New cars that look tremendous.

[evilC]

New cars that look tremendous.

The problem with car design today is the lights. Ever since computer modelling helped create (the lenses in) small main headlights that are as bright as more traditional headlights, manufacturers seem obssessed with making their lights - front and rear, in fact - as fussy and 'tarty' as possible. Of course, the sky-high replacement costs for what are really just convoluted designs of pieces of plastic (and yet are still relatively cheep to make) are a driver here, as well. It results in the cars just being grotesque, though.

IMHO, you can't beat the simple round lights on an E-Type, MG Midget or Lotus Elite (all for example). I've got a nasty feeling we've been here before, but which would you rather have on a car...

These piles of gaudy crap?

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...or these beauties?

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[WOM]

New cars that look tremendous.

Hello...

[ursus arctos]

New cars that look tremendous.

Only headlights that matter



The Impala is probably the only retro re-launch where the current one looks much better than the original.

[WOM]

New cars that look tremendous.

Heh. At a dinner Saturday night, our host said that if he could only have one car ever, that would be it. "The most beautiful car ever..."

[evilC]

New cars that look tremendous.

On a more positive note, though - and I may have mentioned this before - there is a rather tasty new Bulgarian sports car (yes, really!) which has been brewing for a few years, called the Sin R1 (although it's slightly guilty of 'silly light syndrome' too, sadly).

Also, it has the added advantage - if you're a Pet Shop Boys fan - that, when someone asks what it is, you can happily answer "It's a Sin!" (...and then play the song full-blast on the stereo, so as to make them go away!)

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[Kevin S]

New cars that look tremendous.

Good point evilC, round headlights are great. The Mini. Fiat 500. Even old BMWs and Golfs.

For those looking for up-to-datedness, the Frankfurt Motor Show is happening, so you can see some new designs:

http://www.autoblog.com/2015/09/16/frankfurt-motor-show-recap/

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/car-news/frankfurt-motor-show/92190/frankfurt-motor-show-2015-live-coverage

[ursus arctos]

New cars that look tremendous.

Heh. At a dinner Saturday night, our host said that if he could only have one car ever, that would be it. "The most beautiful car ever..."

I presume that this was about the DS, and not the Impala.

I have said the same thing on more than one occasion. I really wanted to get one for our wedding, but they are thin on the ground here, and no one wanted to drive theirs all the way up and down the Northern Californian coast.

[WOM]

New cars that look tremendous.

ursus arctos wrote: I presume that this was about the DS, and not the Impala.

Oop. Yes, the DS.

[Gangster Octopus]

New cars that look tremendous.

Mmmm, Impala...

[Vulgarian Visigoth]

New cars that look tremendous.

Bored of Education wrote: Making sure that this isn't a nil thread myself but somewhat reinforcing that cars today look all the same, just seen one of these outside.

That's 'scientific' design for you.

[WOM]

New cars that look tremendous.

Back when I wrote for Hyundai, we had to big-up that design as if it was really something. They called it 'fluidic sculpture', giving the car (and I quote) the look of a vehicle in motion, even when it's at rest. It was horrible and infected their whole lineup for a while.

[treibeis]

New cars that look tremendous.

I get paid to turn unreadable crap about car designs (usually written by the designers themselves) into slightly less unreadable crap.

I could tell you, for example, exactly why slitty headlights are all the go nowadays. But then I'd either have to kill you or myself.

[WOM]

New cars that look tremendous.

Big fan of the (recently discontinued) Volvo C30. Nice shape. Good size.

[ursus arctos]

New cars that look tremendous.

I'm thrilled at the idea that treibeis has likely had to (re)translate some marketing guff that WOM was originally responsible for.

[hobbes]

New cars that look tremendous.

VW Scirocco.
Job done.

[ad hoc]

New cars that look tremendous.

I feel we may need to start referring to WOMian wrongness

[WOM]

New cars that look tremendous.

Which particular car are you wrong about me being wrong about?

[ad hoc]

New cars that look tremendous.

Pretty much every one you've chosen.

It seems so bad that I even suspect you're about to say you quite like the Dodge Nitro (surely the ugliest car ever created)

[WOM]

New cars that look tremendous.

No, I don't like the Nitro. But I don't hate it either. As you likely suspect, I'm drawn to odd cars. You don't like that Volvo?

[Incandenza]

New cars that look tremendous.

I like that Volvo.

There are almost no more wagons sold in the US. I don't think that Mazda on page 1 is sold here. It's all whatever they call CR-Vs/Rav-4s and their ilk now.

[WOM]

New cars that look tremendous.

I was going to say the same thing. Europe and the UK get amazing looking estates/wagons, and we get more CUVs. And there's a whole wave of smaller ones coming this year. Honda HR-V, Mazda CX3, et al.

[Incandenza]

New cars that look tremendous.

CUV, that's it. I saw a Honda HR-V. It's like a weird mix of a Fit and a CR-V.

My local Toyota dealer has been doing a ton of promotions over the new fuel cell car. They are apparently the dealership with the most for sale in North America.

[WOM]

New cars that look tremendous.

That's exactly what it is. It's built on the Fit chassis.

There's tons more coming, too. Scion are supposed to be doing one. The new Jeep Renegade is basically one.

[treibeis]

New cars that look tremendous.

WOM wrote: They called it 'fluidic sculpture', giving the car (and I quote) the look of a vehicle in motion, even when it's at rest. It was horrible and infected their whole lineup for a while.

That just goes to show what a load of crap non-European cars are. Because European cars don't 'move when they're at rest'. They 'accelerate while they're standing still', which, I'm sure you'll agree, is a whole new ball game.

[WOM]

New cars that look tremendous.

If there's anything that will shift a paradigm, it's your reframing.