View Poll Results: Who is to blame for the last few years and ugly and uglier gettng vehicles?
Chris Bangle must be stopped. He actually designs for everyone as a freelance.
2
7.14%
The lead car designer and his/her team of designers
0
0%
The managment approving these designs
10
35.71%
The people buying these designs
1
3.57%
I design cars and they look good, you just don't understand
0
0%
Who cares, sign me up. I want a job where I can legallly smoke crack rocks and destroy car design!!
2
7.14%
Its the gotdamn goats
2
7.14%
These cars actually look good and they are not ugly
0
0%
SUV influence has destroyed car design
1
3.57%
Acuras look like giant Megatron turds. Megatron then looks at his turds and screams "AHHHHHHH"
10
35.71%
Voters: 28. You may not vote on this poll
What on earth happened to good car design?
11-20-08, 05:55 PM
#1
Guest
Posts: n/a
What on earth happened to good car design?
Okay, this has gone far enough. Are you trying to tell me there are only a handful of affordable vehicles that are attractive? Otherwise I have to spend over 100k on an Aston Martin?
WTF is going on with car design? The thing is, who do you blame?
1. The car designers on crack?
2. The design team going with the lead designer?
3. The management approving these montrocities?
4. The blind as a bat people buying these vehicles that scare children?
I am sure people will post pics. Lexus now seems to want a piece of this ugly stick, which has beat the brains out of everyone around.
What is SO HARD about good proportions, classy styling and in general, making a "good looking" vehicle?
POLL TIME
WTF is going on with car design? The thing is, who do you blame?
1. The car designers on crack?
2. The design team going with the lead designer?
3. The management approving these montrocities?
4. The blind as a bat people buying these vehicles that scare children?
I am sure people will post pics. Lexus now seems to want a piece of this ugly stick, which has beat the brains out of everyone around.
What is SO HARD about good proportions, classy styling and in general, making a "good looking" vehicle?
POLL TIME
Last edited by LexFather; 11-20-08 at 07:06 PM.
11-20-08, 06:58 PM
#7
Lexus Fanatic
Sorry, Mike, but none of the poll options hit on the real reason why so many vehicles today look like they've come out of a circus.
The main reason is an inbred obsession today with not only change, but often just change for the sake of change itself.....not for any real practical reason. Nobody wants to be seen as "stagnant" or "backward" in their designs, even if (as is often the case) the older designs were actually better or more practical. Engineers, designers, marketers, managers, the auto press, and, to an extent, the auto public itself has been led to believe that if designs don't "change" they are somehow not good enough or that something is wrong with them. Never mind the fact that one of the most successful designs in automotive history was the air-cooled VW Beetle, which continued in production (and really didn't change very much) from 1936 until 2005, when the last plant in Mexico that built it shut down. Same with the Porsche 911. Except for a major change to air-cooled engines about 10 years ago, and, of course, more power, it is much the same as back when it debuted in 1964.
There is nothing wrong with change when it is done for a good reason (and electronics, admittedly, have done a marvelous job in engine/transmission management), but too many times it's just a case of "keeping up with the Jones" when the Jones themselves aren't necesarily correct.
Also, especially for us older guys who got used to more squared-off, conservative designs and simpler-to-use controls, it is difficult for a lot of us to see aero-slick body styling, humpback-whale rooflines, ultra-swept-back headlights, etc..... and ever-increasingly complex, harder-to-use electronics inside as real advances. To us, they just rob space efficiency (which is generally best with squared-off designs) and make it more difficult to keep your eyes on the road while adjusting controls. And the ever-increasing push to firmer and firmer suspensions/tires and sharper handling, in many cases, has paid a big price in ride comfort. It's almost impossible to find TRULY smooth-riding cars anymore.....the non-AMG Mercedes S-Class and Lexus LS460, among mass-produced cars, are about the closest....although the LS460 is a little stiffer than the LS430 it replaces. Even big Buicks and the Cadillac DTS are stiffer than in the past.
Even squared-off designs, though, in some cases, can be ugly.............the first-gen Scion xB proved that.
The main reason is an inbred obsession today with not only change, but often just change for the sake of change itself.....not for any real practical reason. Nobody wants to be seen as "stagnant" or "backward" in their designs, even if (as is often the case) the older designs were actually better or more practical. Engineers, designers, marketers, managers, the auto press, and, to an extent, the auto public itself has been led to believe that if designs don't "change" they are somehow not good enough or that something is wrong with them. Never mind the fact that one of the most successful designs in automotive history was the air-cooled VW Beetle, which continued in production (and really didn't change very much) from 1936 until 2005, when the last plant in Mexico that built it shut down. Same with the Porsche 911. Except for a major change to air-cooled engines about 10 years ago, and, of course, more power, it is much the same as back when it debuted in 1964.
There is nothing wrong with change when it is done for a good reason (and electronics, admittedly, have done a marvelous job in engine/transmission management), but too many times it's just a case of "keeping up with the Jones" when the Jones themselves aren't necesarily correct.
Also, especially for us older guys who got used to more squared-off, conservative designs and simpler-to-use controls, it is difficult for a lot of us to see aero-slick body styling, humpback-whale rooflines, ultra-swept-back headlights, etc..... and ever-increasingly complex, harder-to-use electronics inside as real advances. To us, they just rob space efficiency (which is generally best with squared-off designs) and make it more difficult to keep your eyes on the road while adjusting controls. And the ever-increasing push to firmer and firmer suspensions/tires and sharper handling, in many cases, has paid a big price in ride comfort. It's almost impossible to find TRULY smooth-riding cars anymore.....the non-AMG Mercedes S-Class and Lexus LS460, among mass-produced cars, are about the closest....although the LS460 is a little stiffer than the LS430 it replaces. Even big Buicks and the Cadillac DTS are stiffer than in the past.
Even squared-off designs, though, in some cases, can be ugly.............the first-gen Scion xB proved that.
Last edited by mmarshall; 11-20-08 at 07:06 PM.
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11-20-08, 07:05 PM
#8
Lead Lap
Join Date: Jul 2006
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Design teams have no creativity anymore. I have no idea why they even get paid.
The 7 series comes out with a Bangle-butt that NOBODY likes, and for some reason every other automaker decides to copy it?!?
Mercedes manages to scam the public by selling a restyled E-Class for $10-15 more (the CLS is a great looking car though) and now every manufacturer on earth wants to make a "4-door coupe"
The lack of originality is disgusting
The 7 series comes out with a Bangle-butt that NOBODY likes, and for some reason every other automaker decides to copy it?!?
Mercedes manages to scam the public by selling a restyled E-Class for $10-15 more (the CLS is a great looking car though) and now every manufacturer on earth wants to make a "4-door coupe"
The lack of originality is disgusting
11-20-08, 07:22 PM
#10
Lexus Fanatic
Here's my vote for the most physically beautiful car in production today (in the American market), although the roofline is a little too raked for my tastes. Still, this car is my idea of beautiful.....the Jaguar XF:
And here is (perhaps) the ugliest one....the Yaris hatchback:
And here is what I'd call the ugliest:
And here is (perhaps) the ugliest one....the Yaris hatchback:
And here is what I'd call the ugliest:
11-20-08, 07:54 PM
#11
mmarshall.... that jaguar is stunning. saw one driving last week, VERY good looking car. The problem with most of today's car design is that whenever the new generation models come out the look VERY radical. Nissan and BMW are both leading the way here... everytime I see a new nissan I wanna pukee..... but several years later it doesnt seem so bad because the newer models look even worse.
11-20-08, 08:30 PM
#14
Lexus Fanatic
The problem with most of today's car design is that whenever the new generation models come out the look VERY radical. Nissan and BMW are both leading the way here... everytime I see a new nissan I wanna pukee..... but several years later it doesnt seem so bad because the newer models look even worse.
11-20-08, 08:54 PM
#15
Lexus Fanatic
I wish they could stamp out a car like the lotus elan for 20k. Even if it wasnt blindingly fast, people would still buy it. As far as the jag, I like as well, but think it looks nothing like a jag should look like. Jaguar , like porsche, has always maintained that legendary design base while only tuning its shape in the most subtle ways. It could take more than a decade before you really notice any significant exterior mods from porsche on the 911