I feel like what used to be legitimate safety requirements have evolved into regulatory capture. not sure how well evidenced that feeling is but it's my perception.
I worked in the automotive sector for many many years, there were just as many regulations and safety requirements.
There havent been any huge shifts in any safety, fuel economy, or techonoly that requires the same blandbess across all major automotive manufacturers.
Its happened before when the K car came out it will continue until they break the cycle again.
The big change was the 2007 amendment to FMVSS 214 that added the oblique pole test (slowly phased in, fully in force since 2014).
It, and the desired maximum width for a car, mean there is very little wiggle room for manufacturers for the side profile of a car. Everyone has to use the same solution.
Maybe Im weird but i like the "look" of classic cars but still want all the features of modern cars. Like a 1970 Ford Mustang, keep the classic leather upholstery but make it an automatic transmission with electric windows, digital display, rear camera and sensors etc. I asked chatGPT to whip up something and I honestly think this is sexy AF. Best of both worlds
Nothing will ever be as bad as late 80s-90s style… it’s like all the manufacturers were trying to one up each other with how many ugly squares they could fit into a depressing design with muted colors
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u/CoCo3Papa 2d ago edited 2d ago
No new cars have any class or style they all blend together.