Where Have Beautiful Cars Gone?

I recently realized something: People today seem to believe that only a sports car can look good.

What happened to cars that just look good without attempting to look fast? Fast cars look good, but why do all other cars have to look like boring turds? You don't even get to drive that fast due to speed limitations, so why is the speed such a prerequisite for appearance?

This all came up when talking about the difference between tuners and ricers, and realizing that there's not even a word for making a car look good without specifically making it look like a racecar. How did we come to this, and why?

I want to say regulations and safety trends, but that's bullshit. you can have restrictions and still make cars look good, that can't be the only reason

It's cheaper to stamp out soap bars. Everyone makes soap bars; except high end companies, so it's what the public now expects.

'50s and '60s excess wasn't the norm, it was the exception.

Counterpoint: Good design doesn't cost extra.

Yes it does. More complex shapes are more expensive to produce first off. But beyond that it takes more time, effort, and better trained designers to make a car that looks good. I could draw up a car design in 10 minutes, and I'd sell it for a snickers bar. But if you want a design that is aerodynamic, lightweight, and cost effective to build you're gonna have to pay somebody a bit more skilled than me, and they're gonna have to take their time with it.
How do you even get that idea?

“”””””Safety””””””

I think that the latest Mazda6 is absolutely gorgeous without looking overtly aggressive or 2fast4u.

See
It looks good minus the small windows and cucked ped-safe front end. It's no more expensive than a camry or accord.

Every car looks exactly the same today. Like a generic econobox

I do wish the windows were a little bigger. I'm not against having a larger crumple zone for my own safety either. The fact that it's no more expensive than a camcord but looks and drives much better is why I love it.

I don't know but its a damn shame. I honestly don't get the areodynamics meme. Is it that important to get 1 more mpg that you have to make the car look like shit?

All my grievances come down to the grille and the shape that it creates. Its protrusion, and influence on the hood.

I agree with I really don't believe adding a few inches of extra metal here or there would be so difficult to achieve, especially when it would make the car exponentially more appealing to look at.

I appreciate the effort of making the front fenders stand out a little, but it's still very bland.

It adds material and therefore purchase costs, it adds weight and therefore running costs, it makes the whole thing utterly impractical. The last time they thought "eh, what are a few inches more" we ended up with 230 inch, 5000 lb landboats that got 9 mpg.

rather have boring turds than complete trash design like that Cadillac

modern cars look just fine fuck off with your boring ass shit that puts you to sleep when you look at it

That's one helluva slippery slope argument you got there! "If cars don't look like a unimaginative turds, the only alternative is disastrous gazz-guzzlers with obsolete technology"?

As an example, here's a WIP pic of Mazda getting upgraded with fins. Not much effect on weight or aerodynamics, a huge effect on the side profile and overall appearance.

>upgraded with fins

It was a slippery slope several times in the past, what makes you think it won't be a slippery slope again? Also you were talking explicitly about length, so that's what I referred to.

Certain visual clues similar to those fins have been used to great effect on various cars while also providing a practical use as a spoiler or wing.

This some tasty bait.

What happened to flip up lights?

cash for clunker'd

they became a waste of money for companies

you telling me youd rather have this snore fest

>safety
>changes in taste
>fuel economy
>cost of production
All of these are applicable.

i saw you post on diy

wake up, it looks like shit and will look even worse upon completion.

the fact that you have not yet finished them suggests that you dont know what you are doing.

STOP NOW.

Governments happened.
Besides, they were a shit solution to a problem that never even existed.

What happened to unapologetically large gentlemen sedans? I wanna roll like Rodger Smith from Big 0.

The Big 0 car for reference.

they havent gone anywhere

...

At least you're not /dbt/

>do you want a cruiser
>no, i don't want a design that's inherently gimped for the sake of looks
>sportbike?
>nah i like to be comfy and don't like to take off body panels, and the steering geometry is gonna be too twitchy
>retro bike?
>been there, done that, not a hipster. we can do new without it being shit, can't we?
>Alright, here's your new motorcycle.

...