The automotive world, like fashion, is awash with trends and fads that come and go with the seasons. And while some might deserve to stick around, others need to get right in the sea.
So, to find out which fads don’t warrant any more time on this Earth, we asked you what automotive trends should die. Here are some of your top responses.
“Ultra-low aspect ratio tires/huge rims on about everything nowadays. I call them ‘wagon wheels.’
“And if someone wants to whine that you give up handling due to more sidewall flex, I say: F1 cars have fat tires and handle. And yeah, having some real-world comfort in a sea of potholes and other shit on the roads that can have you popping for a new rim and tire since it couldn’t take the hit is fine with me. Just get real about tires and aspect ratios.”
Our garbage infrastructure means that any move toward a more comfortable ride would be well-received by most drivers. So a shift away from ultra-low-profile tires and towards something with a bit more bounce would go down a treat.
Suggested by: the1969dodgechargerguy
“Ultra raked rear windshields on SUV/CUV/wagons. The function of the trunk is completely lost, which makes the larger footprint a waste. I get the design choice, but functionally, it’s terrible.”
Why opt for a massive car if its ridiculous trunk design hampers any additional storage gains you might make? On top of that, another poster pointed out that raked rear ends make it harder to safely stow your dog, and nobody wants that.
Suggested by: abcd12345678910
“Replacing buttons with a touchscreen, especially for HVAC controls. What you used to be able to do by feeling a button now requires you to go through multiple menus.”
This. This seemed to be the biggest gripe many posters have with today’s crop of cars. Bring back buttons, we cry!
Suggested by: Alexander Strubeck (Facebook)
“‘Reimagined’ shifters. We don’t want a dial. We don’t something shaped like a computer mouse that doesn’t move into each position. Just give us a lever that locks clearly into each position so we know 100% the car is safely in our out of gear and that we’re grabbing a shifter and not the volume knob.”
And on a similar note, bring back proper gear shifters! That little dial or button hidden in the center console could be a volume knob, or it could shift us into reverse. It’s a gamble that doesn’t make driving any more exciting than you might think.
Suggested by: sidbridge
“Massive plastic grills that look like Darth Vader’s face mask! So many good cars ruined by this stupid fad (started by Audi I would say when they removed the horizontal bumper piece that separated upper and lower grilles). Modern cars do not need huge air intakes like old fashioned ones did. I think the ugliest has to be when they slapped that thing on a Yaris and made it look like a catfish.”
BMW, Lexus and anyone else considering this design choice, please take note.
Suggested by: pennsylvaniayankee
“The idea that luxury = tech. Most (not all) ‘luxury’ cars now are just sports sedans with leather seats and a bunch of gimmicky tech. More focused on massage seats and lap times than refinement.
“I’m not that old, but I miss when luxury meant top tier build quality, comfort and isolation. The 90s S class and early Lexus LS’ for example.”
Luxury should mean seats that you sink into, ample space for everyone to stretch out and all the comfort of a country house. Not sub-par build quality and a record-breaking lap time around the ‘Ring.
Suggested by: Alex Staley (Facebook)
“Finally, an opportunity to complain about BLACK WHEELS AND BLACKED-OUT TRIM PACKAGES. In my opinion, painting wheels black hides some really nice wheel designs and often has the opposite effect of making your wheels look like cheap steelies. When the car is in motion it looks like someone just deleted the wheels. You paid extra for those nice wheels, let’s SEE them!
“Black trim packages often look tacky and poorly executed. ‘Let’s paint these trim pieces black and call it a day’, with no regard to the other styling elements on the car. Also, if your car is white it now looks like a skunk. Mercedes seems to be the only manufacturer that does a Black Edition well.”
Glad we gave this poster the opportunity to get all that off their chest.
Suggested by: stephen-macarthur
“Pointless crossover like CX30, HRV, Q3...etc who have barely more trunk space than a hatchback but comes with added weight, worst fuel economy and handling and a higher price tag. I think the worst example in this category must be this thing on wheels called Econobox. Meanwhile, we cannot get the Focus anymore.”
Fun fact, the increasing popularity of crossovers and SUVs is offsetting all the positive strides made to reduce global emissions through electric vehicle sales.
Suggested by: fabsic
“I don’t know if ‘die’ is the right word, but I’d like to see more paint colors than white, silver, gold/tan, gray, dark gray, and black. Blue, red, or any other colors seem to be either off the table or unavailable within an x hundred mile radius.”
If I want an orange car, I should be able to get an orange car!
Suggested by: Chris Wells (Facebook)
“Unpainted plastic wheel well surrounds.
“They look cheap, they catch dirt, and it’s starting to invade standard cars and wagons.
“So prolific now that I didn’t have to do more than a search for “every 2021 SUV” to find prime examples.”
What are car companies trying to gain with this fad? It doesn’t make the car look rugged, it doesn’t make it look nice, and if you scuff it any marks will show up just as bad. Stop it.
Suggested by: syaieya