Why are modern cars so ugly

[ChemLabNL]

Cuz these people style them... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvU5dmu4sl8&feature=emb_title

 

[Spktyr]

Originally Posted by ChemLabNL

Cuz these people style them... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvU5dmu4sl8&feature=emb_title

Old cars weren't always so good looking. Where's the vomit emoticon? And what's your excuse for the hordes of hideous 50s-70s domestics? Also, CAFE and safety regs dictate what cars look like now. That's what happens when you demand extensive rollover, side impact and pedestrian impact safety requirements and then also demand the cars get a corporate average of 54mpg.

 

[Kira]

Why are modern cars so ugly, you ask? Because they don't match your esthetics. It's the only reason out there.

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

They're ugly because you've become older.

 

[wings&wheels]

Well its primarily a matter of taste, but things like an extreme focus on aerodynamics and the relatively new pedestrian safety standards (somewhat responsible for the bulbous noses on current cars) have negatively impacted looks. That said, I am thinking of importing one of these so I probably should not be speaking on car style

 

[ARCOgraphite]

NO real bumpers, overdone headlights, high beltlines, aerodynamic priorities .... and a lot of "borrowing" My Jetta Looks like a Chrysler 200 looks like a Ford Fusion way, WAY too much to be random .... Down to smaller detail too, like door handles in the crease of the formed body side swoop, I think FORD leads, and others follow ( read: COPY ). Which is Which?

 

[ARCOgraphite]

Originally Posted by ChemLabNL

Cuz these people style them...

CLNL, Thats pretty funny! And in many ways true. Bowing to the inept "artist" Like the Bangle- ized BMW's https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwLemq7UM6E maybe he dreamed of the neoclassic caddy bustle ...

 

[Spktyr]

Originally Posted by ARCOgraphite

NO real bumpers, overdone headlights, high beltlines, aerodynamic priorities .... and a lot of "borrowing" My Jetta Looks like a Chrysler 200 looks like a Ford Fusion way, WAY too much to be random .... Down to smaller detail too, like door handles in the crease of the formed body side swoop, I think FORD leads, and others follow ( read: COPY ). Which is Which?

The reason they look like that and each other is because when you ask three computers to design the most aerodynamic shape for a sedan (to improve fuel economy) and give it generally the same constraints for interior volume and space for mechanicals plus all the safety mandates, what you get are three very similar looking answers. It's not random, it's mathematically designed efficiency, caused by the CAFE 54mpg mandate. High beltline: Side impact safety standards mandate this. You simply can't get around it. "No real bumpers" - sorry, that garbage they were putting on cars in the 60s that was chrome plated tin wasn't real bumpers either, and even if they were pedestrian impact standards outlaw them on new cars.

 

[Spktyr]

Originally Posted by ARCOgraphite

Originally Posted by ChemLabNL

Cuz these people style them...

CLNL, Thats pretty funny! And in many ways true. Bowing to the inept "artist" Like the Bangle- ized BMW's https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwLemq7UM6E maybe he dreamed of the neoclassic caddy bustle ...

And yet, the best, most aggressive looking Corvette to date was the just now departed C7. Even the basic family sedan looks so much more interesting now than when I was a kid. And is much, much faster.

 

[old1]

I totally agree that all the new cars look alike. Of course I am also an old foogy. Back in the "old days" you could what make car from a quarter mile away. Now 1/2 there time I can't tell unlessI can see the emblem. I realize why, but it sure takes all the individualism out of it. I get a kick out of the car ads, where somebody says how they really like how it looks, and to me it looks like all the others on the road.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Originally Posted by old1

I totally agree that all the new cars look alike. Of course I am also an old foogy. Back in the "old days" you could what make car from a quarter mile away. Now 1/2 there time I can't tell unlessI can see the emblem. I realize why, but it sure takes all the individualism out of it. I get a kick out of the car ads, where somebody says how they really like how it looks, and to me it looks like all the others on the road.

I think it's a generational thing and what you're used to when you grew up. To me, all 40s, 50s and early 60s cars look the same. A 1949 Ford, Chrysler, Chevrolet sedan all look identical to me. If there was no badging, I wouldn't be able to tell them apart.

 

[Bud]

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

 

[Spktyr]

Originally Posted by Miller88

To me, all 40s, 50s and early 60s cars look the same. A 1949 Ford, Chrysler, Chevrolet sedan all look identical to me. If there was no badging, I wouldn't be able to tell them apart.

Same thing here. All the pre-War cars look very similar to me, so I don't get how the people who claim today's cars are all alike yet all the 40s cars were all magically different have any leg to stand on. "Old cars were all distinctive" - really? Sorry, don't buy it.

 

[Wolf359]

Originally Posted by Kira

Why are modern cars so ugly, you ask? Because they don't match your esthetics. It's the only reason out there.

There's still good looking modern cars out there.

 

[Lolvoguy]

 

[Kira]

I think any hope of "individualism" in something like a production car is pathetic. Color choice....that's about it. Remember back in the '60's when GM (and others?) offered which roofline you wanted? That was because the assembly lines were running "above capacity". Taking an order for a car meant more profit margin for the car company AND YOU GOT TO PICK A ROOF. On his '62 Pontiac Catalina my Dad selected the extended rear roof line. Also remember, back then buying a car "off the lot" was demeaning to many. Consumeristic fools we.

 

[gfh77665]

It might help to stop painting 90% of new vehicles white (or monochrome grey-silver). Just sayin'.

 

[FT92]

if you ask me modern cars all look about the same

 

[Propflux01]

Originally Posted by gfh77665

It might help to stop painting 90% of new vehicles white (or monochrome grey-silver). Just sayin'.

Yes. Seems around here you have a choice: white, black, silver, or grey. Every once in awhile you might see a blue or maroon.

 

[gfh77665]

I was stopped in traffic on an elevated Houston overpass one day, that happened to look down on a large dealership lot. Monochrome mania, with a rare blue or burgundy. 90%.