Modern car design
Discussion
My question is simple. When i was a boy growing up in the mid to late 80's, i could easily spot and identify every single make and model of cars on British roads. But now as car design has reached the stage where aerodynamics and practicality has led manufacturers to abandon character and individuality in favour of boring unified shapes and design looks that make it almost impossible to distinguish one model from another. Does anyone else agree? Be interested to know others opinions on this subject....
There was an edition of Car Magazine in the mid to late 80s whose cover consisted of a montage of different new cars of the era, all photographed from the same head-on position, and with the strap line "Why do the all look the same?" or words to that effect.
I suspect that small boys today still possess the skill to identify makes and models at 100m even in the dark. It's not just the cars that have changed, you have too!
I suspect that small boys today still possess the skill to identify makes and models at 100m even in the dark. It's not just the cars that have changed, you have too!
Wooda80 said:
There was an edition of Car Magazine in the mid to late 80s whose cover consisted of a montage of different new cars of the era, all photographed from the same head-on position, and with the strap line "Why do the all look the same?" or words to that effect.
I suspect that small boys today still possess the skill to identify makes and models at 100m even in the dark. It's not just the cars that have changed, you have too!
I remember as a kid in the 80s being told by oldsters that all cars look the same, and look rubbish, not like in "their" day when cars had character! Now I have to question really hard if I'm the oldster now, but car manufacturers really do seem to go to extraordinary lengths to produce the ugliest designs!I suspect that small boys today still possess the skill to identify makes and models at 100m even in the dark. It's not just the cars that have changed, you have too!
Sadly I think few kids today could identity or care for cars. Maybe that's not coincidental.
Each era has it’s own trends. Spies in everyones’ camp, making sure no-one is left behind.
Orginality is hard to pull off and if it’s genuinely different then it’s hard to sell.
Which is what made BMW-Bangle so interesting. He was pretty talented, has a decent back catalogue, but he also made some real (brave) duds which thanks to the brand still sold, people still considered it amazing because of the affiliation not because of the aesthetic.
Had a lesser brand done this, they’d’ve sunk without trace.... BMW is now falling back in to line with pseudo eastern design to appease the Chinese market....And generally looking worse as a result.... which oddly makes the hit/miss risk of someone like Bangle more appealing to me.
You need a strong designer/character (like Bangle) to pull it off otherwise bean counters and focus groups homogenise everything.... the end result being everything looking the same and/but slowly morphing due to trends, technology and market share.
The Korean-isation if Maserati makes me the most sad....
Orginality is hard to pull off and if it’s genuinely different then it’s hard to sell.
Which is what made BMW-Bangle so interesting. He was pretty talented, has a decent back catalogue, but he also made some real (brave) duds which thanks to the brand still sold, people still considered it amazing because of the affiliation not because of the aesthetic.
Had a lesser brand done this, they’d’ve sunk without trace.... BMW is now falling back in to line with pseudo eastern design to appease the Chinese market....And generally looking worse as a result.... which oddly makes the hit/miss risk of someone like Bangle more appealing to me.
You need a strong designer/character (like Bangle) to pull it off otherwise bean counters and focus groups homogenise everything.... the end result being everything looking the same and/but slowly morphing due to trends, technology and market share.
The Korean-isation if Maserati makes me the most sad....
hairyben said:
I remember as a kid in the 80s being told by oldsters that all cars look the same, and look rubbish, not like in "their" day when cars had character! Now I have to question really hard if I'm the oldster now, but car manufacturers really do seem to go to extraordinary lengths to produce the ugliest designs!
Sadly I think few kids today could identity or care for cars. Maybe that's not coincidental.
I totally agree! Thanks 😊Sadly I think few kids today could identity or care for cars. Maybe that's not coincidental.
Every generation has had it's fair share of hideous cars, some of which are subjective, some less so.
I think the ongoing trend for the homogenisation of modern car design is driven (pun not intended!) by a combination of the need for high NCAP safety scores, good aerodynamic performance, and other mandates in the design brief.
I think the ongoing trend for the homogenisation of modern car design is driven (pun not intended!) by a combination of the need for high NCAP safety scores, good aerodynamic performance, and other mandates in the design brief.
Ok, so i totally get what people are saying, and maybe i have changed and my logic is a little biased. But are the modern cars of today really all that original or distinctive...? Aerodynamics and advanced technology and computer design seem to me to have moved away from bold and innovative car design and simply become too boring and incapable of attracting the passion and excitement of previous car designers ideas and concepts. And if you think im talking nonsense lets just look at a few iconic examples of automotive design that really gripped us as motoring enthusiasts from yesteryear...
1) The Ford Escort RS2000. The BMW M3 E30. The Sierra Cosworth & 4x4. The Lotus Carlton. The Mk 1 Volkswagen Golf GTi. The Lancia Delta. The Fiesta XR2i. The Mercedes E90. The Jaguar XJS. The Porsche 911 turbo. The Peugeot 205 GTi. The Ferrari Daytona. The Escort RS turbo & Escort Cosworth. The Suburu Impreza. The Mitsubishi Lancer/Evo. The Honda NSX. The Mazda RX. The Nissan Skyline. The Honda 2000. The Datsun 350Z. The Audi Quattro. The Ford Granada 2.8. The Rover SD1. These are just a few of the fast hatch and saloon/ GT cars that dominated motor racing and street cred scene. All these cars were easily recognisable to me growing up. And im not out of touch with technology and progress. Its important. But there is less and less modern cars that have the same distinction. And this is why so many garages and new car modification businesses are booming. Simply because people want to either go back to a time when cars looked great, but with the modern reliability and comfort of todays models. And these are only European cars mentioned. I could go on all day about the 70's 80's US muscle cars. As sad as it sounds we are fast moving towards a future where everyone looks, thinks and buys the same type of car. Just to be part of the heard, instead of thinking outside the box and being an individual. I'd rather buy a classic car than a brand new car that has no distinction to anything else on the road. But hey, its just my opinion....
1) The Ford Escort RS2000. The BMW M3 E30. The Sierra Cosworth & 4x4. The Lotus Carlton. The Mk 1 Volkswagen Golf GTi. The Lancia Delta. The Fiesta XR2i. The Mercedes E90. The Jaguar XJS. The Porsche 911 turbo. The Peugeot 205 GTi. The Ferrari Daytona. The Escort RS turbo & Escort Cosworth. The Suburu Impreza. The Mitsubishi Lancer/Evo. The Honda NSX. The Mazda RX. The Nissan Skyline. The Honda 2000. The Datsun 350Z. The Audi Quattro. The Ford Granada 2.8. The Rover SD1. These are just a few of the fast hatch and saloon/ GT cars that dominated motor racing and street cred scene. All these cars were easily recognisable to me growing up. And im not out of touch with technology and progress. Its important. But there is less and less modern cars that have the same distinction. And this is why so many garages and new car modification businesses are booming. Simply because people want to either go back to a time when cars looked great, but with the modern reliability and comfort of todays models. And these are only European cars mentioned. I could go on all day about the 70's 80's US muscle cars. As sad as it sounds we are fast moving towards a future where everyone looks, thinks and buys the same type of car. Just to be part of the heard, instead of thinking outside the box and being an individual. I'd rather buy a classic car than a brand new car that has no distinction to anything else on the road. But hey, its just my opinion....
I've often mused over this because I feel exactly the same, as a kid in the late 90s I could identify make/model from 500 yards, in the dark, through heavy fog, from behind a hedge, with one eye closed and onion peel in the other. But now I actually feel slightly ashamed because my disinterest extends even to modern performance cars, I'm totally out of touch with who's making what and couldn't tell a 1M from an RS3 if I tried (I'm only 23!).
I thought this was due to the current age of engine downsizing, increasing autonomy and weight, over-aggressive look-at-me styling and the quest for increased efficiency which goes against all my petrolhead principles. I guess it's just something every generation goes through, I can feel my rose-tinted specs more every day.
The positive is that as styling trends change it causes older designs to stand out, strangely at the moment that means that the subtle shapely design of the late 90s/early 2000s stands out amongst all the blingy tacky LED-laden tat around it. For example, I saw a clean '05 Audi A8 yesterday which at the time never left an impression on me- it looked fantastic (and was also 6.0 W12 powered for good measure). Similarly, I never believed the Alfa GT was a good looking car when it came out (shameless self plug here), when I look at mine now I think it's gorgeous- clean lines and curves, no need for sharp creases, over-aggression or chintzy bits tacked onto it. I'm sure earlier generations will feel similar about the cars of their era, so look at it positively!
I thought this was due to the current age of engine downsizing, increasing autonomy and weight, over-aggressive look-at-me styling and the quest for increased efficiency which goes against all my petrolhead principles. I guess it's just something every generation goes through, I can feel my rose-tinted specs more every day.
The positive is that as styling trends change it causes older designs to stand out, strangely at the moment that means that the subtle shapely design of the late 90s/early 2000s stands out amongst all the blingy tacky LED-laden tat around it. For example, I saw a clean '05 Audi A8 yesterday which at the time never left an impression on me- it looked fantastic (and was also 6.0 W12 powered for good measure). Similarly, I never believed the Alfa GT was a good looking car when it came out (shameless self plug here), when I look at mine now I think it's gorgeous- clean lines and curves, no need for sharp creases, over-aggression or chintzy bits tacked onto it. I'm sure earlier generations will feel similar about the cars of their era, so look at it positively!
Nanook said:
I think it's in part because there are more models of car for sale these days.
I'm not sure if there are more manufacturers, we've lost a lot of the British brands, although gained some Korean, and European brands.
But consider BMW's line up these days. I don't know how many models there are, but by the time you consider all the 'grand tourer', 'active tourer' 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, the x models etc. they have a lot of different models on the go.
This. So manuy more manufacturers make the same style of car nowadays and have dropped estates or saloons from their line up.I'm not sure if there are more manufacturers, we've lost a lot of the British brands, although gained some Korean, and European brands.
But consider BMW's line up these days. I don't know how many models there are, but by the time you consider all the 'grand tourer', 'active tourer' 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, the x models etc. they have a lot of different models on the go.
Have you seen the new Micra or Nissan Note? Whereas before, the Note was easily identifiable by its distinctive rear end it is now as plain as any other car on the road.
The new Vauxhall Viva - Is it an Agila? Or an Adam? Looks the same to me!
My take on it is...
In the early days, car design was limited by production methods, hence all the cars looked pretty similar
In the 60s to 80s, I think things got a bit more interesting.
But from the 90s onwards, pedestrian safety requirements, aerodynamics and harmonised standards (e.g. headlight hight/position) have started to limit just how different cars can look.
In the early days, car design was limited by production methods, hence all the cars looked pretty similar
In the 60s to 80s, I think things got a bit more interesting.
But from the 90s onwards, pedestrian safety requirements, aerodynamics and harmonised standards (e.g. headlight hight/position) have started to limit just how different cars can look.
I think colour makes a massive difference too. In the late 90s a quick glance could tell me that the yellow car was a punto, or the blue/purple one a ka, or the green one was a clio simply by the shade, no need to focus on any specific design details. Nowadays that same glance at a white or grey car could be a fabia or polo or a1 or Ibiza or Hyundai or Mazda 2...
I miss bold car colours.
I miss bold car colours.
Good thread, i was born in 79 and as a kid I could name pretty much every car I saw. The first time I really noticed it was when I was watching a TV programme around 85-86 (maybe the one hosted by Matthew Kelly, where people tried to complete a challenge and 3 celebrities had to guess whether they would succeed or not) anyway i digress, there was a man who had to identify what car 10-15 sets of rear lights came from and I nailed most of them much to the astonishment of my parents.
Nowadays, I'd have no chance!
Nowadays, I'd have no chance!
slight hyperbole may or may not be in use here!been toying with getting another car. I specifically want the biggest estate I can get. not an SUV and so on.
its very difficult working out what actually exists out there by all the different car makers: partially because they have such odd names/models.
get into the world of Korean stuff, its a bloody mystery.
its very difficult working out what actually exists out there by all the different car makers: partially because they have such odd names/models.
get into the world of Korean stuff, its a bloody mystery.
ArtOfFlight said:
My question is simple. When i was a boy growing up in the mid to late 80's, i could easily spot and identify every single make and model of cars on British roads. But now as car design has reached the stage where aerodynamics and practicality has led manufacturers to abandon character and individuality in favour of boring unified shapes and design looks that make it almost impossible to distinguish one model from another. Does anyone else agree? Be interested to know others opinions on this subject....
I suspect for any era most of the ordinary mass market cars all looked rather the same shape.The 80's in the UK was a transition period from saloons to hatches, so there may have appeared a divided variance. But still lots of similar looking cars tbh.
Today everything is big and blooby, at least in the UK/EU as hatchbacks seem to make up the lions share of cars on the roads. When I was in Florida, it was quite evident and refreshing to see a wider variety of body types. Hatchbacks numbered in the minority, but lots of saloons, coupes and pick ups. Also a huge array of colours too.
Horses for courses. I know old men who say cars from the 80s onwards all looked like electric shavers because of the grills and square designs (Mercedes springs to mind)
Being able to recall any car by it's shape is probably a generation thing too - I could name any car on the road in the 2000s as a passenger but I couldn't anymore.
Being able to recall any car by it's shape is probably a generation thing too - I could name any car on the road in the 2000s as a passenger but I couldn't anymore.
I can still recognise virtually any car from the 60s and 70s, but all the fun seems to have gone out of car design, perhaps partly due to manufacturers sharing platforms but also because people don't seem to care any more. They seem happy to drive anonymous pseudo SUVs, mostly with 2 wheel drive and with neither sporting or utilitarian ability. I can't tell the difference between these Renault and Nissan sh*tboxes, even though they are everywhere. Most are on rental or PCP, so no pride of ownership?
If I had designed a car as pretty as a Ford Cortina mk 1, as stunningly beautiful as a Lancia Aurelia B20, as distinctive as a Ford Anglia, as perfectly proportioned as a Mk 2 Jaguar, or with the character of a Morris 1000, I would be proud to have left something special behind when I've gone. I don't even mind some of the ugly cars we've seen over the years because at least the designer was trying to make something different. I'm not a fan of the American cars of the fifties with the fins etc, but I admire the flamboyance of transferring space age inspired design cues into cars
For some mainstream cars then and later at least an effort was made. I really like the understated, high shouldered shape of the Audi 80, the mk 1 Audi TT was spectacular when launched and is still the pick of the TTs in my opinion. The last true jaguar XJ, the X350, was the final and possibly best interpretation of what a Jag should look like. Possibly one of the most distinctive cars on sale at the moment is the VW Beetle, which I quite like because the latest model with the flatter roof looks more masculine than before. However, VW have announced it is to be discontinued, so perhaps car buyers disagree with me. There have been many science fiction movies in which, in the future, everything and everyone is homogenised. Modern cars do nothing for me at all. We should resist and demand more individuality. Cars do not have to be this boring
If I had designed a car as pretty as a Ford Cortina mk 1, as stunningly beautiful as a Lancia Aurelia B20, as distinctive as a Ford Anglia, as perfectly proportioned as a Mk 2 Jaguar, or with the character of a Morris 1000, I would be proud to have left something special behind when I've gone. I don't even mind some of the ugly cars we've seen over the years because at least the designer was trying to make something different. I'm not a fan of the American cars of the fifties with the fins etc, but I admire the flamboyance of transferring space age inspired design cues into cars
For some mainstream cars then and later at least an effort was made. I really like the understated, high shouldered shape of the Audi 80, the mk 1 Audi TT was spectacular when launched and is still the pick of the TTs in my opinion. The last true jaguar XJ, the X350, was the final and possibly best interpretation of what a Jag should look like. Possibly one of the most distinctive cars on sale at the moment is the VW Beetle, which I quite like because the latest model with the flatter roof looks more masculine than before. However, VW have announced it is to be discontinued, so perhaps car buyers disagree with me. There have been many science fiction movies in which, in the future, everything and everyone is homogenised. Modern cars do nothing for me at all. We should resist and demand more individuality. Cars do not have to be this boring
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