What happened to car design?
I happened to check out Wired Magazine and noticed an article "The 19 Most Exciting Cars at the Beijing Auto Show 2026." I love car design, particularly cars from the 40, 50 and 60's. So I thought OK, I'll check this article out. Let's see what is classified as an "exciting car."
It was exactly what I thought it would be. Boxy, look-alike cars. Boring. Maybe they were packed with technology, but there wasn't one thing about 99% of them that would make me excited to drive one. They all looked like they were designed with Legos.
When cars used to be fun...
Back in the 1950's and 1960's car companies changed car designs just about every year. People looked at a car as more than transportation. Their identity was attached to their car. Many manufacturers let you create a "build sheet" so you could customize the entire car. You could pick the engine performance features, pick an automatic or manual transmission, paint colors, trim packages, wheels, etc. A car was really an extension of you.
The overall car designs were so much more visually interesting than today's cars. Sure, you can find some high end performance sports cars that might be somewhat visually interesting, but the average car buyer will never be able to afford one. But, back in the day you could own some seriously innovative car design for not much money. My dad wasn't making squat in his early 20's and he still was able to walk on to a Chevy dealership and afford to custom order a 57 chevy with all the bells and whistles. And it was a pleasure to drive AND a pleasure to look at.
Todays cars look like crap
Today's car design is just garbage. Sure, they are more reliable. They are safer to drive. But, they are deathly boring to look at and drive. I like my Honda CR-V from the standpoint of reliability and safety, but do I get excited about driving it? No. It's just another box with wheels amongst thousands of other boxes on wheels.
How do I know I'm right? Look at the Dodge Challenger and the Ford Mustang (before they made it into a joke of an SUV). Both are design throwbacks to the original versions of the car. Not as innovative designs as the originals but about as close as you're going to get with the myriad of safety regulations foisted on auto manufacturers.
Will car design ever get better
As long as we leave in an uber-litigious society, cutting edge car design is dead. Couple this with the hundreds of federal regulations a car design must meet today, it looks like a box on wheels is where we are at. I think it's sad. It's sad that most of us will never own a car we are excited about driving.
When I go to a vintage car show I see cars that I'd just love to own and drive. I dream about winning the lottery and hitting a Mecum auction and leaving with a 69 Chevelle SS. I want to feel the torque, I want to hear the engine, I want my car experience to be visceral.
Maybe I'm just a sucker for nostalgia, but at least when it comes to cars, the good old days were way better than today's boring transportation. I guess I was just born a few decades too late.