable on it's looks. Why?

A mixture of cost and required practicality.

[GroundEffect]

KISSMYGTR said:

My Evo is incredibly beautiful, I look at it far more often than I do the wife

No, it's not.

[Rammy76]

robinessex said:

Correct. I was moody at the time. 'Cos I sas sitting in a bloody traffic jam on the brand new widened section of the M25, done at a cost of £6b, which was being caused by collecting the toll money for the bloody Dartford Crossing, you know the one, it was going to be free when it was paid for, which happened about 6 yrs ago. And I still think modern cars look ugly. So there. Rant over.

I'm not from the area but remember reading about a bridge that was meant to be free to use, but was then sold to a French infrastructure company as a cash cow for them! Is this the same one?

[Jaguar steve]

It's part of a trend to produce bulky and aggressively overstyled cars with an intimidating road presence. Just look at the front of almost any modern car and tell me you can't see an angry, slitty eyed face with a great snarling mouth.

Worrying really - I mean who actually wants to own something like that?

[RobCrezz]

I think the Toyota GT86 is a really good looking car.

[RB Will]

When you say good looking do you mean it in a classical curvy beauty way or just pleasing on the eye/purposeful?

Agreed there is not much I can think of to fit the first idea but there are plenty of cars that just look good.
I like a lot of the new/retro american stuff. New mustang, Challenger, Camaro, Ram (not retro I know)
I quite like the new Jag lineup too.

Granted nothing I have listed is in particular abundance.

[Fletcha]

i think on the whole you are correct, car firms have for, well I'm not quite sure what the reason is, cost saving or brand image gone down the route of making every variation of their car look the same which i don't like also. as well as the safety regulations creating bloated heavy looking bubbles that are most modern cars. i do think there are some exceptions, in the Alfa's i think both the Mito and the Giulietta are very pretty cars. Renault also used to make the Laguna coupe which was loverly but unfortunately thats been dropped. i do think though that the Asian car companies are getting better though, the new Lexus's are rather nice and even Hyundai's are starting to look respectable. i think i need to have a lie down after that last statement with a picture of a Lancia Fulvia or a BMW Z8 just to make sure I've not gone mad and i know what a good looking car is still.

[Agoogy]

Familiarity breeds contempt, especially where 'everyday cars' are concerned. The Astra is a sharp, smart well executed bit of car design, then you see them every other mile and it becomes 'dull' especially in poverty spec white with 15"s.
The R53 Mini is a smart well proportioned car, but they are everywhere..
E46 BMWs etc
modern cars on the whole are colour and wheel sensitive, so truly exceptional car design has been legislated and managed out...
Still think the 159 bucked the trend...