Which new automotive trend needs to die?

[unimogken]

Sheesh where do I start?

[VW2SRT2VT]

Sheesh where do I start?

From the beginning.

[DUBSfightinRUST]

I agree with anyone who is not feeling the colors of todays cars. Back in the day , if a car was black, gray or silver - it was bada$$. Now, its just boring.

The O.E. design teams need to work harder on making cars beautiful again -a "safe" color isn't good enough with todays paint technology. It is a simple marketing concept- great looking cars sell better.

[BeBop!]

Something that bothers me - each new generation of car gets bigger than the previous gen. Why not just keep it the same size?

[That1njguy]

Can they please do away w/these large 4dr/cuv/coupe things??

[Maggiolone]

No MANual option
No MANual option on all but the bare-bones base model

Bare-bones models with manuals are hard to come by; depending on the marque.

Dealer lots aren't stocked with them; you'd have to order one, which akin to teeth-pulling without anesthetic.

Another thing that needs to die are upswept rear windows, especially with another lousy trend: low roof lines.



(Malibu is worse than it looks)

More plz

[mraguilar]

I dislike center mounted instrument clusters, but seems that the trend is fading

[Chris_V]

stance
/thread. Nothing annoys me more than nutswingers who attempt to justify form over function. imad.

Form over function has been what custom cars have been about since the 1940s. It's not a new fad (just has a new bit of slang to describe it) and is not going away anytime soon.



For my contribution, the "fad" I hate the most is intolerance on message boards to other people's automotive hobby choices. It's become hip to be as insulting as possible about every tiny thing you don't like. It's made the entire hobby a dismal and antagonistic thing to be involved in. So I'm returning the favor. You want to be insulting, you're gonna be insulted in return.

[Lchop1.8T]

AFTERMARKET HID DROP IN KITS.

x2 This should be illegal…..period. I have been blinded many times by d-bags that drop this crap in to their halogen housings without any concern for how bright they are or what direction they are pointing in.

Also, fart-can / potato-gun exhausts in any application, but more so with smaller displacement engines.

[vdubdave]

x2 This should be illegal…..period.

It is illegal.

[x_GTI_x]

Fair enough, and obviously to each his own. But if you were to bag even a GTI, a "hot-hatch" which is meant to be sporty and fun to drive, why would you ruin it by running bags, and stretched tires? Not to mention show rats who run big turbo...and bags. It just doesn't make sense, why not just buy a golf?

lol, have you ridden in a car with bags... ever?

my air suspension handles and rides better than the OEM suspension that came on the car, and the coilovers i had on there for 2 years.

Bilsteins > OEM.

the whole "no function" thing is also bull, im pretty sure adding 2 inches of ground clearance over the stock suspension when i air up is perfectly functional... extra clearance on drit/gravel roads, potholes, bumps, road hazards... etc.

[JCMaler]

led DRL's

x2
...that shut off when you turn on the indicator, as mentioned earlier. Probably just the bandwagon thing that gets me, as I like them at first on Audis...then Mercs, now Korean cars.

[Avus]

The only one i really hate is big rims (wheels for American).

[JCMaler]

ventiports, pepboys or factory, found anywhere other than on a (old) Buick.

[Dave Zero]

Starter buttons are for LeMans style starts where you can jump in the car with the hand on the shifter and use your other hand to start the car with the button.

Starter buttons on center consols or the same side of the key are dumb, pointless, and need to go away.

Also TPS, ABS on subcompacts (don't need it), traction control on weaker cars (don't need it) and the 10 side curtain airbags that do nothing but go off most the time and make the car a complete write off on airbags alone.

Things that need to come back: ashtrays/lighters.

[JCMaler]

Chrome/clear taillights.

[sticky euro]

lol, have you ridden in a car with bags... ever?

my air suspension handles and rides better than the OEM suspension that came on the car, and the coilovers i had on there for 2 years.

Bilsteins > OEM.

the whole "no function" thing is also bull, im pretty sure adding 2 inches of ground clearance over the stock suspension when i air up is perfectly functional... extra clearance on drit/gravel roads, potholes, bumps, road hazards... etc.

I have and it literally felt like I was driving in a moonbounce. It was stiff and soft at the same time and was plainly awkward. I also never argued that OEM suspension is the best either, I was saying that scenesters who argue that bags, stretched tires, and overdone camber are the same as quality coils and proper fitting tires are laughable.

'Stance' still needs to die.

[3Letter]

Ding Ding Ding... We have a winner!

wheel arches that have a 2-3" flat border around the opening

[Fe2O3]

Protruding lights:



Big picture so it bugs the crap out of you, too.

I hate this

[E34M50]

i think we should go back to horses.

Cars in general sucks!

[DUBSfightinRUST]

/\
hater..I don't like walking, and horses smell BAD!

[Viveka]

Those nasty Nissan Cube / Kia Soul / Scion XB things

UGLY!

[invisiblewar]

I like the xB,Soul,Cube class of cars. They're efficient, have tons of space, and cheap. Not to mention most come loaded with features out of the box. Its a pretty sweet car for young adults hauling things around. Plus since they're smaller cars it makes getting through the city/parking less of a hassle than driving an SUV.

The sporty SUVs are cool too. I dont mind having a badass balls to the wall SUV that made for pure performance. My issue is when every manufacturer goes and does the same thing as the first guy who did it. There isn't much of a high powered SUV market out there, so one or two companies doing it is fine, but when all of them do its overkill.

I guess the oversaturation done by all companies is what kills a lot of niche cars and while its not so much of a trend as much as it is just doing business, it needs to stop. The X6 is a perfect example, one company makes a niche car with relative success, a few others try to. If you're company can't make a better product then what you're trying to compete with in a niche market, don't make it. Thankfully the car companies were smart enough to not try to copy Nissan with the Murano droptop.

[P-Body]

4-door coupes and CUV/SUV things that look like dogs dropping a deuce.

The only ones that should be allowed to live are the CLS and the X6, respectively.

The rest (Panamera, A7, ZDX, 5GT, Crosstour et al) can go burn somewhere. Yes, even the Porsche. All are styling abominations.

[Egz]

Things that need to come back: ashtrays/lighters.

Why? No one smokes anymore. Plus I enjoy the additional storage space that doesn't look like an ashtray.

[Aseras]

HID retrofit kits, anything higher than 6000K. Any HID in a truck or a lifted car.

[zaYG]

ventiports, pepboys or factory, found anywhere other than on a (old) Buick.

How about the fact that this was considered a viable design in the first place.

[maskedSONY]

The one trend with cars that bothers me the most are how commonplace low-profile tires or side-wall reinforced tires are now. Basically a ton of cars now come with tires that have a 50 to 55 aspect ratio, which means that theres a metal band in the sidewall, and if you even slightly curb the rim or hit a nasty bump, you'll need a new tire. Forget the fact that you got them from Costco and they'll replace it for nothing, it's a damn pain in the ass and a waste of oil, since it takes 8 barrels to make a damn tire anyways.

I'd like to see more automakers revert to tires with the 60-aspect because many of those tires don't have the metal-reinforced sidewalls and in the long haul they endure alot better. Also, some cars, like the Mazda3, have a downright horrible ride with the stock 17-inch rims and when downgraded to the 16-inchers found on the base i models, they ride a ton better.

It's annoying to see literally every high-level trim car out there with big rims and costly tires. You can get good tires for your money provided that the rim size isn't freaking outrageous. And the car can still drive wonderfully with a good ride/handling trade off.

[maskedSONY]

Oh one more thing:

One more trend I'd like to see start more of is standard fog lamps. Automakers are lazy as **** and should provided these on mid-level models instead of gouging people for the high end one.

[delrio]

[hfiles2011]

Didn't read whole thread but I hate:

1) Angry Front ends
2) Angry Rear ends


...it was bad enough when cars slowly started looking angry (agressive?) from the front but then the asses started being pissed off too....that is when you know you've taken it too far.

i laughed at this

The pinched front grilles coming from the Asian manufacturers. Needs to stop. Now.

agreed. ugly. ps idea, pinch, yeah thatll work

hood and fenders that blend into the windshield and a-pillar



wheel arches that have a 2-3" flat border around the opening

^yeah, bad taste.

lower it.

-your friendly, neighborhood em-kay four kid

damn straight. mark 4 brah.

Chrome/clear taillights.

kill this bs trend.

Those nasty Nissan Cube / Kia Soul / Scion XB things

UGLY!

when were boxes good cars to own? oh. yeah. thats right... when-i-was-five

those look like fun though turbo they remind me of jet skis and mouse boats for the road

[Jettavr666]

led DRL's.

yeah but why!?!? They are energy efficient and bright so who cares?

The only thing i dont really like is 18+ inch wheels on regular everyday cars. They are not needed for handling, or to cover larger brakes, they just cost double when you need tires.

[dman624]

yeah but why!?!? They are energy efficient and bright so who cares?

The only thing i dont really like is 18+ inch wheels on regular everyday cars. They are not needed for handling, or to cover larger brakes, they just cost double when you need tires.

You know what's more energy efficient than LED day time running lights? Not having day time running lights... DRL are dumb

[Fritz27]

They're required by law.

[Chris_V]

when were boxes good cars to own? oh. yeah. thats right... when-i-was-five

or when you have a small business and/or you want to maximize interior space for carying stuff while minimizing the actual footprint of the car. They are marvellous exercises in packaging. But I woudl't expect a testosterone addled teenager to uderstand practical vehicles.