My latest new vehicle design trend pet peeves

[HonorAndHonesty]

So I had first noticed ridiculously large "center consoles" in the 3rd generation Prius and the latest reiteration of the Ford Taurus when it came back in 09 or 10, Not saying they were the first vehicles with ridiculously large consoles however those are the first I noticed, now it seems every new vehicle has you wrapped around with a console or whatever you want to call it. I can't stand it.

The second thing that aggravates me is unrealistic and unnecessary speedometer range, the new Sienna and new Suburbans both have 140mph speedometers, must help sell cars I guess. Some focus group must have liked having 140mph speedometers in vehicles that probably have speed limiters that kick in around 100mph. It drives me nuts.

There are other design trends I don't care for that have become prevalent, why does every vehicle need a "dual" exhaust and why must it go thru the bumper in some fashion.

End of rant.

 

[RooflessVW]

My biggest and only real peeve is that "grilles" keep getting bigger and bigger but the actual area that allows airflow gets smaller and smaller.

It's just lazy design.

 

[miden851]

two more things; large wheels without tire side walls, preferring a form over the function, and front head lights at night, specifically in trucks and suvs; Ford 150 comes to my mind, they blind everyone on the roads

 

[ecotourist]

My biggest and only real peeve is that "grilles" keep getting bigger and bigger but the actual area that allows airflow gets smaller and smaller.

I was recently in the market for a new car. And one of the big knocks against Lexus and Toyota was their ridiculously large grills. And some of the new BMWs are following that trend.

Who wants to buy an ugly car? What would be wrong with ... say.... beautiful?

 

[oldcodger]

How about the false dual exhausts? From the back you see two exhaust lines but get under and you see they are actually a single exhaust just split to the bumper.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

I had a "new" Taurus as a loaner back in 2012 and that thing made me claustrophobic with how large the center console was! I think I had more room in the front of my Focus.

However, I love the front bench on my grand marquis.

 

[CKN]

How about the false dual exhausts? From the back you see two exhaust lines but get under and you see they are actually a single exhaust just split to the bumper.

Yea-everybody will crawl under you car to check out "the lie".....

 

[bullwinkle]

Can I add all the rapidly increasing “nanny” functions-lane warnings, self dimming headlights, rain sensing wiper blades, & (the granddaddy) ”self-driving” cars? I know drivers can’t be bothered to pay attention, but all this new stuff is just making it easier to NOT DRIVE!

 

[RooflessVW]

Can I add all the rapidly increasing “nanny” functions-lane warnings, self dimming headlights, rain sensing wiper blades, & (the granddaddy) ”self-driving” cars? I know drivers can’t be bothered to pay attention, but all this new stuff is just making it easier to NOT DRIVE!

IMO the systems help people with what they're poor at.

What they've always been poor at.

 

[vw7674]

this reminds me of horrible new car trends from the past, 85mph speedos & those automated seat belt track drawing thinga muh jigs.
the new car huge windshields are bogus too. Feel like I'm Craig Breedlove trying for a new land speed record.
I also dislike radios asking me to subscribe to stuff I don't want. What I want is to listen to FM radio, mmkay?

 

[riverblue]

The excessive use of gloss black plastic inside and outside the car. Fingerprints and dust inside and scratches outside make it look terrible past the day of vehicle purchase.

 

[GMBoy]

The reason behind the higher MPH speedometers is merely looks. If you think back to the 80's when 85mph speedometers were mandated - they looked terrible! With a higher mph range the fonts and lettering looks better. I would rather have a 140mph speedometer and look nice than an 85 with huge numbers looking ugly. JMO

 

[jhellwig]

I think the speedometer thing might be more to do with everyone making the switch from US units to metric electronic. The numbers are in the same places it just recalibrated the gauge sweep.

I also know for a fact that a Toyota Sienna will go way faster than it should. I don’t remember what mywifes van goes to but it will peg it with peddle to spare. Found that out on an emergency room trip.

 

[ekrampitzjr]

The large consoles are meant to prevent car occupants from moving around too much during a wreck so the safety belts and airbags work properly. That's why front bench seats have died out. The reasons are liability avoidance and government requirements, and many of those requirements are now the same in most countries.

The changes also keep the driver in place so he/she isn't sliding across the seat during an emergency evasive maneuver.

 

[clinebarger]

My recently acquired '15 Cruze has a difficult to read (At a glance) Speedometer, But you can set the DIC to display the speed digitally which is very easy to read.

I like large consoles....For my coffee, phone, wallet, sunglasses etc....Just don't clutter it up with a auto shifter!!!

 

[PimTac]

I like the larger consoles and the newer cars are using the floating console design which gives even more storage room underneath.

Digital speedometers eliminate the agony of looking at a 140mph speedometer.

 

[Skippy722]

The large consoles are meant to prevent car occupants from moving around too much during a wreck so the safety belts and airbags work properly. That's why front bench seats have died out. The reasons are liability avoidance and government requirements, and many of those requirements are now the same in most countries.

The changes also keep the driver in place so he/she isn't sliding across the seat during an emergency evasive maneuver.

Old bench seats that were one solid piece maybe…. The bench seat in my 2019 Ram is effectively 3 separate pieces mounted very close together. You’re not sliding around on that at all.

But I agree on the ridiculous center consoles that are big for the sake of being big. At least the one in our grand caravan has a ton of storage space.

 

[4WD]

My biggest and only real peeve is that "grilles" keep getting bigger and bigger but the actual area that allows airflow gets smaller and smaller.

It's just lazy design.

Adds menace to the angry insect front ends

 

[AutoMechanic]

I’m not much on rounded cars I like old school squared off ones. Guess it’s a trend that people want these days just like infotainment and push button start. All pet peeves of mine. Another pet peeve is really with any year vehicle that I have experience with is not being able to comfortably fit two cups in the cup holders next to each other without one almost falling out cause it sits at a slant. Never had a car that you could sit two of the same size or different size drinks next too without that issue.

 

[john_pifer]

Several OEMs are eliminating or greatly reducing physical knobs and controls and switches (for things like HVAC, audio) in favor of touchscreens where you have 1 or 2 touchscreens where you have to go into a menu and make 3 or 4 or 5 selections just to get to the radio station you want, or change the temperature.

The smarter OEMs are leaving physical knobs and switches for the most frequently-used controls (the new Civic).

But other companies are going all-in with the annoying touchscreen menus (VW GTI).

Im one who prefers all physical controls. I don’t like automatic climate control, either. I prefer 100% manual, analog controls. And I appreciate that our 4Runner, even being a 2021, has all-manual climate controls. However, the radio has the annoying touchscreen menus. But I do like that it has Apple Car Play, though not all the apps work perfectly.