Brace yourselves for the invasion of Toyota filter-feeders!

The Toyobaru's recent facial disfigurement was just the beginning, it looks like Toyota is rolling out hideous Krill Grilles across their entire lineup...for cars that don't already have one, that is:

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2016/03/nyias-fifty-year-old-toyota-corolla-gets-new-nose/

There's even a bit of Mirai styling in it, ugh

Funny that as these gaping maws open bigger and bigger, the actual openings are getting smaller, being blocked off with more and more solid black plastic for better aerodynamics.

every visual cue on that car makes me want to die...

The worst, by far, is still the new Prius.

The Prius has always been an ugly little penalty box of a car, but the new one ups the hideous quotient to "What drugs were they on?" The wheels alone are vomit-inducing.

Maybe I been outta the loop on style but who started that gaping grill look to begin with and why must every manufacturer follow suit, it's almost cartoonish.

In reply to fasted58:

I wanna say that it was Audi that started it. But Audi at least made it look good.

If you haven't noticed in the past, once a car maker has a hit with a front end style, everyone follows suit. Toyota, does this all the time. They slap a "styled" version on every car because one other car was selling well, so by their logic every car in the lineup should have that front end. And working for Toyota at the Georgetown KY plant, I can tell you, Toyota policy is if it make sense, don't do it.

But every company does the same thing. Mazda has a tendency to do it, Honda, Chevy, Ford, ect ect.

fasted58 wrote: Maybe I been outta the loop on style but who started that gaping grill look to begin with and why must every manufacturer follow suit, it's almost cartoonish.

The best theory I've seen is that it was the R35 and EvoX. They had huge grilles because they had serious cooling needs. Then somehow, Average Joe car buyer came to associate huge grilles with performance, and now every car has them so that it "looks fast."

In reply to GameboyRMH:

Audi went to the huge grilles in '05, 2 years before the Evo X and R35

Audi/VW started doing the center part of the bumper blacked out to make one big grille area back in what 2004?

There must be some hallucinogenic fungi growing in my house, because for some reason I actually kind of like the look of the new Prius...

high end cars have always had huge grilles, it's a symbol of status... but what looked cool on an old Bentley or Lincoln in the 70's and 80's doesn't translate over to anything on the road now.

it's not just cars,either. trucks have had huge stupid looking chrome plastic front ends for about a decade now, and they somehow make them huger and more stupider looking every year..

Snrub wrote: There must be some hallucinogenic fungi growing in my house, because for some reason I actually kind of like the look of the new Prius...

Those must be some real strong fungi, because even Stevie Wonder can tell you the new Prius is hideous.

HORRIBLE !

The Prius isn't as hideous as the new Corolla or the Mirai IMO, but it sure isn't good-looking either...and the wheels aren't as ugly as the original Toyobaru wheels to me. I kind of felt the same about the Juke. Kinda homely but not the King of Ugliness.

I've been seen the Lexus suv's on the road and wondering who the heck thinks they look good. http://www.lexus.com/models/RX

There's really not a good view on them, hideous angles sticking out.

Reminds me of the Predator movies but at least they were bad a** and had a mask they could put on.

well.. look at it from a repair standpoint.. a punched out black plastic grill is cheaper and easier to replace than painted sheetmetal or painted plastic bumpers

NoBrakesRacing wrote: Reminds me of the Predator movies but at least they were bad a** and had a mask they could put on.

Since the very first time I saw one, I've called Lexus' "hourglass grille" the "Predator face"

Maybe they are doing it to strike fear in the hearts of other commuters.

When I see a car design I don't like, I always figure I must not be the target demographic for it.

Deep sea fish love it.

I wonder how much of that nonsense is driven by pedestrian safety standards?

Combine that with corporate desires for a common design language and you get, well either an entire range of good looking vehicles or an entire range of well Lexi or Toyotas.

It wouldn't surprise me.

Actually, I think Black and Decker started it in the late 80's:

In reply to GameboyRMH:

Barf-ola. What are they teaching is design school these days?

kazoospec wrote: Actually, I think Black and Decker started it in the late 80's:

That was the Aerostar.

Nah.. dustbuster was the lumina minivan

The real dust buster-inspired design was the Cadillac of minivans:

And I must have similar fungi in my house because as much as I have no desire for a Prius, the one that they painted up like a police cruiser in that teevee ad was kind of neat-looking.