Things you like and dislike about modern car design

[Celicaas]

^ You mean like Chevrolet caprices and the whole B Body Platform ?

 

[Celicaas]

Too big, or too small... why not both?

now thats what i call modern design ugleness and it's a joke rather than juke

 

[GranTurismo916]

I like the new Camry.

But hate the new Mustang.

 

[Celicaas]

Then really you have no taste Gran turismo 916 the New Camry is ugly as Ever

 

[Jacob]

Then really you have no taste Gran turismo 916 the New Camry is ugly as Ever

But that's pretty damn subjective, no?

What I like - increased fuel economy, increased safety, LED lights (yup, I have no taste whatsoever).

Don't like - weight, but seeing how it's the obsession with safety that's pretty much responsible for that... I'm not sure what'd be the best compromise between weight and strength. And then the boring colours on most cars, it's grey, beige, etc.

 

[Joey D]

The new Camry looks way better than it has in a long time. It's no longer just 15 feet of car, it actually has some styling to it.

 

[Celicaas]

Joey i'll tell you to Be honest the front of the New camry is brilliant But the back is ugly in my opinion and it has only 181 HP For the SE Model and the GLX And GL Are also the same Why didn't they improve the SE Horsepower

 

[Joey D]

Joey i'll tell you to Be honest the front of the New camry is brilliant But the back is ugly in my opinion and it has only 181 HP For the SE Model and the GLX And GL Are also the same Why didn't they improve the SE Horsepower

There was no need to improve the horsepower. A vast majority of Camry buyers are just looking for a family sedan with a good reputation for reliability. If you so desire though, it can been had with a 268hp 3.5L V6 that'll get your from 0-60 in a little less than 6 seconds.

 

[Celicaas]

OK SE Version is Sporty why don't they improve it since it's Aimed to be a Sport Fun driving car Now you what i mean

 

[AOS-]

-Too much copying between companies.
I get the feeling they try hard to copy rivals because otherwise they think they might look old and/or strange. I would like more bold executives that would result in more diverse designs.

The current look is a trend that's been shaping this way for a long time. Think of the tailfins back in the '60s and '70s... like that the whole pointy-sharp-edgy look will die off eventually...On your last point, drastic changes in appearances are risky choices because often times people struggle to accept how strange they look. Concept cars all look strange, but you still don't find cars looking like that on the road, cars like the Nissan Juke are pretty damn outstanding and a ton of people dislike its look.

 

[Doog]

The new Camry looks way better than it has in a long time. It's no longer just 15 feet of car, it actually has some styling to it.

I agree. The last Camry was a lifeless blob that you would see on the road everyday and forget you even saw it 30 seconds later. This Camry actually looks nice. It's like Toyota's actually trying now. I just wish I could say the same about Honda.

 

[1241Penguin]

I like the new Camry.

But hate the new Mustang.

Depends on which Mustang. I think the Boss 302 is awesome, but the original Mustang GT is terrible.

I agree. The last Camry was a lifeless blob that you would see on the road everyday and forget you even saw it 30 seconds later. This Camry actually looks nice. It's like Toyota's actually trying now. I just wish I could say the same about Honda.

I (my aunt) owns a 2010 Camry SE. I just wished we waited a little bit longer for this new one.

 

[Keef]

The 2013 Ford Flex is one of the best looking modern cars on the road.

 

[Doog]

Then really you have no taste Gran turismo 916 the New Camry is ugly as Ever

That's kind of harsh, isn't it? Everyone's entitled to their own opinion, even if you don't agree with it. Just because a person likes something that you don't doesn't mean that they automatically have no taste. Learn to respect the opinions of others.

 

[1241Penguin]

What we need is the Japanese-spec Camry:

Looks MUCH better than the export model, IMO.

 

[Joey D]

The 2013 Ford Flex is one of the best looking modern cars on the road.

I agree, it looks fantastic. Futuristic, yet classy at the same time. I wish I had a need for a big vehicle like that.

 

[dylansan]

I hadn't though about it much before, but I really like what Cadillac has been doing for a while.

The late 80s and early 90s were sort of the "rounded rectangle" era for car design. I give a lot of credit to Ford for the 1996 Taurus, even though it seems most people hate it. It may have been overboard, but the Taurus was probably the most effective at pulling car design away from rectangles and towards curves again. It was certainly drasticly rounded, but what kind of counter-movement isn't so drastically defined? It was pretty much designed to be the opposite of 80s boxiness, and I have to appreciate that. It didn't look half bad either.

Cadillac, on the other hand, had a completely different movement. Through the 90s, everything was like the early 80s of other brands: rectangular, sharp, and angular. Towards the 2000s they started into the rounded rectangle phase with things like the Seville, while everyone else was slowly turning away from that shape. By 2000, they looked like everything else, but when everyone else integrated new curves into their designs, Cadillac did the opposite. I think they realized curves were not much a part of the Cadillac image, so they sharpened the corners of their rectangles, made everything very planar, and created an image today that is incredibly distinct from every other brand. Most other brands have combined angles and curves in their modern design, but the only curves on a modern Cadillac are the wheels.

1992 Ford Taurus - The Rounded Rectangle:

1992 Cadillac Fleetwood - Still Angular:

1999 Toyota Camry - Moving Towards Curves:

1999 Cadillac Deville - Rounded Rectangles:

2010 Mazda 3: Curves and Corners Living in Harmony

2010 Cadillac CTS - Angles... Angles Everywhere:

I think Cadillac had probably decided to move in this direction since the Cien, which was 2002. That, in itself it quite a beautiful design, which I would consider almost the anti-'96 Taurus. Like the Taurus threw out angles and made love with curves, the Cien did the opposite:

After looking at a few pictures, the Cien is much better looking than I remember. This may be my new favorite concept supercar.

 

[Antonisbob]

I hate the Taurus, not just because it's the Jellybean car, but they also had bad tranny's. No good at all.


I'll always like Cadillacs styling because of the very reasons you mentioned, curvyness just isn't my thing.

 

[1241Penguin]

Caddy is still living in the past.

But I guess that's part of their image. I personally find the CTS-V to be a great looking car.

 

[Nessy]

Would anybody class Cadillac as having edge design?.. if so, we must also remember the Ford GT 90 from back in 1995, and the whole edge design philosophy Ford introduced to it's cars in the late 90's/early 00's (in Europe), not saying that Cadillac took inspiration from them, but may have been slightly influenced maybe.

 

[Liquid]

Dislike:

Stylings and appearences (Too angular and goofy)
Specifically, tacky bling on typically refined cars such as Land/Range Rovers, Aston Martins & Jaguars (Thanks, Ford!)
Names (Somehow they don't have as good an effect on me as older ones do)
Fully automatic gearboxes (I like manuals as a preference, and would prefer an auto with a manual option)

Like:

Cleverer technology
Better fuel economy
Increase in safety (Yes I'm aware that styling factors into this)

 

[aadil717]

Dislike:

Specifically, tacky bling on typically refined cars such as Land/Range Rovers, Aston Martins & Jaguars (Thanks, Ford!)

They're owned by the Indian maker Tata Motors.
But I get what you're getting at, and I don't think Aston Martin is in any way tacky. Range Rover maybe, with all the chrome and plastics on the car.

 

[Liquid]

Duh, it's clearly a reference to the PAG era.

Even then, the Tata era Jags and L/R Rovers are pretty ugly.

 

[aadil717]

Duh, it's clearly a reference to the PAG era.

Even then, the Tata era Jags and L/R Rovers are pretty ugly.

Well no offence but modern design has come far in the last decade and we've seen dramatic changes so I'm not sure the PAG era was modern design.

I think the cars are really handsome, with the exclusion of the XJ's rear. IMO.

 

[Liquid]

It's all about opinion though.

And my opinion, as my OP said, is that things are far too angular and blingy. I'm stuck in the past with car design and that's how I like it. Things change, but I'm still allowed to like the older looking models.

 

[homeforsummer]

Oh, and one more thing I hate: something like the Ford Ranger that would have been considered a fairly competent pickup truck just 5-10 years ago is now derided for being too uncomfortable, too noisy, not luxurious enough, blah, blah, blah. It's a truck. It's not meant to be quiet, or comfortable, or luxurious. It's meant to haul large or dirty loads and go off-road.

Seems like even work vehicles have to be rolling status symbols anymore...

I think the world might be coming to an end, because I actually agree with everything you wrote there.

 

[Liquid]

I think the world might be coming to an end, because I actually agree with everything you wrote there.

Also what I don't like about Land/Range Rovers. If Emmerdale was first launched today, I doubt we'd see anything like a Range Rover Evoque in the opening credits. Crossover SUVs are just... blergh.

Thankfully the Defender is still in production.

 

[AlexGTV]

But hate the new Mustang.

Yes, that rear end makes me wonder about the taste of the design team. The front in the new one is not bad but the rear is so much better on the previous Mustang. Bleh.

 

[E28]

Thankfully the Defender is still in production.

The defender is probably one of the best cars they do. It's capable off-road, no-frills, practical, and reliable.

I reguarly see 30-40 year old Land Rovers trundling around doing farm work.

 

[homeforsummer]

Also what I don't like about Land/Range Rovers. If Emmerdale was first launched today, I doubt we'd see anything like a Range Rover Evoque in the opening credits. Crossover SUVs are just... blergh.

Thankfully the Defender is still in production.

I make an exception for the Evoque. Driven one, it's a brilliant car. That said, I accept that it's a bit blingy. They would have been better launching "Evoque" as a side-brand to Land Rover and Range Rover. Land Rovers = rufty tufty, Range Rovers = a bit posh, still go off-road, Evoques = still go off road (seriously, they're not bad), but much more fashion-orientated.