Today’s Avoidable Contact web edition is about aggression or the lack thereof.
Cars today seem to keep getting angrier. It’s ridiculous. We should save that stuff for the Lexus IS350 F-Sport, yo.
Today’s Avoidable Contact web edition is about aggression or the lack thereof.
Cars today seem to keep getting angrier. It’s ridiculous. We should save that stuff for the Lexus IS350 F-Sport, yo.
I think a big part of it is the “globalization” of design. With fuel economy targets dictating the overall shape of the car as well as accommodating regional regulations, cars are looking more and more homogeneous. The bobbed high tail, slab-sided shape is pervasive for aerodynamic reasons (gotta get a big number for highway em-pee-gees) and the blunt nose dictated by EU pedestrian impact rules means the only thing designers really can do is put some sort of “face” on the car. I mean, go look at silhouettes of the Fusion, BMW 3 series sedan, and a Mazda 6 and I’ll bet it takes a few to figure out which is which.
In my opinion, the American car makers, Bentley, and Mercedes have always gone for “angry” or “imposing” as their styling theme. It is just that the Japanese, the other German makes, and Jaguar have decided to do it now as well.
The domestics seem to waffle between Fifties in-your-face, Sixties reserved, Seventies in-your-face, Eighties reserved, Nineties in-your-face…
I liked the tale of your encounter with the muscle-bound Focus pilot. Whether the story is or isn’t true, I’ll choose to believe it was.
There was more to it than that, both before and after the recorded conversation, but those were the important parts.
Well… I still remember how the press blasted Mazda for the previous gen Mazda3 grin.
The E34 is also my favourite 5-series, as is the W124 my preferred E-Class. To me, more than “happy”, they look confident and optimistic.
You can still find colorful cars down here, if bright orange or deep red do it for you. Holden offered yellow until ’12 on VEs and Ford used to paint the Falcon in a terrific metallic orange or deep purple.
It seems every car face designed today is inspired by Darth Vadar or an Imperial Storm Trooper. Frowning eyes. Gaping maw with grills slashed like the teeth of a piraña.
Mazda tried to go happy for awhile. Everything in their lineup had a smile, instead of the Aston Martin Vadar mouth every other OEM is now copying (I’m looking especially at you, Ford).
Remember the original Neon ads? Front-end shot showing happy, friendly, open eyes. The headline a simple, “Hi.” Good stuff.
When we trace back car design, it’s always a reflection of the times. Look at the jet-inspired, world-is-our-oyster optimism of the finned Chevys and Cadillacs of the fifties. The long, low, swanky feel of the anything-goes 70s. The austere boxes of the 18% APR, long gas-line 80s.
Looking at our current cars, we could conclude we live in angry times. But anger, as my wife (the good doctor and psychologist) will tell you, is a “cover” emotion. It’s secondary — a mask to disguise the primary emotion, which is usually fear, sadness, anxiety or depression. In our culture, anger is preferred over weakness, sadness or desperation.
Just as the guy in the blue Focus illustrates.
In truth, we live in fearful times. Fear of government, economy, job-security, helplessness, terrorists, you name it. All those angry faces out on the road, they’re just masks. We put on our Darth Vadar costumes and try to give ourselves the illusion of control, power. While deep in our hearts, we collectively despair.
“Mazda tried to go happy for awhile.”
in the case of the 3, it didn’t look “happy” so much as it looked like it was about to go for your neck.
+1 to what domestic hearse said!!
My all time fave car is a happy one too: Porsche 911 2.8 RS
Of course I would be a happy one, too
Damn this Google search glitch I accidentally hit the mic icon while typing and got stuck in an endless error loop.
I would be a happy one too, if I owned one!!