Asymmetry in Design

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JMoney

JMoney

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JMoney-689
Woodside689
Are asymmetric cars acceptable? Asymmetric designs exist for a variety of reasons, whether it be to give more downforce to once side of the car, like on a sprint car:

31-Oct-09-rFactorCentral-4956_tpr_scrapmetal02showroom.jpg


Or to feed more air to an air cooler, like on the Murcielago:

112_0607_07z+2007_lamborghini_murcielago_LP640+side_view.jpg


112_0710_16z+2007_lamborghini_murcielago_lp640+side_view.jpg


Sometimes, though, nobody really knows why a car is asymmetrical.

Hyundai%20Veloster.png


2012-hyundai-veloster-side.jpg


They say that symmetry is essential to beauty in humans. Is it in cars as well, or are asymmetric designs unacceptable?
 
I always thought it was cool that when Nissan transported the Cube to America they actually adapted the exterior design to fit. Compared to, say, the Mini Clubman.
 
JMoney689
What the heck... why was that?
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Because AMC was essentially trying to make a car that filled the same role as the eventual first generation Dodge Caravan, but didn't actually have the ability to do so. The very short wheelbase the Pacer sat on didn't allow full rear doors and suicide doors weren't even really present on pickups yet, so they made the right side longer to try to compensate.
 
People are too used to seeing faces in everything for manufacturers to actually try truly asymmetrical design.

Take headlights for example:
633944132036151864BMW_S1000RR_45610.jpg

HP4_12.jpg

Uh... this is only so obviously asymmetrical because the high bean is on one side and the low is on the other... with cars, the difference would be more subtle.

Headlights are inherently asymmetrical in terms of operation, built for a tighter narrower beam focus on the driver's side so as not to blind oncoming drivers, and a more diffuse beam on the other so you can see the side of the road.

But manufacturers choose to compromise those functions to create headlights that are aesthetically pleasing on the unconscious level.

Same goes for radiator grilles:
2015-Suzuki-Alto-kei-car-01-alloy-wheels.jpg

Gene-winfield-pacifica2.jpg


Many small transverse engined cars nowadays have radiators offset to one side for more compact packaging and to offset the weight of the engine. Yet they still have full-width grilles that do nothing but cause extra drag and piss off people like me, who hate looking at grilles filled with ugly black plastic blanking plates.

I'd single out the Chevy Spark... but that's a whole different level of ugh on the "Hey, we've got a crapload of design cues that don't fit... we're going to need a lot of cheater panels to fill in the gaps in the design!" scale.

I would very much like to see more cars with more functional design, rather than pandering to the set that wants smiley faces on everything. But that's not going to happen as long as the lowest comon denominator counts in terms of car sales.
 
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All cars can been seen as asymmetrical in some way.

Well except the Mclaren F1 which is nearly symmetrical if you ignore the F1 badge at the back.

I myself like a symmetry, i hate it when a car has one reverse light on the passenger side and one foglight on the drivers side.
 
I think it's safe to conclude that if the asymmetry can't be seen from one angle, it doesn't hurt the beauty of the car.
 
Tornado
I always thought it was cool that when Nissan transported the Cube to America they actually adapted the exterior design to fit. Compared to, say, the Mini Clubman.
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:odd: I thought the 3rd door on the clubman was much more accomodating to LHD countries, than it is to RHD. But I guess that depends if you value luggage access to the rear, or rear passenger access to safety.
 
Dennisch
Golf 4 passenger side mirror is smaller
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I never noticed that, but it's the case on the Mercedes 190 too.

I quite like asymmetry in vehicles, mainly for the reasons @niky mentions - functionality. Sometimes that functionality is dubious - the MINI Clubman's side doorwas great in LHD markets, but opens into the traffic in RHD markets (ditto, I think, the Veloster) - but at other times it's great.

Someone else mentioned that it's okay if it's subtle, which I think pretty much sums it up. Vents and grilles offset to aid cooling to a particular area work well, for instance. And functionally, the asymmetrical wheelbase on a Renault 4 (to facilitate independent suspension despite having torsion bars at the rear) can't be faulted, given that it doesn't cause any problems in a car where high-speed cornering isn't required.

The exhaust thing @Icy J mentions above is an interesting one. I don't mind offset exhausts - some cars look very odd with pipes either side, particularly vehicles with no real degree of prestige (original Beetle aside - those look wrong with single pipes). And when it comes to centre-exit exhausts, I sometimes like it slightly offset - there's a necessity about its placement, rather than the feeling someone has taken the time to center it for purely aesthetic purposes.

If we're to continue the "humans like symmetry because people are symmetrical" thing, then an offset element, rather than a truly asymmetrical car, is like a mole on a supermodel. Having a skin defect perfectly central (on your nose, or chin, or forehead or something) would look very odd indeed and even unnatural, but on a cheek it sort of "works". To extend it further, I reckon tattoos would look quite weird if they were mirrored. And let's not forget, clothing is often asymmetrical - shirts have pockets on one side, to give just one example.
 
TheCracker
^ 👍

Very few things of a size you couldn't hold in your hands are symmetrical. Who has ever lived in a symmetrical house?

Car interiors are never symmetrical, neither are engine bays. Why should the exterior?
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homeforsummer
I never noticed that, but it's the case on the Mercedes 190 too.

I quite like asymmetry in vehicles, mainly for the reasons @niky mentions - functionality. Sometimes that functionality is dubious - the MINI Clubman's side doorwas great in LHD markets, but opens into the traffic in RHD markets (ditto, I think, the Veloster) - but at other times it's great.

Someone else mentioned that it's okay if it's subtle, which I think pretty much sums it up. Vents and grilles offset to aid cooling to a particular area work well, for instance. And functionally, the asymmetrical wheelbase on a Renault 4 (to facilitate independent suspension despite having torsion bars at the rear) can't be faulted, given that it doesn't cause any problems in a car where high-speed cornering isn't required.

The exhaust thing @Icy J mentions above is an interesting one. I don't mind offset exhausts - some cars look very odd with pipes either side, particularly vehicles with no real degree of prestige (original Beetle aside - those look wrong with single pipes). And when it comes to centre-exit exhausts, I sometimes like it slightly offset - there's a necessity about its placement, rather than the feeling someone has taken the time to center it for purely aesthetic purposes.

If we're to continue the "humans like symmetry because people are symmetrical" thing, then an offset element, rather than a truly asymmetrical car, is like a mole on a supermodel. Having a skin defect perfectly central (on your nose, or chin, or forehead or something) would look very odd indeed and even unnatural, but on a cheek it sort of "works". To extend it further, I reckon tattoos would look quite weird if they were mirrored. And let's not forget, clothing is often asymmetrical - shirts have pockets on one side, to give just one example.
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In the case of the Chevrolet Express Van I posted earlier, asymmetrical is needed, say for access to the back.
 
I wouldn't actually count vans or the Veloster/Clubman. They're designed specifically to minimize the impact of an asymmetrical layout.

Something truly, brazenly asymmetrical will revel in being so:

01.jpg

http://www.beautifullife.info/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/14/01.jpg

2013-11-12-nardi-2.jpg

http://www.lemans.org/wpphpFichiers...eures-du-mans/11/nardi/2013-11-12-nardi-2.jpg
(I still think this thing is awesome... imagine if they had continued with a racing class following this formula!)

6a01116901c3e2970c01156fcd96e8970c-pi


Oh, and this is just awesome:
IMG_4236.jpg

http://www.palatov.com/pikespeak/images/IMG_4236.jpg
Sure, sure... lots of racers with the passenger side covered over. But in this case, it's because there is no passenger side. For those not in the know, this is a D4: Perfect weight balance, with a Hayabusa-based V8 sitting beside the driver, driving a center differential powering twin chains to the front and rear axles. An incredibly fast piece of kit, and it's available in road-legal trim.

Oh, also:
Blue-1989-Geo-Metro-has-been-green-since-1993_77226_2.jpg

mpg-thumb-400x270.jpg


The builder's site has lapsed and seems to have been bought out by a spammer, but this was a truly fascinating build. Not very pretty, but quite an experiment in aerodynamics.
 
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homeforsummer
I never noticed that, but it's the case on the Mercedes 190 too.

I quite like asymmetry in vehicles, mainly for the reasons @niky mentions - functionality. Sometimes that functionality is dubious - the MINI Clubman's side doorwas great in LHD markets, but opens into the traffic in RHD markets (ditto, I think, the Veloster) - but at other times it's great.

Someone else mentioned that it's okay if it's subtle, which I think pretty much sums it up. Vents and grilles offset to aid cooling to a particular area work well, for instance. And functionally, the asymmetrical wheelbase on a Renault 4 (to facilitate independent suspension despite having torsion bars at the rear) can't be faulted, given that it doesn't cause any problems in a car where high-speed cornering isn't required.

The exhaust thing @Icy J mentions above is an interesting one. I don't mind offset exhausts - some cars look very odd with pipes either side, particularly vehicles with no real degree of prestige (original Beetle aside - those look wrong with single pipes). And when it comes to centre-exit exhausts, I sometimes like it slightly offset - there's a necessity about its placement, rather than the feeling someone has taken the time to center it for purely aesthetic purposes.

If we're to continue the "humans like symmetry because people are symmetrical" thing, then an offset element, rather than a truly asymmetrical car, is like a mole on a supermodel. Having a skin defect perfectly central (on your nose, or chin, or forehead or something) would look very odd indeed and even unnatural, but on a cheek it sort of "works". To extend it further, I reckon tattoos would look quite weird if they were mirrored. And let's not forget, clothing is often asymmetrical - shirts have pockets on one side, to give just one example.
Click to expand...

Hyundai actually offer both toolings, so RHD cars have their extra door on the left. I always thought it crummy that MINIs are built in the UK, but they couldn't justify building them for our market, with all of BMW's wealth. South Korea is LHD, as well, so that really makes MINI look cheap.
 
BMW-Mille_Miglia_Coupe_Concept_2006_1024x768_wallpaper_06.jpg


I always thought the BMW Mille Miglia concept looked interesting due to the asymmetry.
 
@niky - If I had the skills to chop an MX-5 into such a beast I would! I'm surprised I can't find a kit of something like that, but I'm sure one exists (chopped windscreen, single seat, maybe shortened wheelbase).
 

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