Are you excited by the newest generation of regular production cars? (vehicle, 2014)

[Chango]

They depress me. It's gonna look like the 1990's again, except with bluetooth.

The 2000's gave us some really unique, brash and memorable designs but now it looks like cars are going back to rounded, boring and uninspiring looks.

It also seems companies are back to the whole "brand style" thing rather than making unique individual model styles. I look at pictures of the Ford Focus, Taurus and next gen Mustang together, for example and it's hard to tell which is which!

What do you think? Do most people want an anonymous people-moving appliance these days rather than making a "statement" with the car(s) they choose to drive? Is it a manufacturer strategy? Maybe a conspiracy (making boring cars now so that future cars can about-face in design and seem interesting/fresh)?

[GarageLogic]

Just attach whatever name you want on the grill. Ford, Kia, Hyundai, Toyota, Honda, Subaru, whatever...

[MckinneyOwnr]

My biggest gripe with current cars being made is the excessive cost cutting. One thing that REALLY pisses me off is how many parts are currently being made out of plastic that should be made out of metal, and nothing else. Like radiators, window regulator parts, intercooler endtanks, etc. Parts that are subjected to either intense heat cycles or lots of repeated wear and tear.

In the 90's, intercoolers were all metal, the only thing to go wrong on window regulators was the motor wearing out, and radiators didn't crack within 60k miles driven in a hot environment.

Gotta disagree with you about the 90's vs the 00's. The 90's brought us the Camaro/Firebird that dramatically improved the design and power, the Corvette C5 was a huge improvement over the C4, all the Japanese auto makers came out with their own supercars... The NSX, new Supra, 3000GT/Stealth, new RX7, new 300ZX, and Europe gave us the E36 M3, new M5, 8 series, etc. The Italians gave us the Ferrari F355, the first truly updated Ferrari in over a decade, Lamborghini came out with the Diablo, replacing the Countach which had been around since the 70's... The list goes on and on.

90's were a much better decade than the 00's.

EDIT: And how could I forget the absolute best car ever designed, the McLaren F1.

[Cheektowaga_Chester]

I like how the new cars (like the 2014 Impala) have 10 AIRBAGS.

[hoffdano]

I think there are many fine looking current vehicles though there are plenty of forgettable ones. But that has been true forever. Brand identity has always been important to some brands. A Mercedes has never looked like an Audi or BMW.

Ford has done a good job recently with their styling. They don't all look the same, though there is a strong family resemblance. The new Fusion is the clear star to me. Old school Fords like the Expedition look terrible. (Lincoln is still a mess).

I think Nissan (and Infiniti) is a mess.

Toyota is all over the place, as always. The best looking Toyota might be the Avalon.

[Hemlock140]

In general a lot of them do look much alike but we recently got a 2014 Escape 4WD and their technology is way beyond bluetooth. It only has 7 airbags but also things like traction control, reverse camera, self-parallel parking, hands-free liftgate, 2 screens on the dash, intelligent 4wd, and the turbocharged 1.6 4 cylinder that gets 30 mpg but still has 178 horsepower.

[KevinE]

IMO regular production cars are much much better now than they have ever been. Including in terms of design. Sure they all look alike but that has more to do with convergent evolution... ie design based on windtunnel performance and government regulations.

At least the manufacturers aren't producing embarrassing garbage like they were in the 70s and 80s and even into the 90s. I remember going to the dealership with my old man back in the early 80s and he was seriously considering a Ford Country Squire which was junk right off the production line. And it had that bad fake wood paneling... couldn't wait to be dropped off at school with that barge.

In fact it p*$$es me off that kids today will not know the horror of being dropped off at school in some embarrassing piece of crap. Or that reliability is a given and they don't know what it's like to be stranded on the way to Disney World with an overheating POS.

[BrendanSWM]

I like a lot of the new technology and the ability to get more power and better mileage together. I do not like all the computers they now attach to the cars. I prefer to have technicians connect my much better and more powerful computer to the car to provide and control everything I need done. The manufacturer's cheap computers just get in the way.

I am pleased General Motors is bringing back a roomy rear wheel drive overpowered sedan with the Chevrolet SS. Although I am not pleased with its appearance nor with the fact it is only available with an automated transmission. Hopefully they will continue to make improvements. However I still believe the Cadillac CTS-V is the best sedan made by any United States based marque. It could be a bit more spacious though. I think it unlikely I would select an SS over a CTS-V except perhaps for space if I needed to have multiple persons in the vehicle for long periods of time.

The appearance of the new vehicles, is uninspiring. There are many beautiful cars being made, but all of them have been around for several years. I am not aware of anything that is both new and interesting looking.

[BrendanSWM]

Originally Posted by hoffdano

(Lincoln is still a mess).

.

Not all of them. MK-Z is relatively attractive and decently pleasant to drive for a discount sedan.

[rbohm]

for me, cars lost their appeal after about 1990 or so for the most part. at that point they all started looking the same, performing the same, etc. there are a few exceptions like the mustang, camaro/firebird, corvette, and some high end european cars.