Yugo had honest proportions and a great greenhouse. It was honest about its economy. Remember it was an old Fiat, and the Italians don't make too much ugly stuff. The underpinnings were a disaster though... Consumer Reports said it had "the build quality of having been built at gunpoint."
Uninspired Auto design
- Thread starter raaizin
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That front-end would make a nice goldfish tank!
I think Honda still has good looking, even classy designs, probably a bit conservative for some. I'm still mourning the loss of both Civic and Accord coupes though.
edyvw
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Nah. I owned Yugo and did hill climb races in it.
Consumer Reports don’t know true story (in former Yugoslavia nothing was made at gun point, but then, that would require CR to be less ignorant).
The truth was that on some Yugos you could find under door panel: “the quality resembles the paycheck.”
I don't know if its the same issue or not, but I remember one article in CR being extremely harsh about the Yugo, as opposed to the two or three other cars they were comparing it to. They wrote in great detail about how the hot/cold slider on the dash, for example, which had a return spring that was constantly trying to change your setting back to whatever it was before. The article was so harsh it made me wonder if perhaps the editor's dog had been run over by a Yugo, or something.
Curious when they ever had unique looks?
80’s 90’s 2000-present cars had similar look from front .
80’s 90’s 2000-present cars had similar look from front .
Dodge Charger...Leading the fight against Soulless Sleep Pods. 
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Every era has its ugly and beautiful styling trends that most follow. Could be based on manufacturing and engineering practices, cultural influences, geopolitical or economic issue and trends, etc. Too many variables to tact just one. Everyone always likes to talk about the things they love/hate from whatever era but they usually leave out the counterpoints.
There are usually two things that I can tact which will lead a person to think one era is the best over all others. It’s either the era before theirs which probably makes them remember childhood and fond memories. Or it was the era of their own youthful “heyday” which has less to do with things actually being better back then and more to do with the person being in their prime. In both scenarios, things weren’t better and progressively got worse, the person was likely the one who had it better and progressively things got worse. Which is life.
There are usually two things that I can tact which will lead a person to think one era is the best over all others. It’s either the era before theirs which probably makes them remember childhood and fond memories. Or it was the era of their own youthful “heyday” which has less to do with things actually being better back then and more to do with the person being in their prime. In both scenarios, things weren’t better and progressively got worse, the person was likely the one who had it better and progressively things got worse. Which is life.
I think automotive design hit a peak in the 50-60s. Especially from the Italian design houses. Note -- "a" peak, not "the" peak. It can rise again.
Some bold shots were taken in the 70s concept cars, but a lot of the production stuff was not-great, to put it very kindly.
80s design improved, in tandem with the rising quality as a whole. In the U.S., finally being freed from the shackles of the limited selection of sealed beam headlights allowed designers to become more creative. At the tail end, the first appearance of compact ellipsoid projector headlamps gave them even more freedom, though it would take time for some designers to exploit it.
90s continued that trend.
Currently, solid-state lighting technology has allowed some designers to indulge themselves.
^ Also form followed function. The 1990s popularized SUVs... both compact like the XJ Cherokee and "full size" like the Excursion. But you could also get a reliable, fuel injected FWD hatchback, a toy-sized truck, a first gen Lexus/ Infiniti copy of a German Autobahn machine. In hindsight most vehicles looked the part.
Just like they stick together with ugly designs. If they did the same the regs could be changed. All they all have to do is say we are shutting down.
Then there are the DIY blackout guysCurrently the auto industry seems to be going through an ugly phase. Everything seems to be blacked out these days, which I think is a hideous look, especially black rims
The holiest of ugly!
Currently the auto industry seems to be going through an ugly phase. Everything seems to be blacked out these days, which I think is a hideous look, especially black rims
I love black rims, to each their own.
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I used to have no problem identifying any specific car driving down the road, but now the ones that really give me problems are the Equinox, Trax, Blazer and Trailblazer. They all look like they've been in a frontal accident, and I now have to look for the badge in the back in order to tell which one I'm looking at. Maybe I would know the differences on sight if I was interested in all in any of them. I've noticed that they're also making Kias look more like their Hyundai stable mates, so I'm having a harder time telling those apart from a distance.
The new stuff might not look the greatest but I sure like some of the electronics as well as the mileage and reliability. I like the retro stuff too such as the Camaro's, Bronco's, Challengers, Mustangs, and the new Land Cruiser. It's the prices that take a while to get used to.
One example is pedestrian safety.
Mid engine vs front engine in this case, as for a few years cars have had to have some amount of crush space between the hood and engine for pedestrian protection. This is why many recent front engined cars, especially RWD cars have a similar bulbous front end profile; see a newer BMW or Mustang in profile as compared to earlier models, say an e36 or for an extreme example, older and current 8 series. Mid or rear engined cars such as can still have slimmer front ends as there is no engine underneath. Pedestrian protection has had a quiet but substantial impact (no pun intended) on auto design.
