2010 Chevy Cruze

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: potato28

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt
What the hell is up with modern cars being bloated? The car in those photos looks like a beached whale. The design is, visually, far too heavy. The front end is far too blunt as well.

I've seen svelter bodies walking into Weight Watchers.

ZV

Gone are the days of the equal looking RWD car, and in are the FWD "lets make it look like a piece of cheese" days.

It's not a FWD problem. The old Accords were low and relatively sleek. Same with the second generation Taurus. Somewhere along the line, things got garbled and we started to end up with these cars that look like inflatable tub toys.

ZV

 

[thomsbrain]

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt

Originally posted by: potato28

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt
What the hell is up with modern cars being bloated? The car in those photos looks like a beached whale. The design is, visually, far too heavy. The front end is far too blunt as well.

I've seen svelter bodies walking into Weight Watchers.

ZV

Gone are the days of the equal looking RWD car, and in are the FWD "lets make it look like a piece of cheese" days.

It's not a FWD problem. The old Accords were low and relatively sleek. Same with the second generation Taurus. Somewhere along the line, things got garbled and we started to end up with these cars that look like inflatable tub toys.

ZV

I think as large gaps between wheels and fender arches have become unacceptable, combined with ever-increasing cabin heights and ever shortening hood lengths, the engine bays have gotten squeezed in from the front and the bodywork has to extend farther up to cover the mechanical bits and to meet the ever-rising belt-lines of the cabins (another ugly styling sin, IMO). At the same time, the fenders are also extending downwards to close the gap between the wheel and fender. So you end up with all these FWD cars that have huge slabs of height between the bottom of the wheel-arch and the top of the hood. And that's ugly!

Some companies have tried to mask it by bending the fenders sharply from the wheel arches to the hood, which is then made narrower to allow the fenders to slope at a more horizontal angle. My Accord is a good example of that. But even then, you can see how much raw height there is. Compare that to a BMW 330i from the same vintage, and you can see what a huge difference there is. The proportions of the BMW are just a lot more pleasing. By starting off with bad proportions, car makers are trying to polish turds, and it just isn't working.

 

[Mermaidman]

Taller cars=more interior room, no? Many people want a spacious cabin and higher seating position, not a low-slung claustrophobic cockpit. It's better that they get it in a bloated-looking compact rather than a big ol' SUV. In the meantime, enthusiasts can continue to buy cars in their niche.

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: Mermaidman
Taller cars=more interior room, no? Many people want a spacious cabin and higher seating position, not a low-slung claustrophobic cockpit. It's better that they get it in a bloated-looking compact rather than a big ol' SUV. In the meantime, enthusiasts can continue to buy cars in their niche.

I fit much, much better in the older cars. You can't stretch your legs out in modern cars, the seats are too high. The pedals should be out in front of me, not below me. Strangely enough, with the seat of a modern car adjusted to where I like it, any extra keys I have on the keychain will rub against my knee while I drive. The older, lower, cars never have that problem. Never. The overall outward views were better too. Modern cars have very thick A-pillars and B-pillars that tend to obstruct my view at traffic lights, which I don't notice with older cars. Similarly, when looking out the back of the car, modern cars are more difficult to judge because of the extra height of the rear section.

You can still have the extra room without having to make the car look like a tub toy.

And there aren't cars in an enthusiast's niche if he or she has a family. If you want a family car, your options are bubble A or bubble B. There just aren't options for a basic but low-slung family sedan. They're all trying to be minivans, which sucks.

ZV

 

[MBrown]

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt
What the hell is up with modern cars being bloated? The car in those photos looks like a beached whale. The design is, visually, far too heavy. The front end is far too blunt as well.

I've seen svelter bodies walking into Weight Watchers.

ZV

I think it looks quite good.

 

[MBrown]

bump for update. And this car looks so good.

 

[MBrown]

and anotha one...for the people who haven't seen the LIVE picture of this vehicle. This rims have been fixed. This is a foam model though but its good enough for me.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

I don't believe I could ever, ever drive a car called a "Cruze."

 

[Chunkee]

looks like a mini malibiu ltz

 

[getbush]

The front ends of newer cars are getting screwed up by pedestrian safety standards. More bloated space gives the skull of little Timmy bike rider more space to cave in the sheet metal before it cracks off the valve cover. The front corners are getting higher too.