I spotted a NEW (insert make/model) today!

fintail

New Civic hatch - are those faux air intakes on the back of the rear bumper? If the volume of styling is a good thing, we have a car for you.

stickguy

well, on the back, I assume they are faux air exhausts. But yes, I think they are decorative pieces meant to mimic that.

fintail

Awfully big for exhausts - I bet some could be told to believe they are for brake cooling or something . But there's a lot of exaggeration overall, and that does seem to be a theme these days.

Michaell

I saw a new Civic today ... couldn't really tell if it was a sedan or hatch.

The more I look at it, the more I don't like the styling.

Right up there with the new Prius.

God forbid this is the direction Honda is going ... new Accord is due out next year. Wonder if it will be similar.

ab348

The Civic hatch is absolutely hideous in terms of styling. Far worse than the Civic sedan which itself is no prize. It rivals the Aztek in terms of delivering pain to the eyes.

stickguy

yeah, I overall like the civic, but agree that it is a bit overdone, for effect I guess. hopefully they tame it a bit mid model run. I would guess the Accord is going to be less flashy, considering the different mission. The new CRV looks good, so that is a hopeful sign.

stever

ab348 said:

The Civic hatch is absolutely hideous in terms of styling. Far worse than the Civic sedan which itself is no prize. It rivals the Aztek in terms of delivering pain to the eyes.

Seriously? I drove one last month or so ago and I'm hard pressed to remember much about what it looked like. Mostly I remember that the passenger seat was disappointingly less than comfy, especially compared to the driver's seat.

berri

I think some of these new Japanese designs are a throwback to Japan's early years here - lots of bric-a-brac tacked on

Michaell

Every time I look at my new Jetta in the driveway, I appreciate the 'classic' lines.

Some say 'boring', I say 'traditional'.

tjc78

berri said:

I think some of these new Japanese designs are a throwback to Japan's early years here - lots of bric-a-brac tacked on

I agree, Lexus seems to be the leader IMO.

Mr_Shiftright

berri said:

I think some of these new Japanese designs are a throwback to Japan's early years here - lots of bric-a-brac tacked on

I think some car mags used to call that early school of Japanese design "Atomic Insect"

fintail

Toyolex is definitely into the insectoid school of design. I think Lemko used to mock it pretty nicely.

The Asian makes are either emulating Japan ca. 1974 or Detroit ca. 1958.

stever

Same kind of arguments happen in the manga and anime worlds - some funny comparisons of updated children's stories are around.

The older stuff is traditional and conservative now, but at the time, it was odd ball.

Seems to me that all the cars that are drawn in manga are mostly just copies of existing iron.

fintail

Manga/anime is definitely an influence in some of this "design", IMO. I can't imagine the predator-and-Nike Lexus being seen as conservative - I'd hate to see what was considered flamboyant in that world.

tifighter

fintail said:

I'd hate to see what was considered flamboyant in that world.

Well...

qbrozen

Looks like someone with bad taste inherited grandma's pipe organ.

fintail

Ah, bosozoku. Or probably the 2026 Camry, now it's really "bold".

stever

Much prefer the lowrider car art started up the road in Española. I like the bicycle offshoots although straddling the top tube of some of the work would be, er, interesting.

Mr_Shiftright

tifighter said:

fintail said:

I'd hate to see what was considered flamboyant in that world.

Well...

Virgil Exner?

Jusssssst kidding.....

tlong

fintail said:

New Civic hatch - are those faux air intakes on the back of the rear bumper? If the volume of styling is a good thing, we have a car for you.

Honda is trying way too hard.

tlong

fintail said:

Toyolex is definitely into the insectoid school of design. I think Lemko used to mock it pretty nicely.

The Asian makes are either emulating Japan ca. 1974 or Detroit ca. 1958.

I still say almost all of Mazda's current vehicles are really well styled. They are an exception.

tlong

BTW what happened to Lemko? I miss his posts.

fintail

Do you still have the old TL? That is probably the high water mark of Acura design, with the old Legends being right up there too. For Honda, they were really on it around 25 years ago - 90-93 Accord is excellent, 94-97 wasn't bad, 92-95 Civic is good, 88-91 wasn't bad, Preludes from 92 til the end are good and the 88-91s aren't bad. It got too big after those models, then too busy.

Mazda isn't bad, no - relatively clean design. Nice contrast to Toyota.

I swear Lemko posted on a vintage car thread no more than a week or two ago, but he's been really scarce for a long time.

tlong said:

Honda is trying way too hard.

fintail

Stopped by the MB dealer today while out cruising in the old car (people at the dealership are amused when they see the old thing). There was a brown C300 on the floor - not too loaded, really unusual color. A C300 cabrio too, Designo, pearly white with a dark red interior, 61K sticker - seemed pretty nice and I have to imagine some are selling. Normal stuff on the floor, C-coupe, S63 coupe at 180K, a few SUVs, very little on the lot. Talked to the salesman who sold me the E, he says no new diesels have any kind of date yet, if they come at all.

tlong

fintail said:

Do you still have the old TL? That is probably the high water mark of Acura design, with the old Legends being right up there too. For Honda, they were really on it around 25 years ago - 90-93 Accord is excellent, 94-97 wasn't bad, 92-95 Civic is good, 88-91 wasn't bad, Preludes from 92 til the end are good and the 88-91s aren't bad. It got too big after those models, then too busy.

I sold the old TL earlier in the year to a friend. It was an '05 and had 155K on it. It was a great car and I agree probably the best looking Acura design ever. I've seen the TLX in the showroom and although modernized a bit, for 10 years newer it really looks an awful lot like my old TL, I don't want to buy the same thing again.

We also had a 92 Accord and yes - that was also a great car. Hondas had a somewhat bland but handsome and clean style in those days - which is why I find their current designs looking so bad.

I'm currently driving my daughter's '07 Mazda 5 and am considering a fully loaded 3, or perhaps the refreshed CX-5 in six months or so. I'm partial to Mazda at this point, don't like Honda's directions and Toyota is too boring. Also kind of burned out on European acquisition and repair costs - although I love some of those cars strictly from a dynamics and looks perspective. But although I could afford it, I can't really justify spending over $40K for a car. I'd rather put my money elsewhere.

fintail

Mazda 5, that has to be a bit of a change of pace. I have a good friend who bought a 2 year old Mazda 6 several years ago - the relatively rare 5-door model. He still has it - but his wife likes it, so he is relegated to driving an Odyssey. Married with kids, he doesn't seem to care. His old Monte Carlo SS is still off the road waiting for the tomorrow that I hope becomes reality.

Cool cars don't have to cost a fortune, but you generally gotta pay to play. Your daughter might have said "YOLO" a few years ago - these are the good old days, and we probably only get one trip

tlong said:

I sold the old TL earlier in the year to a friend. It was an '05 and had 155K on it. It was a great car and I agree probably the best looking Acura design ever. I've seen the TLX in the showroom and although modernized a bit, for 10 years newer it really looks an awful lot like my old TL, I don't want to buy the same thing again.

We also had a 92 Accord and yes - that was also a great car. Hondas had a somewhat bland but handsome and clean style in those days - which is why I find their current designs looking so bad.

I'm currently driving my daughter's '07 Mazda 5 and am considering a fully loaded 3, or perhaps the refreshed CX-5 in six months or so. I'm partial to Mazda at this point, don't like Honda's directions and Toyota is too boring. Also kind of burned out on European acquisition and repair costs - although I love some of those cars strictly from a dynamics and looks perspective. But although I could afford it, I can't really justify spending over $40K for a car. I'd rather put my money elsewhere.

stever

Another RAV4 with temp tags today. Again in white.

tjc78

They sell like crazy and good lease deals. My mother is in love with her 17. I get it, comfortable, quiet and 4wd. I just don't like the styling.

A friend at work buys them for his wife too. Loaded to the gills with a low 4s lease payment. So many better choices for that cash IMO. My moms was a little over 30 for 300 month.

stever

Yeah, they flopped up on my radar after a rash of new posters here started asking for pricing info about three months ago. Haven't really seen any great deals on them and they are a bit pricey. Didn't realize the demand was so high on them, figured they would have fallen off a bit when the V6 went away.

berri

All these bizarre, often LED taillights. At night you think you are driving down fast food row

tlong

berri said:

All these bizarre, often LED taillights. At night you think you are driving down fast food row

It's the new neon.

Mr_Shiftright

I know on some cars (Prius, e.g.) if one or a few of those led tail light bulbs go out, you don't replace the bulbs, you replace the entire array.

berri

...or you leave it and look like a jack-o-lantern in need of orthodontia

fintail

I like some of the less flamboyant LED tubular light designs. Some MB tail light designs look like wings, kind of cool.

If the turn signal portion of an Audi or BMW light assembly goes out, it doesn't matter, as it was never used anyway

anythngbutgm

Spotted a truckload of new CR-V's on my ride home yesterday. It looks really good in person as well, with one exception. The wheel design is ugly IMO even tho the width is good. Overall, the vehicle has a really nice stance this time around, not so "car on stilts" like the previous generations.

laurasdada

I was lunching in Beverly Hills last week (My Dad's 83rd birthday lunch) and I saw, well, everything you can imagine. From a couple of "lowly" BMW i8s and Maserati Coupes to assorted Bentleys, Rollers (two Wraiths), Ferrari and Lamborghinis. To the Bugatti Chyron parked in front of Bijan. I didn't even get a T shirt.

Mr_Shiftright

Just wait until SNAP goes IPO---L.A. will be littered with this stuff.

explorerx4

I saw a new Lacrosse today. Seems quite a bit bigger than the previous couple of iterations.

tlong

Black MB S550. Looked sleek and expensive.

explorerx4

Saw this in the airport last night(not a great picture). MSRP 76+

fintail

Saw a Volvo S60 Cross Country this morning - never noticed one before. You can really see the increased ride height, reminds me of the 2000s era Outback sedans.

explorerx4

Don't see the picture from a few days ago.

stickguy

Valenti is where my son bought his Audi a few weeks ago. Should have held out for this.

tifighter

I think I saw more XC60's today than was actually possible. They were everywhere. Bork bork bork!

stickguy

I saw a few today out on the NYS thruway. One was the ultimate Volvo. Vermont plates, and skis on the roof rack.

I really like these. If I had the money to get something in this class, would not mind at all doing a Sweden delivery on one.

berri

Speaking of Bork, I remember way back in my college days that professor's who drove a Volvo tended to be the a - holes that you tried to avoid. Maybe just a coincidence on an obviously flawed sampling, butt...

tifighter

berri said:

Speaking of Bork, I remember way back in my college days that professor's who drove a Volvo tended to be the a - holes that you tried to avoid. Maybe just a coincidence on an obviously flawed sampling, butt...

Most people I know with Volvos have the SUV's and use them as kid haulers. Currently the only person I know with a car version is me. Well, and half of Norway as I learned over the summer.

qbrozen

tifighter said:

Speaking of Bork, I remember way back in my college days that professor's who drove a Volvo tended to be the a - holes that you tried to avoid. Maybe just a coincidence on an obviously flawed sampling, butt...

Most people I know with Volvos have the SUV's and use them as kid haulers. Currently the only person I know with a car version is me. Well, and half of Norway as I learned over the summer.

Still have my '98 s70. I actually still see a number of s70s tooling around NJ.

jpp75

tifighter said:

berri said:

Speaking of Bork, I remember way back in my college days that professor's who drove a Volvo tended to be the a - holes that you tried to avoid. Maybe just a coincidence on an obviously flawed sampling, butt...

Most people I know with Volvos have the SUV's and use them as kid haulers. Currently the only person I know with a car version is me. Well, and half of Norway as I learned over the summer.

We still have the S60, 2 years left on the lease and overall I've been pleased with it. The Touareg is my daily driver but on occasion when I get back in the S60 I really enjoy driving it.

stickguy

my son test drove a new S60 last month. I rode along. Was extremely impressed by what they have done with it for 2017. If I was looking now, it would be on the short list, assuming a screaming good lease deal was on the table!