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yeah, heavy, boxy, small engine...what's to like about that thing???

It makes cars like ours look downright sexy!

This thread on ugly cars hasn't included the BMW "roadsters".

The Z3 and now Z4 sculpted shapes are "bling-bling" with lots of rice.

On the positive side--of the expensive cars, the Ferrari Maranello has
styling that will always look good.

it's sheet metal, get over it. you guys sound like my fussy little sister.

The journalist, H L Mencken observed: "You can never go broke by
underestimating the taste of the public".

The Z3 and Z4s indicate that this can now be done at the higher price brackets.

I think that styling appeals more as time passes. Nobody likes a new car, old cars with goofy designs are 'classics.' Don't really notice bad styling anymore, unless it competes with practical aspect of the car. I have a car so i can drive it, not stare at it sitting in my parking stall.

A technical creation is only perfect if it is perfect from the point of view of aesthetics.

- Ettore Bugatti

Don't think he'd like the Veyron.

As long as the body of the car isn't hurting performance, and isn't too ugly, I can live with it.

After all, a 95 outback isn't the prettiest car ever, although I like it because I know more about it than the fact that its a wagon

I loved the old IS300, the new IS looks like $hi!

I think all of the auto manufacturers are going downhill.

The new Maxima looks ok, not as bad as some, but I would not trade my old one for it. Same with the new Impreza design.

didnt read the thread as im tired so i dont know if its been covered already.

cars are being designed for pedrestrian safety these days, this includes things such as the motor must be 4 inches away from the surface of the hood in order for the hood to properly asorb pedestrian impact ect ect.

larger cars = less streamlined cars. but also with that the car still has to look correct so grilles and headlights are also effected

another factor could be the fact that designers need to design to a demographic of larger people who need to fit in their cars. therefor cars become bloated like their owners.

i used to not like the 06 impreza and the civic. to tell the truth i still dont like the civic sedan but after seeing modified civic si's at sema along with a single pimped out impreza 06 i can say that i like them as much as i like any car i would drive but wouldnt own.

I think it's a lot of "design for the sake of design" going on; bunches of seriously overpaid Bachelor of Arts types justifying their positions by hyping "Corporate Identity" and modern-look makeovers to their bosses, who are way out of touch with the buying public... recent BMW designs are prime examples. Everyone howled about the '02 WRX bugeye headlights, they got changed pretty quick. Vote with your wallets... no one buys the new design, it'll get tossed post haste.

What I don't get, is why Subaru kept the 1st gen Impreza design around for a long time, and then went bugeye for two years, good looking for two years, and now the vagina grille....they're wasting money, IMO, changing designs every two years when they had a design that everybody liked.

They tend to redesign about every 5 years. The bugeye only lasted 2 years because it only sold well in the U.S. The revised version of it was only around for two years because it was about 5 years since the last redesign. And they're going crazy with that horse collar grille crap.

edit: I don't know why they kept the 1st gen Impreza for eight years.

They facelifted the Impreza after the first five years. The bugeye resembled the other-market contemporary Corolla, which could have been another issue why it didn't sell well elsewhere, besides that it was heavier and less raw than the previous WRX (that we didn't get, so we never knew the difference).

Steve

Another new for 06 car that I think looks like shit: The Mercedes R-class...

I'd say that about pretty much all Mercedes ... and the poor quality with emphasis on useless gizmos. There is no more Mercedes-Benz and while I have to sya I was never a huge fan, they commanded my respect and it's a real shame what happened to them.

The only decent looking German cars are Porsches, but they haven't really designed anything different in forty years. Maybe they're afraid of what might come out of their studios ... oh, yeah, they had that Cayenne ... 'nuff said.

Much as I hate Audi/VW, they were good looking cars up until this current crop of F-150 grilled monstrosities on the VW and the smilarly giant, but chromeless mouth on the Audi. I know, Auto Union, I get it, move on.

Steve

Yeah, but I kinda like how porsche has kept their styling similar. Its not all the same, but its stayed along those lines that I really love.

The Cayenne is sacrelidge.

The Cayenne is one hell of a machine though!!! But yes, it does go a bit against Porsche's roots...but is another example of everything Porsche builds is quality and well mannered...

I will agree about the new Mercedes-Benzes...I used to have a 240D, which was an AWESOME car, overbuilt everywhere...It is a shame that they are building such crap now, because their reputation up until their acquisition of Chrysler was that of exceptional quality, vehicle dynamics and luxury. Now they are building cars to a budget, which doesn't work for a company that was used to building high quality machinery without consideration of cost.

While I agree that Merc's are garbage now (look at the reliability rate before and after the merger and your head will spin), I certainly wouldn't turn down an SL65 AMG. 6-liter V12, twin-turbo with 604hp and 738lb-ft of torque... I couldn't resist...

well, yeah, who cares how reliable it is, you won't be daily driving that thing

The Cayenne has actually caught a lot of flack for it's lack of reliability and cheap interior. It's brought down the company average quality ratings. Thing is, it doesn't really go against Porsche, just their more recently considered heritage. Ferdinand Porsche built a 4wd electric car (a motor in each wheel hub - there is nothing new under the sun) around 1900 and was known for his experimentation with all types of vehicles. Modern day Porsche disappoints me with its lack of vision. Leave that to Morgan ...

Steve

Morgan makes the Aero 8 with an ash body frame. It's got some other cool aspects but I hate the cross-eyed look of it.

Morgan's been using wood since the 1910's. I almost bought a 1937 Trike ... I wish they still made newer versions of those.

I realized today while driving that Mercedes is the new Hyundai - they're going by the same Korean Amphibian style of design the Koreans used a few years back. Hell, now the Hyundais are actually better looking than most Mercedes. That Tiburon is pretty nice looking (though the last one was definitely Korean Amphibian style) and the Sonata is terribly derivitave, but at least it's coherent and fairly well resolved.

Steve

evolutionmovement wrote: That Tiburon is pretty nice looking (though the last one was definitely Korean Amphibian style) and the Sonata is terribly derivitave, but at least it's coherent and fairly well resolved.

Agreed. The Tiburon is a total chick car, but pretty smooth-looking, and the Sonata looks like a Honda Accord, which isn't necessarily a bad thing...

subyluvr2212 wrote:Agreed. The Tiburon is a total chick car, but pretty smooth-looking, and the Sonata looks like a Honda Accord, which isn't necessarily a bad thing...

Yes, but it's still made by Hyundai. And that, is a good enough reason not to buy the car.