Very boring car designs!

[PeteC]

This is a mini-rant more than anything else, although my conclusion has been reached through long observation.

In a nut shell, the Japanese keep introducing the most boring designs year after year that I've ever seen, exterior and interior (bloody dull grey plastic all the time ). Toyota especially stands out.

A decade ago and further back you could rely on something new and fresh coming out from these companies, car and truck, no more it appears.

Perhaps they are all waiting to introduce electric and more hybrid units and spending nothing on R&D for their petrol and diesel lines.

Sad turn of events IMO. I don't even keep up with their models now, but focus on European and US new introductions. Pete

[deepee]

Don't totally agree with you on that one Pete.
Just for starters Mazda have the new CX3/ CX5 .Selling like hot cakes around the world too.
Subaru have the BRZ ,WRX and the XV models, if you like a bit "off the wall" in styling.
But do admit that Toyota put out some very bland looking cars. That is a very intentional marketing ploy which has helped Toyota achieve its perceived reliability reputation. They cleverly target the cautious conservative customers,the sorts who don't want to stand out, the sorts who will drive and park more safely than most,those that will only get the vehicle regularly serviced at the correct intervals by Toyota of course.
Mercedes do pretty much the same to the upper end of the market.

[Dannie Boy]

Whether they are boring or not is open to debate, but Toyota sold the most cars from a single Company in 2016, so a lot of people (more than 7 million) must like them. Also in the top 5 list of global car sales were Nissan and Honda.

[RCer]

You obviously don't remember the Chrysler K-car. That takes the cake in BORING.

[laphanphon]

Agree, all pretty boring. Think it has to do with being aerodynamic. Seems each class, and vehicles in, all look about the same.

Why people have crap hanging from the back of their cars, and on their antennas, so you can find it in the parking lots. Thankfully for front and rear #'d plates, or I'd be walking up to the wrong car a lot.

Nissan Cube would be easy to find ....

[Dannie Boy]

I can remember seeing photos of cars from the 40’s and 50’s and they not only all looked almost the same, the vast majority of them were black, so we have moved on to some extent, even if it’s mainly in pastel shades - famous quote by Henry Ford, “you can have it in any color, as long as it’s black”.

[PeteC]

Thanks for all the thoughts. What set off my complaints in the wee hours was opening the Bangkok Post this morning and seeing the NEW Nissan Tenna. New?.....you're joking. Pete

[pharvey]

Modern "Mainstream" cars all seem to be much of a muchness with regards to design - and I would agree that this is in large part due to (necessary) aerodynamic design. It is also due to the fact that the main car manufacturers share components/component design - one of the major components/factors in design being the chassis.

Modern "High Range" cars are in a different bracket with regards to design (IMHO) as they are not so much focused on the likes of fuel economy and hence aerodynamics (although the "Super cars" are obviously so on the latter - purely for speed). You couldn't exactly call the Bentley Continental (Convertible) boring now, could you?

When talking about the design of the likes of Toyota: Going back a fair few years, with the introduction of the Celicia and the MR2, the designs seemed to be way ahead of their time (uber modern, sporty) - yet within around 5 years or so, the design seemed dated and Toyota would (have to) come up with an updated version.... for another 5 odd years. Compare this to the likes of the Porsche 911, introduced in the early 1960's and the design has not changed significantly in 50+ years (although technology obviously has).

I won't mention the AC Cobra, the E-Type Jag etc.

Out of interest: - https://www.telegraph.co.uk/luxury/moto ... ction-eve/

[laphanphon]

Take the manufacturers emblems off, and it would be hard to tell many of them apart, if not extremely familiar with them.

[pharvey]

Take the manufacturers emblems off, and it would be hard to tell many of them apart, if not extremely familiar with them.

Certainly true with the Mainstream cars these days, but perhaps a necessary evel dictated by fuel economy and production costs.

[Nereus]

Think it has to do with being aerodynamic.

Well, aerodynamic considerations go right back to 1934 and the Chrysler Airflow:



https://www.uniquecarsandparts.com.au/c ... er_airflow

Some claim that the car modified to be driven backwards was actually driven from Detroit to New York, but this site only mentions driving it around Detroit.

[mudcat]

The best discussion of why and graphic of the result I have seen is here

[Khundon1975]

It’s all SUV’s, Pickups and Crossovers here in UK.
We have a couple of new SUV’s (1x 7 seater, 1x 5 seater) and find them very convenient and the designs are very good, compared to family saloons or hatchbacks.
You can only do so much with any vehicle design, if you want it to be competitive in any market.

Engines are getting smaller with many manufacturers now using 3 cylinder petrol engines with turbos and diesels giving more power for same engine size.
I did read that Ford USA are phasing out cars in favour of pickups, not sure if it’s true or not.

Japanese cars may be “dull” but they are reliable and that’s why they sell in such numbers and Korean cars are becoming very good cars as well.

The problem I found in Thailand was bad service after you’ve shelled out for the car.

[handdrummer]

The problem I found in Thailand was bad service after you’ve shelled out for the car.

That's a nearly universal dealership problem. That and instead of repairing they replace. A good mechanic is getting harder to find.

[StevePIraq]

That's why you should buy British, take a peek at Aston Martins US3m Valkyrie, perfect for nipping down to Market Village.

https://www.autoblog.com/2018/10/03/the ... ccounter=1