Rant! Designs of tomorrow?

[-Fred-]

I was looking at the various concepts and new production cars that are popping out at the NAIAS and the LA auto show, and one thing came to my mind...

They're pretty much all ugly!

What happened to the flowing designs of yore? Are we forever stuck with boxes on wheels? Not to mention the concept cars are all starting to look alike!

Audi Pikes Peak Quattro (i was expecting a sports car with this name, not another SUV)

BMW X Activity

Chevrolet SS (RX8, anyone?)

Dodge Kahuna

Ford Faction

Hyundai OLV

Mazda Washu (what the hell is that name, anyway? can't believe a company that came up with a car as good looking as the FD RX7 comes up with that... thing!)

Toyota FJ-Cruiser

See what i mean? They all share pretty much the same design clues, not to mention some of them are blatantly copied from other models (*cough* Chevy SS *cough*)

If these are the cars of the future, i'll stay in the present, thank you very much...

 

[Sage]

If the Chevrolet SS weren't a rip-off of the RX-8, I'd actually like it.

Otherwise, everything else there needs some serious work (wrecking ball, anyone?). That Hyundai especially needs to be put out of its misery.

 

[Duke]

Forget about the future, most of the cars being produced right now are ugly as crap. I would take almost any car styled for 3-5 years ago over almost anything on sale today.

 

[ShobThaBob]

1998 was one of the best years for cars as of late.

 

[reeboker]

Maybe off the topic but i'll give it a try.....for me is and always will be the best Ferrari F40...i think thats how the future cas supose to look,sporty and not bubbles

 

[1X83Z]

Um... concept cars rarely make production. Sans the X Activity Vehicle (which, it's easy to agree, is the least offensive of the pack) which will never be produced under that name and may be produced with slight design tweaks, none of these cars will ever come close to seeing the light of day.

Best looking car ever, in my opinion?

Either the 2002 Grand Caravan with metallic (rather than chrome) alloys or the Peugeot 406 Coupe. Form follows function, remember.

 

[-Fred-]

concept cars usually make production. cue the Dodge ESX's, which turned into Intrepids, the PT Cruiser, the Viper, the PT Cruiser, the first gen. Acura CL and most others...

Concept cars give us an idea of what the cars will look like in the near future, most of the time.

406 Coupe...

 

[1X83Z]

Originally posted by PunkRock
concept cars usually make production. cue the Dodge ESX's, which turned into Intrepids, the PT Cruiser, the Viper, the PT Cruiser, the first gen. Acura CL and most others...

I could quote you hundreds and hundreds that didn't. Also, the Dodge ESX was not a concept -- we all knew it would be, with minor tweaks, the next Intrepid. Oh, and -- go find a picture of that originial PT Cruiser concept: it barely looks like the current model.

Concept cars give us an idea of what the cars will look like in the near future, most of the time.

Remember the Peugeot 306 firefighting vehicle? I also seem to remember some Citroen with huge plastic wheels.

406 Coupe...

Grand Caravan Sport...

 

[Shannon]

I reckon the BMW X Activity and Ford Faction look alright. That Chev looks so ugly - same with the Hyundai.

 

[Gt fein]

Can't you just wait to drive these?

 

[Shannon]

The surfer-mobile of tomorrow!

 

[Hooligan]

Originally posted by PunkRock
I was looking at the various concepts and new production cars that are popping out at the NAIAS and the LA auto show, and one thing came to my mind...

They're pretty much all ugly!

You can say that again. But concept cars are always "ugly". They're mostly design exercises. Experimenting with curves, materials, soon-to-be production components.... I take them all with a pound or two of salt.


Audi Pikes Peak Quattro

Not terrible, but too Chinese-eyed for Audi. Basically, the headlights kill it. The rest of it would sell if they tried a real color.

BMW X Activity

It's the X3, that's all. Panaromic roofs are a feature I think that will come to bite many SUV's in the butt come roll-over accidents.

Chevrolet SS

From the rear-3/4, this car looked good. Now that I see the front-3/4, it's a bad charicature of the RX-8. It should not have 4 doors, nor should it have such over-bulging wheelarches. However, that would leave it looking exactly like the RX-8.

Dodge Kahuna

The nerd goes surfing! Other than that, it's a PT Woodie.

Ford Faction

From the windscreen forward, it's an Audi TT. Windscreen back, it's a Toyota Matrix. And together, it stinks.

Hyundai OLV

Oh, for the love of god, that's horrid! Hidden under all that crap, I sense an original Land Rover, but that may just be the green messing with my head.

Mazda Washu

More of that...that..."SAV" segment I just don't get.

Toyota FJ-Cruiser

It could have been good, if they just updated the original, 1960's Land Cruiser (as Mercedes did with the Gelaendewagen).

All these companies need to go back to design school. Either that, or -- and more likely -- I'm building a time machine and visiting the 1990's all over again.

 

[skynyrd]

Yeah, all this has got me wondering...just WHAT IN THE FRICK WERE THEY THINKING?!?!

Nobody wants to drive a giant bubble SUV or whatever they'd call it, nobody wants to drive a SUV type thing with things sticking out in every direction like that Hyundai whatever-it-is (better be careful, you'll poke your eye out with that thing!).

Oh, and then there's the whole Chevrolet SS thing. 4 doors? On a sports car? Oh yeah, not to mention the whole front end. :/

In fact, I only like 1.5 concepts this time around. The .5 is the front half of the Mustang concept, they royally screwed the back end of the thing.

The other one is that Dodge station wagon, something about that one just gets me.

 

[Gil]

Dang, Punk Rock,
Looks like all the design studios are in the midst of a vast forest of ugly trees and the designers all drove out blindfolded.

 

[bigwhlkid]

Concept cars are supposed to show the future of the automobile and are not meant to be put into production. yet recently most concept cars have been making it to the streets in 3 years or less with only minor changes. and if companies arnt doing that there applying the asstonishingly ugly styling cues of there concept cars to there production cars . and better yet, recent disigns of cars have been becoming more alike. whatever happened to each car company having its own look and style, instead of offering different trim levels and options.

personaly i would have to go back 10 years or more to find cars that fit my style.

 

[The Porko]

Man the cars these days are all boxy instead of being round like there use 2.

 

[Sortin]

The problem I have with concept cars is the excessive size of the wheels. We all know stock wheels are usually 15-16 inches. But concept cars get these huge wheels, which throws off the entire look of the car.

I wish newer cars were built to be able to be worked on by a home mechanic; make them easier to work on, not harder. They'd rather you fork over the $$$ to their dealership to repair it, than fix it yourself.

 

[MazKid]

Even the Audi has hints of RX-8 in the headlights.

That's like 3 cars copying off of the RX-8 design.

Ohh, and there's a whole thread on the Washu in the MAZ forum...maybe Washu means Washington Universary? The BMW looks the best out of the bunch, and there is no 2nd place, cause they all pretty much are bad. Last place goes to that Hyundai...I guess they went to Playskool's headquarters and planned out a car with them...it's like a blob, and the only strait lines are where they shouldn't be, the wheel wells.