German Car Forum

Hi there.
I've been away for quite some time, since I just came back from 1 month in Portugal.

And there has been something on my mind lately. We seem to be in a time now where there are less u gly cars. I mean, what you see on the street, everything from the new Opel Corsa, to the Peugeot 207 or even the Fiat Bravo, is really plesent for the eyes. You see nice shapes, and curves, and they all have something nice. Just compare to the older cars, even from 2002 or so. More corny, boring...etc. For example look at the new Renault Clio. It really is a little sexy and I love the shapes. The other day I also saw the new Skoda Fabia. Also a huge improvement. And just look at Opel. Their old boring Astras or Vectras. Look at the new Corsa, Astra...beautiful cars! Sure they are very plastic inside etc, but what I'm talking about is the shape, the imagionation. Todays cars are more daring. Even a Citroen C1 or C4 looks cool! It's a really nice time for us car-enethusiasts, that the car industry is in a really nice time

Feel free to debate me on this one.

Actually you are quite right on this. I think that design sells today, rather that the cars themselves. If cars aren't appealing then they are not going to sell, thing that all carmakers know!

2006 was better looking, other then that I agree.

I think what's happening is cars are getting more and more radical, but as all cars get like this they will start to look boring! For example, look at the Renault Megane, when that first came out, it looked really cool, and interesting, but now doesn't really look anything special! I think car designers are just moving the goal posts, but as we get used to that, they have to move them even further!

yep the normal cars are starting to look easy on the eye..that is a new phenomena..
i hope it stays this way

Very relevant post Will. As time passes on things which we once did not like and/or thought were radical eventually start to look "normal".

Best example in my humble opinion is the E60 5er. I remember when it came out I thought it was bloody radical and out of this world - I hated it and still do, but now rather than thinking it's radical, I now see it as being "normal".

Hope that makes sense..

Yes I agree (not with the hating the E60 part )!

I think fashions are changing, and as soon as everyone conforms to one fashion, it changes, hence they start to look boring!

I agree with that, modern cars are getting curvier and easier to the eye. But then again... Aren't they just accomodating to our modern tastes? Maybe for the yesteryear generation, the cars which we thought were 'ugly' were actually nice to them.

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!! ......

Agreed about the subject of the thread.

Everyone is making much nicer cars today than they used to. Clear example is the new Clio Sport! Damn! That little thing look just great. Thinking about buying my wife that one, she loves it just like i do.

I still think there is much room for improvement. A lot of the current designs are still not particularly up-to-date in terms of styling. The concept cars are fantastic and I can see many parallels with current trends in architecture, fashion design, and high industrial design. I realize that for the mainstream market design has to be toned down to sell -- but at the elite end of the market I am continually disappointed by the lack of imagination.

Maybach has so much potential -- they are supposed to be at the highest end of the market ....so why are they so middle-class in terms of their style?. They should be at the cutting-edge of design -- like the Monaco boat builder Wally.

Maybach should be to the auto-industry what Wally is to the boat building industry -- Daimler-Benz should get radical and take luxury automobile design to a new level of aesthetic experience. Unfortunately, I don't think they will. Luckily BMW and Aston Martin seem to be doing just that.

Lol, I knew you'd be furious, but I must speak my mind

They were maybe nice then, but with all the new tech we have these days it is much much simpler to make the body look nice, with all the plastic that can be curved into everything they want. That surely was unheard of 10 years ago. Totally impossible.
So, designers have pretty much everything available to them to make cars look like they have them in their dreams. Even the low budget cars can look good.

This is why small cars like the Totota Aygo, Renault Clio/new Twingo, Peugeot 207, Opel Corsa, etc, etc, etc all look more than decent these days

Who could ever imagine that this...



...one day would turn into this...



It just shows that with a lot of effort, care and a bit of passion, you can really turn a woodlouse into a butterfly.

I think Opel and Fiat are the most improved mainstream companies when it comes to design. The new Opel Corsa is quite a good-looking car and so is the Astra, Tigra and Vectra. Fiat also improved big time. The Grande Punto is one of my favorite economy cars right now and the new Fiat Bravo is simply gorgeous. Looks like a premium car rather than an economy car.

Toyota seems to be heading downhill with their new offerings in Europe in terms of design. The Auris for example looks like a sportier Yaris: still ugly as sin.

Nissan has also been letting out some ugly cars. And Honda too!

I'd never imagine that.

I agree with you totally!
What about this:

Tuening into this:


Or this:

into this:


Or this:

into this:


But in all, I think Opel has changed most!

I think that's the new Fiat Bravo you posted above, not a Grande Punto.

I agree with you on most parts, though did you mean to post a Grande Punto instead of a Bravo??!

The one car there I think hasn't moved on looks-wise and has in fact got uglier is the 207.

The thing about the 205 for me is that it's so simple, so elegant, yet with a few revisions you could almost sell it again today.

The 206 was where the rot started to set in. Yes it was pretty, but when you compare 205 vs 206, the 205 is a timeless Pinifarina (?) design, and the 206 almost looks a little cutesy and flowery gayness in comparison.

I think a few better pictures are needed really:







Now, though the 207 might be more modern in terms of 'styling', IMO it's not as good looking as either the 205 or 206, both of which are fabulous looking in comparison.

A couple of things that always bug me about the 207:

• The wing mirrors - they are unnecessarily huge, in the wrong place, and snag the eye as it follows the lines of the car, if you see what I mean.
• The front quarterlight, doesn't look out of place compared to the rest of the car but neither the 205 or 206 needed one - so why this?
• The frumpiness of it - nothing continually flows from front to rear, it's always interrupted by something

The gaping mouth annoys me aswell, though I like the ''lion's face'' overall.

(Apologies if that seemed like I was having a go at you, I'm not, it was just me going a bit OTT with the soapbox... )

Well, I have to tell you that I'm sold on the 207. The car is screaming "take me" everytime I walk by a black one here on the street. I just don't know what it is, but I love it. I like it A LOT more than the 206.

Moreover, I would like to mention more "cheap" or a long time ago "crappy" marks, that even though their low price, actually made some great looking cars lately:

Suzuki:


Kia:

To me, the front of the 207, 307 and 407 looks really hideous. What's that thing with those huge head lights and that big lower air intake?!

I just can't help thinking that Audi has also come a long way in terms of styling.

From this...



...to this:



Oh sure the old 100 Avant was very aerodynamic and modern for its day. But aerodynamic and modern, doesn't always equals "Beautiful". The current A6 Avant is aerodynamic, contemporary and very graceful. It is my honest opinion, the best looking Estate car ever made.

I couldn't agree more.