Are new cars getting ugly?

[Dezza]

Originally Posted by sprjenkins

further more i'm going to put on my flame suit and say that i've never really liked the styling of the Lamborghini Muira. I'm sure it was a revelation back in the day but now it just looks old and a little bit plain.

I'm also 24 and I love the Miura. Saying you don't like the Miura is like when Peter Griffin said he didn't care for The Godfather!

[ST]

Yeah ugly or out of proportion cars are becoming more commonly made recently, but mostly new cars are becoming so pedestrian that you barely even notice a new model.

My personal pick that I find absolutely hideous (in the metal it is even worse):

The Chrysler PT Cruiser. There is one thing uglier though...




The convertible version.

That said some new cars are absolutely wonderful to look at. As long as they keep being made all is not lost.

[Wretched]

new cars have a lot regulations to comply with in terms pedestrian safety, has to be a certain height, bonnet can only be a certain length, etc.
So that explains a lot of the bulbous look of some new cars.
Some just have no excuse and look terrible.

[TC200six]

Originally Posted by Bearman

Toyota Camry. They get uglier with each new model. The current one is a shocker, looks like it's been in the sun too long and is starting to melt.

The Camry sedan is just the start of the ugly Camry's, just have a look at the bloody Camry Solara, it's a 2-door Camry that also comes in convertible and jeez isn't it ugly! What makes it worse? Having to put up with it for 2 weeks when you're supposed to be on holiday. That's what makes it worse.

[Dezza]

Originally Posted by Laser '81

The Camry sedan is just the start of the ugly Camry's, just have a look at the bloody Camry Solara, it's a 2-door Camry that also comes in convertible and jeez isn't it ugly! What makes it worse? Having to put up with it for 2 weeks when you're supposed to be on holiday. That's what makes it worse.

After you mentioned this, I had to have a look, and it is seriously ugly. I also found something interesting about the Aurion in the process. I thought the front and rear sheetmetal were unique to Australia but it appears not. This is the Malaysian version of the Camry

[TC200six]

Originally Posted by Dezza!

I also found something interesting about the Aurion in the process. I thought the front and rear sheetmetal were unique to Australia but it appears not. This is the Malaysian version of the Camry

No surprise about that, I thought the design of all Commodore's before the VE were exclusive to the Australian Commodore but they weren't, same with the Magna, (AKA 380).

[ieatsports_cars]

i know this thread is about ugly cars but iam going to name what i think looks best on our roads

all model ford looks good
the crysler 300c
aurion sportivo looks the nicest out of the toyota range
range rover sport
mitsubishi pajero doesnt look to bad
bmw wagon
merc wagon
mazda 3 sedan
i dont like holden, but the ve ss and sv6 looks ok but base and hsv look revolting in my eyes

any way these are the only cars that attract my attension on our roads, all the rest just look crap in my opinion

[T3man]

Yes I agree many of the new cars are really ugly with a capital F.

But then again I'm probably a bit biased 'cos I drive one (or two) of the best looking cars around these days. In fact I've noticed even Mercedes is catching up with the AU style.

[DJM83]

I agree Glenn the Mazda 3 particular SP23/MPS look awesome

[Peuty]

Originally Posted by Dezza!

After you mentioned this, I had to have a look, and it is seriously ugly. I also found something interesting about the Aurion in the process. I thought the front and rear sheetmetal were unique to Australia but it appears not. This is the Malaysian version of the Camry

Wouldn't that just be a re-badged Aurion anyway? Rather than a Camry reskin?

[TC200six]

Originally Posted by T3man

Yes I agree many of the new cars are really ugly with a capital F.

But then again I'm probably a bit biased 'cos I drive one (or two) of the best looking cars around these days. In fact I've noticed even Mercedes is catching up with the AU style.

Yes the Mercedes Benz CLS class looks like it was from the same designer as the AU Falcon.

[demondan]

Some of the better lookers out there in my opinion in no particular order.

FG G6E with the optional 19s
New Merc C class ( sports model)
Jaguar XF ( pretty much side profile only)
BMW 5 series ( interior is a pig though)
Subaru Liberty ( in the right color it's aged really well )
BMW 3 series ( once again pig of an interior and those taillight are just wrong )

[Mr Brooksy]

Youd be surprised to know that China also has the Aurion-Camry. In fact they are BOTH called a Camry. This whole thing about the Aurion being Aussie is rubbish! The thing about the Chinese that I love is 'they say it, as it is'. Funny its called a Camry!

The best looking car that I have seen recently is the XF Jaguar! Thats a simple, clean, muscular piece of kit.

Unfortunately there are millions of stupid looking cars. TATA's ute thing! What the?!
Completely agree about the SSangYong... umm... well everything really! I havent seen a good looking one ever!

Im in agreement with Mr Clarkson and Mr Hammond. "The best looking designs are coming from many major Euro manufacturers"

[greenfoam]

I like cars from the 70s too but I have to face the fact they were are just getting old. I talk to young kids that are 18-22 and they think car's from the 80s are "old school" to me they are still modern . These guys don't even know the models of Holden and Ford pre 80s

[89.SVO]

whatever you reckon. i'm in that bracket. hahaha a VB Commodore and XD falcon are from the 70's............................... just

[bathurst77]

That MPV looks like Two Cars F---ing....

[uranium_death]

20 years ago, cars were unique. They looked different.

Nowadays, I see cars looking more alike than ever.

There is also a direct correlation with taste (lack of!) and sales.

The VE Commodore is incredibly ugly from the back, the Camry has been ugly for years, and the Corolla is plain as hell.

In the same market you have the Falcon which has the best balance between quality and styling, while the Mazda 3 or Focus easily account for the Corolla.

Unfortunately, perception is what leads people to buy some cars.

I know that perception isn't always right, and so it may prove to be the case here.

[Trek]

I completely agree with you hear bearman, apart from the FG (I'm quite partial to the utes especially!), it's not all that bad, just few aesthetic faults with it ~ unlike all other recent cars.

[TC200six]

I also like the look of older cars, especially the yank tanks, 1959 Chevrolet, 1990-1994 Lincoln Town car and the current model Ford Crown Victoria. I like the long sedan look. By the way, NA and NC Fairlane's look good with their long & low side profile.

[MONSOON]

totally disagree about the Mazda3, IMHO the hatch while not bad for what it is, it doesn't compare to the much sleeker sedan, its a real shame the MPS was based on the hatch, same for the focus, I'd much prefer the XR5t was sedan based, the focus sedan looks better than the hatch unlike the 1st generation model, for some reason the "HOT" versions have to be hatches.
the camry/aurion twins share the same bodies, only the bolt ons are different, but the aurion is the uglier of the pair.
my pet hate with the cars of today is OVERSIZED lights(front & rear), badges & (of course)wheel arches.
I do like the new Falcon(except the flares on the ute tray!)

[daniel_rossy]

I personally thing the wheel flares on the VE are abit before its time..

[gtxb67]

Originally Posted by daniel_rossy

I personally thing the wheel flares on the VE are abit before its time..

they look okay if you only look at the front of the car
why should the front flares be wider than the rear. it is almost like it has flares at the front and only wheel arches at the rear. it gives the impression the front wheels are wider - typical holden i guess, backward again

[xy500]

Originally Posted by sprjenkins

I'm 24 years old so I might not agree with a lot of you here but I think car design is fine at the moment.


To that end most icons from previous decades now look very plain and I wouldn't bother, especially with most of the American cars. There are of course some exceptions of course GT40, 250 GTO, F40, F50, D type Jag.

geez, i'm impressed that you think a chev bel air is 'very plain'
i always thought the new falcons look pretty plain, infact everything that ever had those black plastic bumpers just looks like something from mattel or fisher price.
these days they get what a touring car looks like, and remove all the good bits while still trying to keep the same silhouette if you saw the car 50 metres away, which is a bit unnecessary when you dont need any downforce at all for normal driving :

[vztrt]

Cars long ago and cars up to now are ugly...and great looking. The thing about old cars is the one's that are good looking are kept and taken care of while the crappy ones go to the crushers. There are some great looking new cars out there and only time will tell which ones become favourable amongst people.

It's kinda like music, the crap ones go away while the quality ones live on.

[HLC]

Originally Posted by vztrt

It's kinda like music, the crap ones go away while the quality ones live on.

But that's it. It's all about perception! i might percieve some recent Death Metal album as quality that should live on forever, yet the general populace do not see things that way and believe that "i kissed a girl" is an instant classic and will be kept and played forever. seriously.

now, im doing my honours in Industrial Design this year and have been following the car industry for some time as that is originally where i wanted to head once i graduated from uni.

Big wheel arches, slab sides, and zero over hang is all the rage at the moment. plain and simple. Slab sided cars are a european trait and every car designer and his dog are incorporating them so that their designs look relevant in the market or look european. they then bang some flared guards/wheel arches on there to make it interesting.

look at the most recent toyota highace or whatever it is, with its stupid wheel arches stamped into the metal yet they dont even extend beyong the incredibly flat sides. wtf. really.

zero front and rear overhang.... four on the corners has always been a dream with car designers. having all 4 tyres on each corner would be like the ultimate in handling and whatever. but its no techically possibly as yet, so desingers are forever trying to push the boundaries to get this to happen. get in photoshop, get a side profile of a VE, and move the front wheel back 6 inches... not only does it look gay, but it doesnt look agressive any more, which was the idea behind the VE. having seen a presentation by Holdens Chief Designer about the VE, i understand why the short overhangs and pumped guards etc, and i think they pulled off what they wanted. still does not make it an attractive car, but in terms of meeting criteria and deliverables, they did it.

dont get me started on BMW... but they needed Chris Bangle, and i think they are moving in the right direction now....





BUT thats it. its all personal opinion and perception. irregardless of whether the camry looks like a kitchen white good, or a heap of crap (same thing realy), people will still buy it because its a camry and toyota are reliable blah blah and until you can change that it wont matter. a car's aesthetic appeal does not stop it from being a pig to drive, it is just that, aesthetics. put a less than perfect body on a good car and it doesnt sell. the AU is a testament to that. and i can say that because i drive an AU. great car, styling is questionable, well it was. looks good now IMO. there are plenty of rubbish cars out there that look good, and people buy them as well. i cant explain it anymore than each to their own.

[uranium_death]

Originally Posted by HLC

BUT thats it. its all personal opinion and perception. irregardless of whether the Camry looks like a kitchen white good, or a heap of crap (same thing really), people will still buy it because its a Camry and Toyota are reliable blah blah, and until you can change that it wont matter. a car's aesthetic appeal does not stop it from being a pig to drive, it is just that, aesthetics. put a less than perfect body on a good car and it doesn't sell. the AU is a testament to that. and i can say that because i drive an AU. great car, styling is questionable, well it was. looks good now IMO. there are plenty of rubbish cars out there that look good, and people buy them as well. i cant explain it anymore than each to their own.

I agree on that.

The AU looks good nowadays, except maybe the back and it's complete roundness. A spoiler helps to level that out nicely .

Perception back in 97/98...the Holden was almighty and the Ford was crappo. Interesting. As I said previously, Drive rated the "Big Four" and the VT finished last with two stars.

Goes to show that perception is not fact.

At TAFE, people reckon I'm really intelligent and way ahead of everybody.

As I said...perception. Not fact.

[outback_chick]

I have to say.. the models on all cars are looking uglier and more 'cheap' looking... I mena i love the new FG's but.. I odnt like the "tear drop" guards ont he front... they just look a bit odd.. and also the grill why so rounded and bubbly..they should have pushed it back a bit.....

that Sssangyong company or whatever saw a write up in the paper the other day.. I mean WTF they are horrible... I miss the old cars I wish they would come back... itsa like the price of cars is going up but the quality is going down...

[AUIIForte]

Originally Posted by Dezza!

I'm also 24 and I love the Miura. Saying you don't like the Miura is like when Peter Griffin said he didn't care for The Godfather!

I love the Lamborghini Muira, man what a beautiful car! But I'm in the same boat as Peter Griffin. I didn't like Godfather at all. I watched 3 times over all, and each time it just felt like I had to force my self to sit on the couch to watch it all the way through. The only time that I semi-enjoyed it was when I had a fair amount of beer in me, hehe.

I just don't get how so many people think its one of the best movies in the world?

Ah well, just my thoughts!

[Nikked]

I Don't think cars are getting ugly, people just have their favorite era...

[GlennBA]

Originally Posted by Mr Brooksy

The best looking car that I have seen recently is the XF Jaguar! Thats a simple, clean, muscular piece of kit.

Unfortunately there are millions of stupid looking cars. TATA's ute thing! What the?!

Funny you say that.. i'm pretty sure TATA owns jag.