Cars that have regressed???

[91 X]

btw, add the Acura RL to that list. The 2nd gen Legend was soo much better looking imho.

speaking of the RL(which is way over due for a make over) I saw a picture of the next RL at an Acura dealer yesterday..It's not official, it was just a drawing of the front end and slight sideview, but damn

It makes me want to sell my wifes '99 528i and start saving!!!

The thing looked awesome!!!

BTW, I really like the new TL's, they are sweet too

[EDIT] after seeing the actual photo posted below of the new RL, the drawing made it look better then the photo..It IS still much improved, but I think I'd settle for a TL instead...

 

[91 X]

Without a doubt, the Galant.

old (sleek machine):

new (fugly porker):

Also, the MR2...and to a lesser extent, the Camry (I still like the version from a couple of generations back).

The Galant is the definition of "regression"...how did I forget about that?!?!

 

[Dr.Honda]

Re new Hondas (vs. previous models):
Accord sedan worse (Buicky), Accord coupe better, Civic worse (lost its edginess), S2000 better (like the new front, lights, and 17" wheels), Element is starting to grow on me, RSX also starting to grow on me, TL MUCH better, RL('05) looks much better , also like the TSX (especially if you consider it a replacement for the old Integra 4-door). I don't think Honda is regressing. It could really redeem itself in the minds of car enthusiasts if it offered some selected R-Types to the U.S. and if it
builds a new NSX true to the HSC prototype. But I'm obviously biased.

 

[jlindy]

I like the Accords 100 times better now than before, but that is just me.

 

[Carguy!]

Another car that I feel has regressed is the Porsche 911's. The new water cooled models (996's) don't have the same agressive look as previous 993's

 

[NetViper]

Another car that I feel has regressed is the Porsche 911's. The new water cooled models (996's) don't have the same agressive look as previous 993's

I think the 997 looks a little more aggressive though... we should see it in the next few months.

 

[nsxtasy]

Another car that I feel has regressed is the Porsche 911's.

Maybe we should start a separate topic for cars that haven't regressed, but look basically the same for the past forty years. We can talk about the 911 there.

 

[JizJizJiz]

The RL, in my opinion, regressed (The 96 - 04 RL, not the new one). The old Legend had sporty characteristics and looked very good. The RL felt like it weighed more than a Range Rover and drove like a DeVille. In 99, the style was updated, but it still didn't feel like the old Legend.

I have high hopes for the new RL though .

 

[JizJizJiz]

Maybe we should start a separate topic for cars that haven't regressed, but look basically the same for the past forty years.

Yup. Seems like all they redesigned was the headlights.

 

[nsxtasy]

I really don't think Honda is any worse than anyone else, as JimK pointed out. Honda has some great-looking new cars, and some that are not so great. (As ho-hum as each iteration of the Accord Sedan continues to be, the Accord Coupe continues to be gorgeous each time around.) The same thing is true of Honda's competitors. Toyota has a new Prius that is beautiful, a ho-hum Camry (generation after generation) and Lexus ES (ditto), and those fugly Scion cars. Nissan has the nice-looking G35 Coupe, and the fugly Morono and FX45. And when was the last time anyone described a Mitsubishi or a Subaru as beautiful?

I give credit to the brands that have really come a long way from their ugly three-box designs of yore, brands like Mercedes and Volvo, whose latest creations look sleek and modern. Give them the "most improved" award.

 

[RP-Motorsports]

I will add my name to the minority list......I LOVE Bangle's creations. They look bad-a$$. The angel-ring's rock, I like the big fat rear of the 7, and the Z4 looks a million times better than the Z3. The 6 is great, the 5 so so, and the 3 is my favorite.

 

[apapada]

and the fugly Morono

Ken, I'm sure you meant to type "Murano", from the name of gorgeous little islands a few nautical miles from Venice, Italy, famous for it's fine glass and glassmakers.

 

[sjs]

I will add my name to the minority list......I LOVE Bangle's creations. They look bad-a$$. The angel-ring's rock, I like the big fat rear of the 7, and the Z4 looks a million times better than the Z3. The 6 is great, the 5 so so, and the 3 is my favorite.

Seriously? Not that there's anything wrong with that, but you really like them? To me they all seem look as though someone felt a need to change something but couldn't come up with a decent idea. Especially the Z4, which seems completely contrived next to the classic roadster lines of the Z3 or Z8.

 

[apapada]

Seriously? Not that there's anything wrong with that, but you really like them? To me they all seem look as though someone felt a need to change something but couldn't come up with a decent idea. Especially the Z4, which seems completely contrived next to the classic roadster lines of the Z3 or Z8.

I agree and even would add FWIW, that to me, the new designs are just plain arrogance. Each time I see a 7,Z4 or 5 series, it says to me "you certainly know what a great car I am. I therefore can be ugly as a sin and people will still buy me" Why would BMW otherwise launch it's newest style with a car (7-series) destined to its most conservative clients ???

As for the argument of differentiation between brands, it just does not stand. Last month's own BMWCCA Roundel magazine had an article with the picture of a new 5-series and some Pontiac (Bonneville?) next to each other. If I didn't know any better, I'd swear the bimmer is the successor of the Pontiac.

 

[sjs]

It just occurred to me that to my eye the new Viper got exactly the same flavor of contrived "update" as the Z4. I haven't bothered to look at a new Viper up close in person, but the pictures left the same sour taste in my mouth.

 

[cmhs75]

OK I'm just posting to further more increase the number of Bangle design supporters and to help encourage those that agree with me to jump out and say out loud without shame

I LOVE BANGLE DESIGNS.

It's my opinion and I'm sticking to it no matter what other people say

 

[nsxtasy]

You're both just kidding us... right? A little late April Fool's joke?

 

[nsxtasy]

The new (April 12) issue of AutoWeek has a "Driver's Log" on the new 545i. Keep in mind that this car has the "toned down" version of the mismatched trunk lid, but the Dame Edna front end. They have five different opinions on the car - including some scathing comments about the iDrive - but since this discussion is about styling, here are those comments:

Morrison: "I don't find the 5's lines as ludicrous as the 7 Series, but this is not a classically beautiful car by any stretch. The overall shape is just plain strange. Thankfully, you can't see much of the exterior from behind the wheel... The iDrive, by itself, isn't enough to cause me to pass on the car, but the combination of iDrive and the wackball exterior very well might be."

Raynal (no comments specifically on styling)

Wilson: "As for the styling, well, if I didn't have to look at it, I'd happily drive this all day long. But then, you have to get gas sometimes."

Gritzinger: "BMW should take a quick look at the competition, specifically the Mercedes E-Class, to relearn styling."

Floyd: "As with iDrive, I'm also in the minority with the styling."

I'm sure there are also a few people, somewhere, who think the Pontiac Aztek is the most beautiful vehicle on the road...

 

[cmhs75]

The new (April 12) issue of AutoWeek has a "Driver's Log" on the new 545i. Keep in mind that this car has the "toned down" version of the mismatched trunk lid, but the Dame Edna front end. They have five different opinions on the car - including some scathing comments about the iDrive - but since this discussion is about styling, here are those comments:

Morrison: "I don't find the 5's lines as ludicrous as the 7 Series, but this is not a classically beautiful car by any stretch. The overall shape is just plain strange. Thankfully, you can't see much of the exterior from behind the wheel... The iDrive, by itself, isn't enough to cause me to pass on the car, but the combination of iDrive and the wackball exterior very well might be."

Raynal (no comments specifically on styling)

Wilson: "As for the styling, well, if I didn't have to look at it, I'd happily drive this all day long. But then, you have to get gas sometimes."

Gritzinger: "BMW should take a quick look at the competition, specifically the Mercedes E-Class, to relearn styling."

Floyd: "As with iDrive, I'm also in the minority with the styling."

I'm sure there are also a few people, somewhere, who think the Pontiac Aztek is the most beautiful vehicle on the road...

They Sound like Elvis's critics when he first started his career

 

[huckster]

imo, there are higher percentage of attractive cars out there than ever before.

i thought the new bmw 3 when it came out in early 90's was less attractive than the model it replaced, but still good looking. But since the entire lineup has been 'bangle'-dized i think they are fugly.

The japanese lineup has been overall less attractive to me. I dont care much for what lexus/toyota has done over the past decade, and except for the accord(and nsx) most of the hondas arent to my taste either.

kudos to volvo, jaguar, and mercedes. They have some of the most beautiful cars, and their entire lineups reflect this.

Looks wise, i think some domestics are making up ground against the japanese. The Audi lineup beats honda/toyota hands down in the looks department also, and that is considering that audi's are a little bland/subtle.

jmho.

 

[RP-Motorsports]

No Ken, no April Fools by me, maybe it is a generation issue. It seems that anyone over 45 hates Bangle's designs, while people I have talked to under 45 like them???

A few posts back someone said that they loved the Z3 and Z8. I am curious of the age of this person, because I can't stand the Z3 or Z8. I can see how a person growing up with MGB's, bug eyed sprites, old Jags, Alpha's etc would love the Z8, or Z3. I am 33, and I think that the E46 looks better than the E36. It to me, the E36 looks like a 92 Civic. I now think that the BMW "looks" like the money spent on it. Just my opinion though

 

[Carguy!]

No Ken, no April Fools by me, maybe it is a generation issue. It seems that anyone over 45 hates Bangle's designs, while people I have talked to under 45 like them???

A few posts back someone said that they loved the Z3 and Z8. I am curious of the age of this person, because I can't stand the Z3 or Z8. I can see how a person growing up with MGB's, bug eyed sprites, old Jags, Alpha's etc would love the Z8, or Z3. I am 33, and I think that the E46 looks better than the E36. It to me, the E36 looks like a 92 Civic. I now think that the BMW "looks" like the money spent on it. Just my opinion though

I am 36, and most of my friends are close to my age group. Everyone I have talked with, don't like the new designs. So maybe you need to move your age group a little lower, if that is what differentiates people from being able to see and those who are blind. J.K.

Also if they are going for a younger generation, they are in trouble because most of the people who are younger can't afford their cars.

 

[jaytip nsx]

bangle designs

well im 33 and i think the bangle designs are pig ugly.
onto other cars i think that the subaru imprezza of two generations ago(P1,RB5,22B)are by far better looking than the current ones.the new jaguar s type is noware near as pretty as the old s type and mark two

 

[Tony Montoya]

I'm 46 and I like the 7. I think I will like the new 6 but I haven't seen one yet except for pictures. I really like the old 8. Z8 looks not good with the top up.
I think people did not like the Volvo trunk, the high one, when it first came out. To me the new Volvos are really good looking cars.
The new Prius is good looking too.
The new CL is wonderful.

I don't like shape edges but the new Caddies and the fronts hoods/bumpers of the Acuras are less offensive then they were at first.

The way gas is going I will soon be driving a Prius or that aluminum Honda thingy, I forget what it's called.

 

[RP-Motorsports]

Insight. And Motor Trend just had a huge article on the hybrids in this months issue (May ). The Prius is the one if you need the room. The Insight still holds the record for mpg, but only a 2 seater.

And come on people there has to be others afraid to come "out of the closet" on the Bangle designs!!!!!

I know NSX30 likes them, and he is over 40!