What has happened to car design?
Discussion
I've been browsing the forum and the response to the 'new versions' of some well known (and tasty) motors hasn't been great at all in terms of styling.
I know EU regs haven't helped but lets look at a few of the recent cars that have had somewhat of a following and for petrolheads and something to look forward to:
New Audi R8 - general feeling here is that styling isn't good and old version was better.
New Merc C63 - general feeling here is that styling isn't good and old version was better.
BMW M4 - A bit Halfords
I could go on but thats just 3 cars from the big 3 companies and I'd feel *somewhat* disappointed looking out my window onto my drive thinking if only said brand could have made it bit better looking after spending at least 50k and upwards. I know the performance would be be better... but some of the styling
Last summer I wanted a small-ish, fast 5 door hatch and my choices were narrowed down to a Merc A Class AMG, BMW M135i and a Golf R mk7.
I went for the Golf R - and while I got a decent lease deal on it - I just couldn't have gone for the either the BMW or Merc as they both looked just awfull.
The Golf isn't a great looker but felt it was the best of a bad bunch in terms of styling.
What has gone wrong with the big car companies and there design teams and where have the great looking iconic car designs gone?
I know EU regs haven't helped but lets look at a few of the recent cars that have had somewhat of a following and for petrolheads and something to look forward to:
New Audi R8 - general feeling here is that styling isn't good and old version was better.
New Merc C63 - general feeling here is that styling isn't good and old version was better.
BMW M4 - A bit Halfords
I could go on but thats just 3 cars from the big 3 companies and I'd feel *somewhat* disappointed looking out my window onto my drive thinking if only said brand could have made it bit better looking after spending at least 50k and upwards. I know the performance would be be better... but some of the styling
Last summer I wanted a small-ish, fast 5 door hatch and my choices were narrowed down to a Merc A Class AMG, BMW M135i and a Golf R mk7.
I went for the Golf R - and while I got a decent lease deal on it - I just couldn't have gone for the either the BMW or Merc as they both looked just awfull.
The Golf isn't a great looker but felt it was the best of a bad bunch in terms of styling.
What has gone wrong with the big car companies and there design teams and where have the great looking iconic car designs gone?
Partly it's rose-tinted nostalgia. By looking back at the very expensive and exotic beautiful cars from the past it blinds us from the truth: Most people in the sixties and seventies were driving around in cars like the Morris Minor and Marina. 
It's like listening to the greatest hits of a band that has had a very long career. Yes they had many great songs, but they made many more average songs in their long career. You tend to forget that, and compare new music to the best songs from the past.
I think it's also partly because safety regulations dictate a taller car for good pedestrian and occupant crash protection. This makes the overall profile of a car taller, so there's all this extra tall metal that you have to shape or break up in different ways.
If you look at nineties cars they typically have a lower bonnet, wing line, doors, boot line, etc. I like that, and the way car proportions are now it's more difficult to make the basic shape and profile look good.
You could argue from a modern perspective, that it's just which era of design that you prefer. Chrome and lights of the fifties, curvy organic shapes of the sixties, flat angles of the seventies, blocky surfaces of the eighties, smooth rounded nineties, edgy contours of the noughties, etc.
Also you can make a new car with some old design details, like the Fiat 500 has, but the costs go up for all the small little parts you could just make in black plastic. You then have to charge more for a Fiat Panda.
It's like listening to the greatest hits of a band that has had a very long career. Yes they had many great songs, but they made many more average songs in their long career. You tend to forget that, and compare new music to the best songs from the past.
I think it's also partly because safety regulations dictate a taller car for good pedestrian and occupant crash protection. This makes the overall profile of a car taller, so there's all this extra tall metal that you have to shape or break up in different ways.
If you look at nineties cars they typically have a lower bonnet, wing line, doors, boot line, etc. I like that, and the way car proportions are now it's more difficult to make the basic shape and profile look good.
You could argue from a modern perspective, that it's just which era of design that you prefer. Chrome and lights of the fifties, curvy organic shapes of the sixties, flat angles of the seventies, blocky surfaces of the eighties, smooth rounded nineties, edgy contours of the noughties, etc.
Also you can make a new car with some old design details, like the Fiat 500 has, but the costs go up for all the small little parts you could just make in black plastic. You then have to charge more for a Fiat Panda.
t", PH said. still passable a decade on - but look at the car 1 year older, looks gash.Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff