Once-"Trendy" Car Design Cues that Look Dated Now

[Impeccable]

Vertical slats on the tailights benz invented and everyone copied throughout the late seventies -80's

[Jack-the-Tripper]

Luggage racks!

[JorgenP]

[PrimaVW]

Vertical slats on the tailights benz invented and everyone copied throughout the late seventies -80's

assuming you meant horizontal?

[Dr. Woo]

Wood paneling was really popular in the 70s and into the 80 and even 90s but it looks very dated today.

Wire wheels (or lookalikes for that matter) were around since the first car really. It took until the 90s for them to finally die off.

Laudau tops were also pretty popuar from the 20s to the 90s. They do show up on some modern cars but look terribly out of place.

Opera windows were all over the place in the 70s but didn't last long. By the mid 80s most were gone. This Lincoln also has opera lights.

Best post in the thread so far.

[MCTB]

Camry, Accord, etc... GET RID OF THAT DESIGN.

Yeah, that design obviously sucks as they sell SO few of them GO away.


To go along with the dual exhaust comment. I dont mind dual exhaust outlets formed into the rear fascia but for goodness sakes, dont make a 4" opening and then hang a 1 1/8" pipe in the middle of it. It looks ridiculous. Example Suzuki Kizashi. Great looking car but the rear kills me.

[TooFitToQuit]

Black roof



Now that anyone with a can of spray paint has done it, it doesn't look so classy anymore.

All of my recent Mustangs I have painted them. I think it looks a hell of a lot better when the roof line permits (when the A-pillar trim segments properly at the edge of the windshield).

[MartijnGizmo]

Yeah, that design obviously sucks as they sell SO few of them GO away.


To go along with the dual exhaust comment. I dont mind dual exhaust outlets formed into the rear fascia but for goodness sakes, dont make a 4" opening and then hang a 1 1/8" pipe in the middle of it. It looks ridiculous. Example Suzuki Kizashi. Great looking car but the rear kills me.

Kinda like a Murcielago than:


Though I guess it's better than this...

[vwpiloto]

Pop headlights were the result of limited shapes in headlight technology. Once the lighting tech allowed for more organic shapes, pop up headlights went away. Why would any manufacturer want the cost and complexity? However, back when they were around, as BRealilstic pointed out, they allowed for a greater design freedom for the stylists and designers, and some of the nicest shapes resulted from it (e.g. Miura, Countach, F40, Stratos, etc.).

I'd say chrome bumpers look very dated. They worked well in the prior to 1980s, and somehow, to my eye at least, gave the cars a less "plastic" appearance. Nowadays, they make almost any car look less sporty (e.g. black greenhouse trim on the "sport" models).

[rice is burning]

Luggage racks!

HEY! EASY! I resemble that remark.



Louvers


NACA ducts, which I personally think look awesome.


LED lighting


Let's just all admit that once Hyundai did it the end was nigh.

[epbrown]

Wire wheels (or lookalikes for that matter) were around since the first car really. It took until the 90s for them to finally die off.

Mr. Huey Lewis, I've got news...

[Tokyosmash]

HEY! EASY! I resemble that remark.

what the hell, why do you need a luggage rack on an S2000?

[vwpiloto]

what the hell, why do you need a luggage rack on an S2000?

If it's your only car, and you have to travel, where would you put a regular size suitcase? It's not fitting in the trunk, that's for sure. I personally think the luggage rack looks horrible, but hey, if it's your only car, you're going to need it.

[Tuneman7]

NACA ducts, which I personally think look awesome.

Veyron SS has them although I don't think it's the most trendy looking car per se.

[Matt15]

what the hell, why do you need a luggage rack on an S2000?

what a stupid question lol
where else are you going to put stuff? i DD'd an S2000 for a year and a half and there are countless times i could have used one

[InfinitiG]

NACA ducts, which I personally think look awesome.

Those are still alive and well

[Tokyosmash]

If it's your only car, and you have to travel, where would you put a regular size suitcase? It's not fitting in the trunk, that's for sure. I personally think the luggage rack looks horrible, but hey, if it's your only car, you're going to need it.

You dont have any idea how big the S2000 trunk is, do you?

what a stupid question lol
where else are you going to put stuff? i DD'd an S2000 for a year and a half and there are countless times i could have used one

Uh... the trunk?

[S4cabriofox]

BMW's "flame surfacing" was always awkward to me, unfortunately influenced other manufacturers and has aged poorly. Even BMW's design updates to flame surfaced models moved progressively away from the theme.

I disagree, the E60 5 Series and the first-gen Z4 still look much fresher than all of their competitors from the years that they were introduced.

[S4cabriofox]

Yeah, that design obviously sucks as they sell SO few of them GO away.


To go along with the dual exhaust comment. I dont mind dual exhaust outlets formed into the rear fascia but for goodness sakes, dont make a 4" opening and then hang a 1 1/8" pipe in the middle of it. It looks ridiculous. Example Suzuki Kizashi. Great looking car but the rear kills me.

The Mazda6 is my favorite offender

[Wanganrunner]

These are STILL trendy, but someday I'm convinced they'll be the equivalent of louvers.


Fender....things. Vents? I'm not sure what to call them, and I used to think they were fine, until they started showing up on EVERY CAR IN THE WORLD.





http://msnbcmedia1.msn.com/j/msnbc/C...a.grid-6x2.jpg










STOP DOING THIS


I like a lot of the cars above, but does EVERY vehicle need some kind of non-body-color item on the fender? You can make a functional fender vent without some kind of shiny chrome garnish.

Fenders don't need to be visually "broken up"

[ChiTownA34DR]

Personal collection from cars done at my work....

[vrsexxy_GTI]

chrome wheels, escalades and fender vents.

[vwpiloto]

You dont have any idea how big the S2000 trunk is, do you?


Uh... the trunk?

I most certainly do. I own an AP1 S2000. Have for about 6 years now, and while I love it, it's never been my only car. I can put a carry-on bag and a backpack in the trunk, but a full-size suitcase will not fit. And not everyone had a friend or relative that's nearby that can let them borrow a larger car or truck when in need of moving larger items.

By the way, what's with your attitude? Or is that you just really want to use those emoticons?

[zukiphile]

All-glass hatches

I think it is striking that this is more or less a 35 year old design with so few features peculiar to its era. Except for the pop-up headlights and the rake of the windshield I don't see much in the 924/944 that stylistically maroons it in the 70s.

[Tokyosmash]

I most certainly do. I own an AP1 S2000. Have for about 6 years now, and while I love it, it's never been my only car. I can put a carry-on bag and a backpack in the trunk, but a full-size suitcase will not fit. And not everyone had a friend or relative that's nearby that can let them borrow a larger car or truck when in need of moving larger items.

By the way, what's with your attitude? Or is that you just really want to use those emoticons?

Maybe our definition of "full-size" is different, I on multiple occasions fit bags for 2, 7 or 8 cases of beer, parts, a hooker or 2 in the trunk of my S2000, maybe its the fact that I work in shipping and know how to do a lot with little space. :shrugs shoulders:

As for the emoticon, it is what I think of when I see trunk racks on a car with adequate space in the trunk, call me crazy.

[pat_ernzen]

No they just look like s*** and always have. Maybe it took a certain amount of time before people could see it through the "omg mercedes"

Are you referring to the car or the headlights? I hardly think this "looks like ****".

[TWHansen]

Wood paneling was really popular in the 70s and into the 80 and even 90s but it looks very dated today.

Wow...I took that picture! Over a decade ago. The life of things on the internet...

[Matt15]

I most certainly do. I own an AP1 S2000. Have for about 6 years now, and while I love it, it's never been my only car. I can put a carry-on bag and a backpack in the trunk, but a full-size suitcase will not fit. And not everyone had a friend or relative that's nearby that can let them borrow a larger car or truck when in need of moving larger items.

By the way, what's with your attitude? Or is that you just really want to use those emoticons?

tokyosmash the drama queen does not approve of luggage racks.

[92VR6C]

Fog lights and cd players

[TOMPASS]

Not sure what the point of your observation is, as the thread title is "Once-"Trendy" Car Design Cues that Look Dated Now." Try to keep up...

Have to add rectangular sealed-beam headlights, all over cars in mid '70s to mid-80s...



(as opposed to now-ubiquitous headlights with replaceable bulbs, like this early example):

My point is that fins don't look dated on 50's cars. Try to comprehend

[97jet]

Solid, or mostly solid wheels. And everything else about the XJ220.

[r_fostoria]

My point is that fins don't look dated on 50's cars. Try to comprehend

Yeah, and louvers don't look dated on 70s cars. I don't think you know what dated means.

[IJM]

Spinners, yo.

[The Red Baron]

Thankfully its gone: Altezza Tail Lights

these lights are as bad

[l88m22vette]

Thank god spinners are gone