Critique of modern car design

Seriously? I thought the old model C5 was a suprised-looking pup of a car and the old model Hyundai was ugly as sin, but both had handsome replacements. If any of mine were to be agreed with, I thought it would've been those.

I think Citroen is doing well, regaining an identity it lost in the mid ninties when they started making genric stuff. With the C4, C5 and C6 they have some very good (if temperamental) very recognisable cars.

Of course, there's always my personal choice
morganroadster.jpg

Yeah I can't comment on the Hyundai nor the Citroen because I think all those posted are absolutely hideous. Citroen is slightly better, but in a sort of sheik European way that I can't appreciate. One company that HAS come along way to me is Cadillac. 10 years ago they were pumping out this...

1998:
058_58.JPG

(appropriate florida plate lmao)

Now we have this!
2008:
cts-coupe-concept-05.jpg


Also, Chrysler came back out of the retirement house.
1998:
98_chrysler_concorde_lxi2.jpg


2008:
2008-chrysler-300c-1.jpg
 
One company that HAS come along way to me is Cadillac. 10 years ago they were pumping out this...

1998:
058_58.JPG

(appropriate florida plate lmao)

Now we have this!
2008:
cts-coupe-concept-05.jpg

Eh, the new ones just don't work; having the profile of a brick wall is what make a Cadillac a Caddy.
 
Some have improved some have not, but I guess in the end it's all due to personal taste, as they say one man's junk is another man's treasure.
 
Eh, the new ones just don't work; having the profile of a brick wall is what make a Cadillac a Caddy.

I agree. Especially when looking at what Cadillac was capable of

http://img522.imageshack.**/img522/9594/cad58grnhd8.jpg
59CadillacFins.jpg

http://img515.imageshack.**/img515/3786/5820cadillac20eldorado2uf0.jpg


Although, Cadillac has improved since the Catera.
http://img145.imageshack.**/img145/1385/97cadillaccatera2oo2.jpg
 
I think the Tiburon had a better generation...in between the two shown.
 
Yeah, just saw that :p

Nice try champ
 
Off topic but did anyone notice who started this thread. :)

Anyway back to modern car design.
Here is one example.

or

OLDER CHALLENGER FTW

i'll up you one....
800px-1955_Mercedes-Benz_300SL_Gullwing_Coupe_34.jpg


or

800px-Mercedes-Benz_SL_NY.jpg


And how about this one:
BMW_M3_E30.jpg


or

800px-2008_BMW_M3_DC.JPG
 
Well the reason why they changed the design has been explained better than I could by people smarter than me.

But from a personal point of view,I for some reason always seem to think things are improving, even styling wise. Yes, the new 5 series has Dame Edna's spectacles but it also has the shark fin, which I think is pretty neat. Cooler than a bog standard aerial anyway.

Don't get me wrong, I love classic cars, because they are simple yet beautiful. It's just much much harder nowadays to make a car thats beautiful and also follows all the rules of crashtesting.

the new M3 is a good example of both. it looks tons better than a regular 3 series.
 
Especially BMW's getting uglier and uglier.

bmw303.jpg


2006-bmw-3-series-sports-wagon-fa-speed-1024x768_4w.jpg


That's probably next gen. :sick:
2012%20BMW%203%20Series%20(1).jpg
 
Well the reason why they changed the design has been explained better than I could by people smarter than me.

Like I said before, it's not the bubble hoods or massive overhangs that does it for me, but overdesigning and an obsession with adding pointless details that borders on OCD. Call me old-school, old-fashioned or just plain old, but I long for the times when form was dicated by fucntion, not by some overpaid yob with too much time and too much pencils.
 
Like I said before, it's not the bubble hoods or massive overhangs that does it for me, but overdesigning and an obsession with adding pointless details that borders on OCD. Call me old-school, old-fashioned or just plain old, but I long for the times when form was dicated by fucntion, not by some overpaid yob with too much time and too much pencils.


I for one like it. It shows that the designers have put some thought into the styling, rather than making a car thats utterly fantastic to drive, but so fugly you couldn't be caught dead driving in one.

Simple cars often have some very unique detailing which I like. look at the rear headlights of a Citroen C1 for example.

citroen_c1_rear_04_06_05.jpg


It's a small cheap car, that was designed from the word go to be cheap and bland, yet it has a tasty rear end.
Same goes for BMW's shark fin thing, I like it.

Sure, BMWs of old look better because some of the details do spoil the whole look. But overall, I seem to be a minority that thinks that newer cars generally look better than older ones.

(Unless it's an Opel Insignia, since thats just a Mazda)
 
I think the OP is right on about how a lot of the cars in the more 'common' ranges are just hideously ugly now. The more expensive brands though do seem to have improved, with the rare exception.

I think you'll find that the cars which require more frequent redesigns to keep them 'new' and exciting, suffer the most. The designers just change things for the sake of changing them.

This poses a problem for somebody like me, who can't afford the expensive stuff but doesn't want to settle for one of the current ugly 'blobs'.

I'm now finding I have to look years into the past to find a car I'm interested in buying, not for financial reasons but simply for style.
 
An obvious one here:

e38_7series_side.jpg

or
07.bmw.7h.340.jpg


However before the E38, they were horribly bland, and worse than today's ones.
 

On the topic of ugly cars, and this^^^^ Does anyone really like this style?? I mean its one thing to design a car to meet current saftey standards but do they have to make it look like a retarded smiling child with squinting eyes? I hate that big gaping mouth that makes it look like a catfish. I've seen it on other cars but Peugeot seems to be taking it to the extreme, they do it on nearly all their cars and continue to! It astounds me.

Examples:

Peugeot 307
2008-peugeot-308-1.jpg


Peugeot 4007
lrg_article_7881-img_0.jpg


Only a few exceptions, like the 607, while not beautiful at least it doesn't look like any of the former.

56.jpg
 
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The 308 is a huge disappointment, especially when you think that the car that came only two models behind it was one of the best handling cars in it's class and still holds up very well today. The 308 however is a lot better than the 307 which was just a pile of crap.
The 306 GTI and Rallye models were great driver's cars.
7Peug_m_m.jpg

2399.jpg


I really like my little 106 but I sure as hell wouldn't swap it for any of Peugeot's current range.

EDIT: 308 has a nice interior, mind.
peugeot-308-jun-01.jpg
 
^ I don't like their CD changers. They look so cluttered. Why not just have one slot like every other car in the world does?
 
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