Whats with the new

[JaseNZ 53]

Just wondering whats with the new shape alot of car manufactures are using on the front end these days, In my opinion they look like some sort of smiley face , I know its just my opinion but i don't like the look of them at all , Guess its lucky i would never be able to afford one anyway , Thats just my two cents and heres a couple of pics of what i mean.

[BM WORLD 1283]

the PUG has the village idiot grin

[ThreeOneEight 0]

I think it's become so common to have a massive grille, that it's become accepted. Motoring writers complained about the new VW Scirocco having a much smaller grille than the concept, and it being somehow worse for it. Personally, I prefer the less toothy production look!

Concept:

Production:

[Apex 693]

Just the current trend, it’s nothing new. There are 1000’s of cars throughout time that have had massive grills, in fact it once was the norm. Im sure we will all get used to the new big mouth cars of late.

[E30 325i Rag-Top 2956]

Just the current trend, it’s nothing new. There are 1000’s of cars throughout time that have had massive grills, in fact it once was the norm. Im sure we will all get used to the new big mouth cars of late.

The trend is caused by changes is legislation and the drive for better fuel economy. To make cars more pedestrian friendly (less injuries to people if they are run over) bonnet lines have to be lower and smoother, also a factor in aerodynamics and drag which affect the fuel economy.

The end result is that there is less room to get the cooling air through a radiator above the bumper area (as if cars have bumpers anymore!) so grilles and radiators are having to be pushed lower down on the front of the vehicles, giving the smiley face look.

It is very interesting to see the changes from what the sylists want as a concept, to what can be made to meet the laws of the land and engineering concerns. Some changes for the better IMHO and some ruin the whole concept.

[kiwi535 538]

The trend is caused by changes is legislation and the drive for better fuel economy. To make cars more pedestrian friendly (less injuries to people if they are run over) bonnet lines have to be lower and smoother, also a factor in aerodynamics and drag which affect the fuel economy.

The end result is that there is less room to get the cooling air through a radiator above the bumper area (as if cars have bumpers anymore!) so grilles and radiators are having to be pushed lower down on the front of the vehicles, giving the smiley face look.

It is very interesting to see the changes from what the sylists want as a concept, to what can be made to meet the laws of the land and engineering concerns. Some changes for the better IMHO and some ruin the whole concept.

quite often the actual cooling air comes in UNDER the bumper..take a look at say a wide grill e34,there is actually hardly any grille above the bumper to let the air in.I also think the idea is to try to get rid of "bumpers" altogether as part of pedestrian impact performance

[Apex 693]

That makes sense. In some cases it’s merely a styling exercise, take the E60 series for an example of this. Also look at the Falcon above.

[topcat 11]

The trend is caused by changes is legislation and the drive for better fuel economy. To make cars more pedestrian friendly (less injuries to people if they are run over) bonnet lines have to be lower and smoother, also a factor in aerodynamics and drag which affect the fuel economy.

The end result is that there is less room to get the cooling air through a radiator above the bumper area (as if cars have bumpers anymore!) so grilles and radiators are having to be pushed lower down on the front of the vehicles, giving the smiley face look.

It is very interesting to see the changes from what the sylists want as a concept, to what can be made to meet the laws of the land and engineering concerns. Some changes for the better IMHO and some ruin the whole concept.

I think (sometimes) that pedestrians should learn not to step out infront of a car in the first place

but then,most folk learn quickly from one lesson.others rather live on acc

[E30 325i Rag-Top 2956]

That makes sense. In some cases it’s merely a styling exercise, take the E60 series for an example of this. Also look at the Falcon above.

Some manufacturers, espcially BMW, have a trademark grille styling - the double kidney grille, and go to extreme lengths to maintain that in some shape or form and also the Ford blue oval as you show the photo of. But the end result is still much the same with a larger air grille in the lower section of the front fascia.

Would you believe that the bottom arrangement of the grille mouth and fog-lights as styled on that Falcon is supposed to be influenced by F1 front wings ??

[bravo 35]

Actually the pedestrian-impact standards call for HIGHER bonnets (on passenger cars at least - not SUV's etc) to allow clearance between the bonnet and engine to allow it to deflect and absorb impact as a pedestrian rolls up over it. And that is part of what started bigger grills - bigger front = bigger grill, and now that's the styling.

I think Audi have done it best, the rest vary from good looking to horrendous.

Edited October 1, 2008 by bravo

[JiB 0]

I hope cars don't end up with horrible chelsea grins a la Mugen DC5:

[bravo 35]

This trend worries me more - the raised bootlid:

Camry:

BMW 7 series:

Hyundai Grandeur:

and there are plenty more. This style only ever looked good on the e30 m3 (and maybe Bentley Arnage)

[hybrid 1043]

This trend worries me more - the raised bootlid:

Why? its been around since the e30 m3 / 8 series / m1.

The crappy thing I find is BMW / Audi set the trend and others follow. Take the new honda accord, a bad rip off from the e60. I cringe even time I see a new lexus / Holden / honda / . .......... They are bad implementations of german car manufactures.

[Apex 693]

In all do respect I totally disagree, the Germans have lost the plot and become more like the Japanese if anything.

The Holden Commodore, dare I say it has a nicer shape than the E60!! I actually think a few of the new Jap designs are better than the Germans, I mean the new Mazda 6 “looks†more appealing to me than the new 3 series and A4.

[greenday-rulz21 6]

The Holden Commodore, dare I say it has a nicer shape than the E60!!

Yet you have an E60!!

IMO, I agree with hybrid. The German manufacturers actually give the shape a bit of class, they pull it off quite well (Although it does take a while to get used to some), then the jap stylists try and do cheap copies which look cheap and tacky compared to the germans. IMO.

[Apex 693]

Yet you have an E60!!

IMO, I agree with hybrid. The German manufacturers actually give the shape a bit of class, they pull it off quite well (Although it does take a while to get used to some), then the jap stylists try and do cheap copies which look cheap and tacky compared to the germans. IMO.

Hey, im just saying it has a better shape to it, the body line reminds me of my old Lexus and those pumped front guards look stanch. The E60 is a bit too slab sided and can look quite boring from some angles. The E60 (or the E39 for that matter) is a better drive and is built o a much higher standard. Im not a women and don’t choose a car biased entirely on its looks.

My argument is that I feel the Japanese have their own look, sure certain models have borrowed this and that from other designs but they ultimately have their own identity. Maybe show some examples??

Lexus 1998

BMW 1998

Audi 1998

Lexus 2005

BMW 2005

Audi 2005

Now imagine you had no car knowledge or brand recognition/loyalty, what looks best from each year.. BMW and Lexus brought each respective model out within a month or two of each other so there was no copying going on.

Sorry, it’s quite at work today and this beats vacuuming the workshop.

[hybrid 1043]

Sure thing .. I can understand why people diss the germans. But they really are the first to come up with shapes that define the next 5 - 8 years in trend. Have a look at the gapless rear bumper design. This where instead of the panel line meeting under the number plate the bumpers have now become more of the side and rear unibody in an effort to smooth lines. Audi and BMW were the first to do this. The rest followed.

Holden took designs from Audi in the form of the tail lights, stole the m3/rs4 gaurds .. stole the e46 m3 front qauter profile (badly).

glued all these things together in the american way. A bit like what Dodge and Crysler do with the yanky SUV market.

the e60 and e65/66 pretty much defined a whole decade of motor vehicle. Weather you liked the bangle design or not .. not many people can say that one designer would influence a whole decade.

[Apex 693]

I don’t get what you mean about the gapless rear bumper design, im a visual learner maybe you could post a picture as an example??

Bangle changed the direction of design for sure and I am an avid supporter of his stuff, I purchased one his masterpieces after all! He is American though and has worked on many a brand including some very stylish trend setting Italian’s.

Im not seeing the Audi connection with the tail lights on the VE. IMO Holden took inspiration from the likes of the Lexus IS200 (as well as Mazda and Honda) and pumped them up, it does have cues from other manufacturers like the E39 window frame but it is still distinctively GM and a Commodore.

[bravo 35]

I can see the audi resemblance in the VE lights that Josh refers to, but hadn't thought of it before:

[hybrid 1043]

I don’t get what you mean about the gapless rear bumper design, im a visual learner maybe you could post a picture as an example??

you just posted two yourself ... have a look at the transim on the rear bumper thats started to appear.

e46 = old style = gapped rear bumper

e90 = new style = bumper is part of the rear transim and side quaters.

Im not seeing the Audi connection with the tail lights on the VE. IMO Holden took inspiration from the likes of the Lexus IS200 (as well as Mazda and Honda) and pumped them up, it does have cues from other manufacturers like the E39 window frame but it is still distinctively GM and a Commodore.

=

[E30 325i Rag-Top 2956]

you just posted two yourself ... have a look at the transim on the rear bumper thats started to appear.

e46 = old style = gapped rear bumper

e90 = new style = bumper is part of the rear transim and side quaters.

Whilst it is true that some of this change is a styling issue again the main drivers in this type of design have been aerodynamics & weight saving for fuel economy and changes in impact system design.

That and improvements in the manufacturing techniques on moulded fascias making the big one piece possible which have lead to a big reduction in the manufacturing costs.

Developing the design is always a long process which goes round the loop many times, styling, engineering, bean counters and back again. Ends up being a trade off in many directions.

I'm an old school chrome bumper style personally. If you hit something with those, take 'em off hit with a hammer until they are straight again. Try doing that with a plastic fascia!

Edited October 2, 2008 by E30 325i Rag-Top

[ThreeOneEight 0]

I don't think BMW or Audi invented the gap-less rear bumper. I'm sure it was done well before.

2001 FIAT Stilo, for example:

And even earlier, the much- maligned Mazda MS8!

Edited October 2, 2008 by ThreeOneEight