Well, there are a lot of double edged swords out there, as well as some things that are just so contradictory that I can only shake my head in disbelieve.
1: Over-designed cars. A lot of cars these days sport a design that is just so busy that they look kinda messy. BMW is quilty of that, for example (although to a lesser degree than other companies, because it still looks kinda decent on most cars). The cars come with lots of kinks and crimps and even the hood is sporting bulges and stuff. Just look at the F10 5er: Not a bad looking car, but its design seems insanely busy. Compared to cars from ten years ago, that seemed much simpler and cleaner, it seems a bit overblown. As if the designers set out to make the car look unique by all means. While keeping the current brand face, so to speak.
On the other hand, a lot of cars are very, very generic. There were enough examples mentioned in here, so I won't repeat them, but those two trends both strike me as odd; I dislike both on their own, but seeing that some designers go completely overboard with the details on the design while others poop out a driving blob that looks like someone just spitted out a bit of bubble gum - it's just strange.
If you're looking at older cars, they often had a rather distinctive shape and a clean design that wasn't very busy. The BMW Z8, for example, is styled a lot like those cars. A rather simplistic design, clean lines but still destinictive enough to tell it apart. That's a good looking car. Other examples that I liked were, for example, the FC3S RX-7. It's not even about being boxy or not... It's just that those are relatively simplistic designs that still have a lot of character.
2: A focus on good fuel economy, engine downsizing and generally environmental friendly cars. Now, this is one of those double edged swords. I think it's great to see that the car industry is focusing on these things. To a certain degree it would be, at the very least. What I dislike about is that we got to the point where being green is something that is so important that cars like the Prius, which I find to be rather uninspiring, are marketed as thee holy grail of the automotive world. Which, in itself, is all well and good. However, there are many sources claiming that the battery packs do more harm than good, and so on. I guess you catch my drift: People are being fooled into believing that their top priority should be saving the planet. By buying a car that doesn't do that.
Downsizing is part of that. Not half as bad, to me, though. I love getting good gas mileage out of a car, and I like forced induction engines with a high specific output as much as the next guy. But there's a certain appeal to naturally aspirated engines, both of large displacement and small displacement alike. It's not so much that I have a preference for a specific engine layout, it's just that there's less and less variety by the day. Cars like the Toyota GT86/Subaru BRZ/Scion FR-S are becoming a rare breed, with their emphasize of a fun, NA engine, it seems. I get why that is the case, I'm just going to miss it. The most efficient engine isn't always the most fun one. Only getting that sort of engine inn high performance cars seems uncool. I suppose that it's only a matter of time until even cars like the Miata will be running turbocharged engines...
3: Increasing weight. This kinda goes hand in hand with number two. There's the focus on saving fuel and lightweigth cars would go hand in hand with that. Yet, cars get heavier and heavier. Again, something that is understandable for various reasons, such as comfort and safety, but it still seems a bit annoying to me, as well as contradictory. You want good fuel economy? Well, imagine what an engine like VW's 1.2 litre TSI could do in a car that's as light as, say, an AE86. That's some 450 pounds less to haul around... And it could still have been a rather fun car to drive.
4: Electronic safety devices. Safety is a good thing and I'd be the last one to try and argue against that. Aside from people relying on their electronic nannies a bit too much, I'd say. I generally am of the opinion that having that stuff is good, but it's also quite intrusive on a lot of cars.
5: Large HP figures for sports cars. Power isn't a bad thing. However, it's getting a bit out of hand. Especially in combination with the point above, I'd say. Cars are less and less about the driving experience, they're involving the driver not anywhere near as much as they could and should. The increasing weight is part of that problem, as well. So, for a car to feel sporty, it seems to need a lot of power... Especially when the majority of potential buyers of those sports cars don't really seem to care all that much for what their car feels and handles like. That's just my personal impression, though.
6: Feature creep. Cars are getting heavier and heavier and they're receiving more gizmos and all sorts of stuff that I don't need, in a lot of cases not even want. A/C on every car, powered windows, stuff like that. I wouldn't mind forgoing all of that, along with satnav and some fancy multimedia system in order to get a car that's a proper driver's car, feels good, is responsive and relativelyy light.
Anyways, one car that's given me a bit of hope lately is the Toyota GT86/Subaru BRZ/Scion FR-S. Lightweight, with an emphasis on being a well-handling driver's car, a distinct design that's realtively clean and not too busy and even relatively good in terms of economics and enviro-friendliness, without being dull or "in your face green" as a Prius.
). Wherever it started, it seems like half of the cars out there have a huge 🤬 grille now and it's getting a little played out.
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