[carseatsm5]

I’m seeing blacked out RAV4s and Tiguans. Luxury vehicles, too, where the styling has shifted from stately to menacing. I’m not sure when it became fashionable to make every look skew “intimidating,” but I’m thinking we’ve reached the limits.

Anyone else agree? Disagree?

[Donatello.]

Black badges on an econobox are intimidating? Not to me. I just laugh

[///MPhatic]

I love this trend.

Toyota RAV4 - 1995 vs 2022

[Darth One]

OH GOD YES.

It’s not just the obnoxious grilles. Auto designers just can’t leave any surface uncrimped, unlined or unvented. It’s like when i discovered play-doh as a kid and started rolling it into all these smooth shapes. And then someone gave me all these presses and stamps, so i started stamping shit into the play-doh for no good reason other than ‘I can’

[Burrcold]

I don't mind it since there's usually a more "classy" or traditional trim as well. Options are good. At what level are black emblems and black wheels okay? Why does a base model 3 Series need it any more than a Camry?

[///MPhatic]

Originally Posted by Darth One

Auto designers just can’t leave any surface uncrimped, unlined or unvented.

Agree 100%.

[OkieSnuffBox]

My ex-wife got the "blackout package" on her 2015 Mazda 6 back at the end of 2014.

Black badges, black grill, black wheels, and dark tint on her black car.

Looked great, but you're just now seeing this? Leave the house more.

[Humdizzle]

yup. The 458 was beautiful. it does have intakes but they are incorporated into the side window and under the car. the 488/F8 are a bit of a mess imo

[Darth One]

Originally Posted by Humdizzle

yup. The 458 was beautiful. it does have intakes but they are incorporated into the side window and under the car. the 488/F8 are a bit of a mess imo

I 100% agree the 458 is better looking. I’ll give the 488 a small pass because the front/hood channel probably does a better job on the front aero than the 458’s front spoiler. Although i loved learning that those flat black canards on the 458 front spoiler are actually soft so they deform under wind pressure and increase the angle of attack

But the RAV4 above - where are those side creases funneling air to? (Rhetorical question). Those huge vents in the front bumper arent even vents, are they?

[XutvJet]

Overall, yes. I would say the Japanese, especially Toyota/Lexus, are the biggest offenders followed closely by BMW's M division and Mercedes AMG division. I'm convinced BMW has hired Japanese designers to style their latest M cars. It's damn near Pep Boys level of aero tackiness. The Supra could be so damn sexy without all the fake vents, aero, and excessive rear fender work. Toyota designers just could not resist the urge to tack crap on.

Ferrari was getting out there as well, but the 488 Pista and Roma give me hope. The Nissan Z is also a clean design, only to be somewhat compromised (i.e., squashed a bit) by a severely aged FM chassis and isn't totally a sports car chassis. That car would be an epic design if the hood and front wheel base could have been extended around 3" and the front bumper cover and headlights restyled a bit.

I'm holding out hope for future Hondas as the new HRV has some pretty solid styling.

There's no hope for Subaru. Ever.

Mazda has some of the best and consistent designers out there, IMO. They do a good job of blending elegant, aggressive, and timeless styling cues and making them current. They know how to show restraint. Kind of like how BMW was back in the day.

[T12]

I personally like the trend of more aggressive styling on what would otherwise be mundane cars. It makes the morning commute just a fraction more bearable.

[kennyvn]

Classic looks is best.

[RM7]

BMW vs. Mercedes is a good look at this. It's a 3 or 5 series sedan. It's not going to look much different than the predecessor in terms of the body, because all the proportions and dimensions will be nearly the same...so unless you do something really stupid, like put giant vents on the front, it's not really going to look very different...but then they don't want to be seen as "stale", so they start doing ridiculous stuff to make the new version look different. Mercedes handled it by aggressively shaping and curving the body panels...which tends to be more expensive the more you do it, but they pulled of some pretty smooth looking designs that don't hurt the eyes too much...but then you have the M3 and M4...again, pretty much same layout and proportions...so they figured the only option was giant beaver-teeth...somewhere in a basement. IMO, form should follow function and that means that you don't change it radically if it's not radically different. How a 2003 STi looks way better than whatever the hell Subaru has been making for the last few years. Engine still in the same exact spot BTW.

[Germanauto]

One of the neighbors got a blue F8 Spider. I love Ferraris, certainly my dream car, but boy what a fussy design.

One day I hope to have an F430 garage queen. Such a clean timeless design, and more attainably priced.

[M2Crew]

F8 looks better than 458 from every angle except the rear. 488 rear is better than the 458 rear.

I'm a fan of the trend. Letting world-class artists and 3D modelers go more extreme while maintaining billion-dollar-brand polish has led to some very interesting recent designs. Obviously, there are plenty of misses, but that's always been the case.

[AlexFL]

Originally Posted by M2Crew

F8 looks better than 458 from every angle except the rear. 488 rear is better than the 458 rear.

I'm a fan of the trend. Letting world-class artists and 3D modelers go more extreme while maintaining billion-dollar-brand polish has led to some very interesting recent designs. Obviously, there are plenty of misses, but that's always been the case.

Agree. F8 is a great looking car. An extremely underrated performer, too.

Lamborginis are a parade example of extremely aggressive design and people generally love their look. I haven’t met a person yet who would call an Aventador an ugly design besides maybe some random idiots on car forums.

[carseatsm5]

I’m all for sports cars looking aggressive. I was griping about Camrys with fake vents and fake diffusers and everything blacked out. It’s become silly.

[E92inNC]

The gloss or matte black is much more preferable to the chrome in my mind

[nicholasn]

Originally Posted by M2Crew

F8 looks better than 458 from every angle except the rear. 488 rear is better than the 458 rear.

The 458 and F12 were the last best-looking modern Ferraris imo (also the last Pininfarina-designed Fcars). Those were both exotic-looking and beautiful. I'm not saying Pininfarina got everything right - look at the 612 Scaglietti - but they hit much more often than they missed. Everything since Ferrari dropped Pininfarina has looked over-the-top exotic with almost no regard to beauty, and I don't think time will be very friendly to its current lineup. The 488 in particular was not pretty from any angle except the rear.

In my eyes, Mazda is the only non-luxury automaker left that consistently bangs out well-designed cars.

[M2Crew]

Originally Posted by nicholasn

The 458 and F12 were the last best-looking modern Ferraris imo (also the last Pininfarina-designed Fcars). Those were both exotic-looking and beautiful. I'm not saying Pininfarina got everything right - look at the 612 Scaglietti - but they hit much more often than they missed. Everything since Ferrari dropped Pininfarina has looked over-the-top exotic with almost no regard to beauty, and I don't think time will be very friendly to its current lineup. The 488 in particular was not pretty from any angle except the rear.

In my eyes, Mazda is the only non-luxury automaker left that consistently bangs out well-designed cars.

Ferrari has many successful designs post-Pininfarina. 812SF, Pista, F8, 296, Roma, Portofino M, LaFerrari. All excellent.

I agree that Mazda has done a great job with their designs the past decade or so.

[Tacoma]

Originally Posted by XutvJet

Overall, yes. I would say the Japanese, especially Toyota/Lexus, are the biggest offenders followed closely by BMW's M division and Mercedes AMG division. I'm convinced BMW has hired Japanese designers to style their latest M cars. It's damn near Pep Boys level of aero tackiness. The Supra could be so damn sexy without all the fake vents, aero, and excessive rear fender work. Toyota designers just could not resist the urge to tack crap on.

Ferrari was getting out there as well, but the 488 Pista and Roma give me hope. The Nissan Z is also a clean design, only to be somewhat compromised (i.e., squashed a bit) by a severely aged FM chassis and isn't totally a sports car chassis. That car would be an epic design if the hood and front wheel base could have been extended around 3" and the front bumper cover and headlights restyled a bit.

I'm holding out hope for future Hondas as the new HRV has some pretty solid styling.

There's no hope for Subaru. Ever.

Mazda has some of the best and consistent designers out there, IMO. They do a good job of blending elegant, aggressive, and timeless styling cues and making them current. They know how to show restraint. Kind of like how BMW was back in the day.

Toyota took the #1 in worldwide sales, so they must be doing something right with their designs. I actually like their current designs, including the Supra though I do agree about the fake vents.

RE Mazda, don't kid yourself about design consistency & restraint compared to others. Look at Mazda 6 that went from this:


To the large grilled, flamed surfaces everywhere design like this:


That's as big of a design evolution as Toyota.

On the Germans, I would say Audi is just as 'guilty' as MB or BMW, if not more so. Have you seen the 6? It's as menacing as any of them!... And looks fabulous!


Overall, I prefer the more aggressive/menacing designs, so I disagree with the OP. Or at least those designs that don't have the face of a beaver.

[nicholasn]

Originally Posted by Tacoma

RE Mazda, don't kid yourself about design consistency & restraint compared to others. Look at Mazda 6 that went from this:


To the large grilled, flamed surfaces everywhere design like this:


That's as big of a design evolution as Toyota.

The 2nd gen Mazda6 was mostly developed under Ford ownership and was generally a carryover from the 1st gen. No Ford influence for the 3rd gen which was very well-received for its design, and while it looks "aggressive" I think has aged well, especially in person. Has presence without looking ridiculous.