Are new cars ugly?

Good topic, I like the debate between old & new styling.

There are a few things that 'hamper' new styling, the height of the front and rear bumpers, headlights, taillights, new for 09+ mandatory side curtain airbags, safety features like traction control, airbags, ABS, etc all force designs into a box, until someone figures out a new way to design those items in new ways which is usually costly, so most don't and we're stuck with similar styling. What about supercars? Well they usually get around the restrictions through various import or crash testing loopholes.

An example of this was the new GTO. Since sales were lackluster and the new restrictions placed on newer years would have required a redesign of the front and rear it was easier to stop importing them. If you haven't noticed everything in the US is getting taller to cope with impacts from SUVs. In one sentence we can sum up car design in the US (you can quote me on this): The SUV has destroyed automobile design in the United States.

The argument then gets past to safety vs beauty, which would a person rather have? Someone with a family of small children will almost always take safety, indeed the masses in general would rather be safe. Hence all the regulations. The regulations are also there to reduce the payout by the insurance companies, hence they have a vested interest in making vehicles as safe as possible, not as beautiful.

The middle of the road is of course the fact that ugly safe cars don't sell as well, they need something to make them 'unique' or 'pretty.' Well I can tell you I personally love Cadillacs new styling but would never think of anything but a 2 door Caddy (I own 2 Eldorados). I was excited about the CTS Coupe, but if you've seen the preproduction pictures and the latest test pitctures you will have noticed one thing, the back that was tallish but still had flowing lines now is all but a hatch-back, WTF!?

I leave everyone with one thought, perhaps beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but perhaps real beauty is timeless and immune to regulations, and therefore any eye can discern it...

Mazda MX-5, Miata, whatever the hell it is called. Not the NC, they tried to make it too umm.... manly? But the NB is gorgeous, IMHO

I think it is just as pretty as any MG or Triumph, just without that classic car appeal.

I always thought this was an underrated design:

Yep....I really do like my Second Generation Miata

Very nice! I think Miatas look best in white.

Is that Volvo any different from a 3-series coupe, Holden/GTO, Altima Coupe, Solara, etc...

If that didn't have a Volvo badge on it, would you know it was a Volvo?

In reply to null:

I think that it is different from the rest. True, it has lost most of the styling that made Volvo Volvo, but it still offers a little bit of Swedish quirkiness.

On that note, that is a huge reason why we own a Saab. It looks nothing like anything else on the road; it might not be pretty, but it isn't ugly, and it isn't mistakable for anything else.

For all you Chris Bangle fans out there it was reported this morning that he’s leaving BMW and the auto industry and will be succeeded by a guy named Adrian van Hooydonk.

I thought that happened three years ago.

Nope ... he's been at BMW right along. The unofficial word is that he's going into semi-retirement and plans to live in Tuscany and make wine. Not bad.

Yeah, I Googled it van Hooydonk took over design of BMW in 2006 and Bangle took over design for the whole of BMW. I like van Hooydonk designs - mostly. It will be interesting to see if there is a change to the entire line or if the German bosses will keep a lid on it.

Wine in Tuscany, huh? I guess I could put up with it!