Unecessary Styling "Trends"

[Soup DeVille]

I do miss the days of skinny A-pillars. Could have hit a pedestrian in a crosswalk a couple of weeks ago because he was completely covered by the pillar (this was in my BMW.)

The a-pillar can be justified under the guise of rollover protection (and probably occupant)- but the rear view mirror thing bugs me.

I don't need any stupid Onstar buttons on my mirror, I want a mirror- a frameless one preferably shaped like the rear window, not a universal rectangular one that kind of works well for most backlights.

[MX793]

Oversized wheels are a huge problem. Reducing sidewall height has diminishing gains and eventually the sidewall stiffness creates too much harshness for street use. The extra unsprung weight also adversely affects handling.

I'm not saying we should go back to the days of 70 series sidewalls (they looked bad and handled worse) but roads in the north are too shitty for rubber band tires.

As wheels are getting bigger, so are the overall diameters of the tires to maintain some minimal sidewall height (aftermarket jumbo wheel trend excluded) to protect rims from damage and preserve ride quality.  My Mazda came from the factory with 205/50R17 tires, which equates to a 4" sidewall.  The largest wheels available on my Mustang are 19" shod with 255/40R19, which equates to... a 4" sidewall.  My old 240SX with 195/60R15s had a 4.6" sidewall.  That's about the same as with the optional 18" wheels on the Mustang (and what I have on the car now) or the standard 16" tires that would have come on my Mazda (which my snow tires are).  Looking back at the mid-90s SN95 Mustang, the optional, "big" 17" wheels got you a tire with a 4.3" sidewall.  A bit lower than the current 18s.  So despite the trend towards jumbo wheels over the past 8-10 years, sidewalls really aren't that much shorter than they were even going back nearly 20 years ago.

[Cookie Monster]

If automakers lowered beltlines, not only would it make it easier to put your arm on the sill and have the cabin be airier with better visibility, but wheel wells could also be made smaller and you could have smaller wheels and tires, too. High beltlines with small wheels and tires makes the car look very top heavy.

[AutobahnSHO]

At this point we might as well have button shifters with flappy paddles if you're feeling sporty whilst driving your Toyota Sienna. Fill the shifter space with 4 more cup holders or something.

+1.   Seriously.

The shifter on the steering column used to be because it was physically necessary. Nowadays the computer is doing all the shifting anyway, so it's just a "comfort stick"..

[hotrodalex]

If automakers lowered beltlines, not only would it make it easier to put your arm on the sill and have the cabin be airier with better visibility, but wheel wells could also be made smaller and you could have smaller wheels and tires, too. High beltlines with small wheels and tires makes the car look very top heavy.

The Camaro's windowsill is actually at an almost perfect height for my elbow... Most of the time the problem I have with that is the seat being too far away from the door to be comfortable.

I do agree about the slabsidedness making the styling awkward and continuing the unnecessary larger-and-larger wheel trend.

[12,000 RPM]

I dunno. Sometimes with the all-red signals, I get confused when the left one blinks. Looks like they're gonna turn right.

Its real bad when you have someone who likes to ride the brakes, and there is only 1 bulb for everything. It looks like they are switching the turn stalk from left to right.

[cawimmer430]

If I wrote this article, my number one complaint would the "boring aerodynamic design" we have today.

Bring back '70s car design!!! 

[Madman]

If I wrote this article, my number one complaint would the "boring aerodynamic design" we have today.

Bring back '70s car design!!! 

Look-alike cars are nothing new.

[NomisR]

I'm not sure I like the idea of removing the gear selector and giving me a fiddly knob. I get the point, but: do we really need to squeeze in an extra cupholder that badly?

Also, the "big grilles" are in part a response to pedestrian crash standards which have raised the hoodline, and well: you've got to do something with that bulbous front end.

Why do we need a pedestrian crash standard?  Are people stepping out in front of cars that often that we actually need one? 

[Morris Minor]

They touched on my little pet peeve of drivers riding "lights-out" at night because their gauges are illuminated. It needs to be fixed.

[NomisR]

High sills don't bother me half as much as the thickness of modern A-pillars: but between those, the high sills, the smaller rear view due to all the rear passenger headrests, the extra large rear view mirror with the extra buttons on them, and the higher hoodlines of cars these days, there's something of a visibility problem altogether on most new cars.

I think part of the reason for the high door sills is the side impact standards today with the higher number of cars being so high off the ground.  My RSX was pretty high off the ground IMO, but 99% of the cars made today has a higher roof line than my RSX.  And our RDX, a lot of the sedans today have the roof lines just as high as that damn thing. 

And I noticed with the auto off headlights, asshole as driving around in the day time with their high beams on now because they keep it on all the time in the first place and then when they get in their cars, their headlight turns on so they blind everyone all the time. 

And then there's those that don't turn on their headlights at night that are just as bad because they think that the interior lights are on, so their lights are on.  I mostly see them in Toyota drivers and Mustangs...

[Soup DeVille]

Why do we need a pedestrian crash standard?  Are people stepping out in front of cars that often that we actually need one? 

"If it saves only one life..."

[Vinsanity]

I do miss the days of skinny A-pillars. Could have hit a pedestrian in a crosswalk a couple of weeks ago because he was completely covered by the pillar (this was in my BMW.)

In typical modern GM vein, my A-pillars are about as thick as Brock Lesnar's neck, but it hasn't been an issue for me until this past weekend when I took a backroad shortcut to/from a friend's house out in the canyon. Going through a series of hairpins, the driver-side pillar is right in the middle of where you should be looking when you approach a left-hander. Frustrating and a little scary. Also, the next day, the passenger-side A-pillar managed to hide a Chevy Equinox for a split second when I was waiting to make a left turn onto a neighborhood road.

[Raza]

I think part of the reason for the high door sills is the side impact standards today with the higher number of cars being so high off the ground.  My RSX was pretty high off the ground IMO, but 99% of the cars made today has a higher roof line than my RSX.  And our RDX, a lot of the sedans today have the roof lines just as high as that damn thing. 

The roof of my car goes up to the windowline on most modern cars.  I hope they keep getting higher and taller, so my car can just slip underneath them and I'll never have to worry about getting rear ended again. 

[NomisR]

"If it saves only one life..."

I want pointy front end so I can spear some asshole that tries to movie stunt my car. 

But seriously, if pedestrians would stop fucking jay walking, we wouldn't have problems with them getting run over.. how about using the fucking crosswalks and look where you're going!!!

[NomisR]

The roof of my car goes up to the windowline on most modern cars.  I hope they keep getting higher and taller, so my car can just slip underneath them and I'll never have to worry about getting rear ended again. 

My Elise can almost do that..

[Raza]

My Elise can almost do that..

There's a tollbooth-style gate at the entrance and exit of my garage at work.  I keep thinking "man, if it were only 3 inches higher, I wouldn't have to fumble with my ID everyday to get in and out. 

[Cookie Monster]

There's a tollbooth-style gate at the entrance and exit of my garage at work.  I keep thinking "man, if it were only 3 inches higher, I wouldn't have to fumble with my ID everyday to get in and out. 

So drop your car 3 inches.

[ChrisV]

High sills don't bother me half as much as the thickness of modern A-pillars:

I have to agree with you there. Thick A pillars are a real pain. It's the one area that I have a complaint about driving the Volt, things can hide in the driver's side A pillar area, especially people crossing the street from the left.

Had the same problem with the Vauxhaull Astra I drove in Scotland last week. Made it much harder to place the car properly on those narrow streets when I couldn't see things hidden by the A pillars.

[Raza]

So drop your car 3 inches.

Unless they lower the ground, I don't think that's possible!

[Cookie Monster]

Unless they lower the ground, I don't think that's possible!

Pussy

[2o6]

If automakers lowered beltlines, not only would it make it easier to put your arm on the sill and have the cabin be airier with better visibility, but wheel wells could also be made smaller and you could have smaller wheels and tires, too. High beltlines with small wheels and tires makes the car look very top heavy.

New cars take a shit on old cars in terms of ergonomics. I am reminded of this whenever I drive a car from two or three generations ago versus my car. Mine is simply much more accomidating.


And big wheels are nothing new. Old cars suck.