Long-Term Automotive Design Trends

[skip0110]

Some design fads come and go (pop up headlights, two-tone paint) while others just continue in one direction. Like:

- increasing cowl height (sit in an early 80's Civic, an early 90s Civic, and a current Civic...what a difference!)
- decreasing glass to metal ratio (compare, for example, the K-cars, Intrepid, and Charger)
- continually upping rim diameters (14" or 15" was standard even when cars were huge in the 60s and 70s, 16" started showing up in the late 80s, and now we see trucks with 20" rims as a factory option)

None of these are really going in any particularly attractive direction. Anyone notice a good long term trend? Or other bad ones?

 

[Boz Mon]

What about the overall ugliness of most U.S. cars? With the exception of higher end sports cars or luxury cars.

 

[Tornado]

Body color bumpers is in my opinion a good thing.

 

[YSSMAN]

...Long-term trends?

I think the key word there is indeed "trend," so it is hard to know for sure. My guess is that chrome will come back and stay for a while, given the "rebirth" of it on Cadillac and Lincoln models here in America. Portholes are comming back too, particularly at GM with the Buick and Cadillac brands, and I wouldn't be surprised to see them showing up on newer models, either American or British in the near future.

...Problem is, most automakers still limit their designs to regional areas. As companies begin to align worldwide, it will be interesting to see what trends come out of the shift in design. Will American cars look more European, or will it be the exact opposite across the pond?

What I see:

- Chrome (more of it, tastefully)
- Wheels (peaking at 20" on most cars, 17" and 18" becoming standard)
- Dual Exhaust (depends, but seems to be happening more and more)
- Creases (look at the new Mondeo, future Audis, etc)

I'd like to see the return of a "stripper" car, one that comes bare-bones, but I don't see it happening any more. I don't need power locks, power windows, 1000-watt stereos, 8-speed automatics, or a car that can park itself. I want to see us go back-to-basics, and it doesn't look like it will happen any time soon.

 

[Sage]

As YSSMAN mentioned, creases was the first thing that came to my mind – looks like Bangle has left his greasy fingerprints on the industry. ()

Now that Honda started it with the new Civic, I think a new trend that will rapidly expand in the future will be space-age/futuristic designs. For a while, automakers have been afraid to try that, because of the fear that it’d come off as corny or contrived. However, Honda has been successful with it, and is obviously going to continue with it (see the new MDX and RDX), and I’ve read that Toyota modified its plans for the redesigned Corolla to keep more in-line with what Honda is doing, sooo I think we’ll be seeing much more of this in the near future.

 

[TheCracker]

My guess is that chrome will come back and stay for a while, given the "rebirth" of it on Cadillac and Lincoln models here in America.

I thought Chrome had always been a big thing on US cars - they've certainly been more 'chrome' than Euro cars have been. Perhaps it's down to taste, or lack of

Portholes are comming back too, particularly at GM with the Buick and Cadillac brands, and I wouldn't be surprised to see them showing up on newer models, either American or British in the near future.

I can't ever remember 'portholes' on any British cars of the past - as for the future, i don't believe that portholes would suit any of the major UK manufacturers - Caterham, Ariel, Noble, Ultima Ascari etc etc....

Retro is an obvious recent trend. Hopefully one that will now die a death.

 

[Blake]

I'd like to see the return of a "stripper" car, one that comes bare-bones, but I don't see it happening any more. I don't need power locks, power windows, 1000-watt stereos, 8-speed automatics, or a car that can park itself. I want to see us go back-to-basics, and it doesn't look like it will happen any time soon.

Ditto, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to buy a new car with a manual gearbox, without ABS, without power windows, without remote central locking, without parking sensors etc. It’s disappointing that no one is making cars that are just cars. 👎

 

[usedHONDA]

5 spoke wheels have been around forever.
Round tail lights on fast (and slow) cars.

 

[skip0110]

It would be cool if chrome came back for regular cars.

And I think creases are a good trend, better than the rounded lumps of the early 90s.

 

[1X83Z]

Headlights that go further and further into the car:

The actual trend is headlights that take up the entire corner:

And before you guys say I'm wrong, and that this has always been a trend, here are the previous generations of all of these vehicles:

Actually the Civic Si has it too but then again it's relatively recent.

 

[usedHONDA]

Not completely true (i.e. Pontiac Solstice.).

It's funny that its hard to find the design trends because we get so used to them.

 

[Omnis]

Headlights alone are a trend.

 

[Philly]

Just an automotive trend... Big huge SUVs. They just got bigger and bigger. Case in point, the Suburban (though it was around a while), Excursion, (fortunatly never really caught on), Durango (current model is much huger than previous one), Expedition (is it just me or is the new one about as big as a Suburban).

Big trucks are a fad. Ford did have big trucks, but in recent years they have gone from Ranger and F150 to the huge 350. Silverado and Ram are pretty big too.

Now, fortunatly, high gas prices have driven the size of the Beasts down. A new trend is smaller cars.

A styling trend, edginess. Caddy has taken this to an extreme degree, but many cars are now showing much more creases. In continuing with the current discussion about headlights, this trend is very evident up on the front lights. Now, a lot of car companies have square lights (civic, Audi ect.). I'd expect that to continue for a while.

 

[TopHat]

LED Taillights, usually on luxury cars, now moving to less expensive classes.

 

[Tornado]

Headlights that go further and further into the car:
*snip*

Comparitively speaking, I'd say the Civic is the on that bucks the trend, as it had it for arguably two generations and then switched back to more normal headlights:
Generation before Doug's picture:

After Doug's picture:

 

[skip0110]

I'd tend to agree with M5Power from a general perspective, that is something I had noticed before but forgot. 👍

 

[rovens]

LED Taillights, usually on luxury cars, now moving to less expensive classes.

IMO this is more of a technology/price thing, LED lights are supposedly better but before they were only on expensive cars, now as they come down in price they are fitted to cheaper models.

Same as the high positioned third brake light.

 

[Wolfe]

One of the trends I really don't like is the decreasing glass-to-metal ratio. I love the visibility my 318i provides. Also, rim size should stick to the 16"-18" range.

I also don't like the recent "vertical headlight" trend, and I'd like to see the return of shark noses, front-bumper-mounted parking lights, and pop-up headlights.

 

[skip0110]

CHMSL's exist not due to a trend, but because of government regulations, I believe.

The E30 318 did have excellent proportions, it would be nice to see more cars like that instead of the cartoony but impractical designs we get today. I'm all for shark noses and yellow lights in the bumper, put the pop-ups is a fad I'm glad we're done with. Hideaway headlights should make a comeback, though. Maybe on the new Camaro (I can hope can't I!)?

 

[YSSMAN]

I thought Chrome had always been a big thing on US cars - they've certainly been more 'chrome' than Euro cars have been. Perhaps it's down to taste, or lack of

Chrome has always been big, but it seemed to have disappeared through the '90s, and now it is indeed back full-force. Look no further than the new Navigator to see it in full effect. At that point, it is almost too much.

I can't ever remember 'portholes' on any British cars of the past - as for the future, i don't believe that portholes would suit any of the major UK manufacturers - Caterham, Ariel, Noble, Ultima Ascari etc etc....

Okay, not every British one did. I seem to recall some classic Jaguars having them, and the Land Rover Range Rover Sport certainly has some form of a modern "porthole" on the side of the hood. It has mainly been a Buick and Cadillac thing, but there have been plenty of automakers who have done it in the past.

Retro is an obvious recent trend. Hopefully one that will now die a death.

I still like the whole retro thing. I hope it doesn't go away too fast...

 

[Wolfe]

CHMSL's exist not due to a trend, but because of government regulations, I believe.

Yup. They've been required on all vehicles sold in the united states since the model year 1986.

The E30 318 did have excellent proportions, it would be nice to see more cars like that instead of the cartoony but impractical designs we get today. I'm all for shark noses and yellow lights in the bumper, put the pop-ups is a fad I'm glad we're done with. Hideaway headlights should make a comeback, though. Maybe on the new Camaro (I can hope can't I!)?

Aw...pop-up headlights are the best. As for the parking lights thing, I'm just sorta sick of cars that have a boring- or empty-looking front bumper. A perfect example is the NSX -- the old one's front bumper just looked a lot better...much more interesting, at the very least.

 

[Slicks]

Two trends I've noted is how the wheels are being pushed to the corners of cars more and more (Think Toyota Yaris), which can be both good and bad looking. In the Yaris' case, very, very bad looking (Ugly little bugger of a car).

Another couple trends include the whole "Lexus Lights" thing, and an offshoot of the wheel size issue, that lower profile tires are being used more often.

 

[TheCracker]

I think we need to talk about the difference between a design 'trend' and a design 'fad'.

A design trend is a movement that brings car design forward. It's something that pretty much stays and eventully evolves. Bigger wheels, wheels moved towards the corners of the car, LED head and tail lights, flush finished glass are all design features that improve function and are actually function over form rather than the other way around, which is where we come to design fads.

A design fad is a feature of car design that starts a fashion amongst car designers which quickly gets taken up by other manufacturers. Lexus lights, chrome tat, unusual shaped exhaust tail pipes, a certain amount of spokes or style of alloys, unusual body work creases and the whole retro movement are all fads. They quickly get taken up by everyone, but just as quickly become out of 'fashion' and disapear again. They are almost entirely design led and don't make a car any better as a car - they are form over function.

 

[usedHONDA]

How about the bulge on hoods and the fascia?
From what I heard, they are actually used for shock absorber when someone is hit by a car.

If you can see, the new Camry's fascia looks a little exaggerated.

 

[Jim Prower]

That's another thing...look closely at that Camry...I think I see fenders, the actual shape of front fenders, like in the late '40s and early '50s, making a subtle comeback. Most Volvos are like that, too.

Well, it's probably more of a fad, or perhaps I'm thinking about it too much.

 

[Tornado]

How about the bulge on hoods and the fascia?
From what I heard, they are actually used for shock absorber when someone is hit by a car.

That's due to new EU pedestrian safety standards, so it isn't really a design trend. And I'm pretty sure the RX8 is old enough to not be designed with them in mind.

 

[///M-Spec]

Anyone else notice how steering wheels have gotten thicker in the rim over the years. Check out a steering wheel from the 80s: thin, large diameter.. not far removed from the 60s.

Check out a recent car, particularly the performance oriented ones and the rim is quite thick, very substantial and often small in diameter. S2000s, Evos, M3s, they all have them. But even my dad's Volvo has a beefy feeling rim, as does my mother's boulevard cruiser SC430.

The most extreme example of this is the Z4 M Roadster and Coupe. The wheel is as thick around as your wrist. It is comically huge.


M

 

[usedHONDA]

There is the fact that all cars (except for the retro cars like the Mustang) hare all rounded out.

 

[GT4_Rule]

In my opinion what I see is cars getting curvier and more aerodynamic. That means lower height and a smoother frontal area. I see lots of intakes/gills/scoops, fake and real.

And like YSSMAN mentioned a while back, dual exhausts. Or at least twin pipes on one side.

 

[neanderthal]

did anybody mention cars getting bigger and fatter?

the hood/ bonnet strakes are also a passive form of reinforcement for impacts.