There are a lot of unfortunate trends in the automotive industry, but one of the worst has to be the current state of automotive expressions. There was a time when many cars looked happy, like the family pet. Now, many cars look like they’re fiercely pushing hard while on the toilet.
This morning, Jason pointed out how automotive typography used to look so cheerful and fun. Look no further than GM trucks. Today they’re all in your face with badging to match, but several decades ago they had a lot more fun. I’m with Taargus Taargus, we need that back again:
I do wonder if and when happiness may come back to the world of cars. Trends are cyclical right? We’re not going to forever be stuck in tough guy needs angry-faced vehicle, are we?
Wait a minute, Flyingstitch has a point here, this isn’t about taillights!:
I think Jason slipped out of the taillight bar during a round of near-fisticuffs over amber rear turn indicators, and he sneaked next door to the Badge and Crest to indulge his new obsession. We’re onto you Jason, but it’s OK. Just open up and be your authentic self.
In other news, Nissan won a court battle entitling it to a superyacht Carlos Ghosn bought with money taken from Nissan, but he’s not giving it back. Alexk98 takes an easy COTD win:
Once this whole Ghosn saga is finally done, and the history is established, Hollywood should make a flashy, dramatized movie about it. Rowan Atkinson as Carlos (Ghosn, not pictured above), the heist approximately 48 Million Dollars, His boat can be rebranded again to Eleanor, and the title, of course, “Ghosn in 60 Seconds”
Finally, we land at the person who created a battery powered rear wiper for the Hyundai Ioniq 5. Abdominal Snoman gives us a cool story about something like this could be useful for racing:
There’s another unusual use case for something like this. There was a lemons race once held in monsoon conditions, and nothing we tried could keep the windshield from fogging up. Genius teammate went to autozone, bought a rear wiper assembly from a trailblazer, and rigged it up on the inside just behind the rear view mirror. It looked super weird from the outside to see two sets of wipers going in opposite directions, but it was extremely effective.
Have a great evening, everyone!
I love my happy little Austin Healey Sprite, it is a square body, so not even the extra happy buy eye. People love it and I love seeing it smile at me when I walk up to it. Kind of has big puppy dog eyes.
My 2nd gen CLK comes from the era of googly-eyed Mercedes-Benzes.
At first it those designs put me off – they didn’t seem serious enough to be appropriate for a Mercedes-Benz
But now – I’m happy to be in a happy car.
I’ve never really needed my cars to look mean or powerful. I think my ideal concept for the look a car design would evoke is like a fairly fit dude in a tailored suit. You can’t necessarily see the physique, but the athleticism isn’t hidden. Your better GTs and Sport Saloons I think nail that ethos better than most.
But basically handsom, showing, yes, it can go quite briskly when the situation calls for it, but not necessarily there to attract attention to itself or the driver.
Agreed! When i buy my first miata, i wont buy the generation that handles best/is the fastest/fits me better, it’ll be the one that smiles at me like my dog when we go for a walk!
Wanna go for a drive? who wants to go for a drive? you do! Lets go!
The Maverick has a sorta-happy face. I’m hoping that is a harbinger of even happier cars to come!
This is why I love Rivian’s design language. They were brave enough to do “happy robot face” instead of “angry mean squints” on the front fascia. We need more happy cars.
I drive a 69 VW Bus, and little kids will stop in their tracks to smile and wave. The friendly face definitely resonates with people of all ages.
I’ve got a 72 Super Beetle and I love how happy it makes people. Kids, teenagers, senior citizens, everyone loves the Beetle. I can’t take it to the grocery store without someone wanting to take a picture or talk to me about it. Air-cooled VWs just look so friendly, and making people happy is one of my favorite things about owning one.
I had the same experience with my 2013 Mini! It was red with a white roof, white stripes over the hood, red stripes in the roof, and checkerboard decals down the side. Many times I watched an excited 5 year old jump up and down and point at my Mini as I drove by. It looked like a giant toy car, it was wonderful.
I will celebrate this honor by defending Mazdas Nagare design language. The 3 and 5 of this era were happy-faced fun cars, and everyone seemed the trash that at the time. The 3 was a cheeky looking guy!
Long live happy cars.
The ’06 toyota sequoia is a happy SUV that I wish we saw more of today. And since my family owns one, I can tell you, it may look happy, but it can HAUL.
I never really thought of that as a happy looking car, but on second review, it does look pretty content to be where it is.
The ’06-’07 facelift (that my family owns) looks happier than pre-facelift versions. I find The Autopians lack of facelift pictures distrubing.
No, fun is for [insert word that I haven’t used since I was a dumb kid to describe someone]!! Real men are TOUGH and ANGRY!!!
Righto. As long as men have a major say in automotive purchases, corporations will keep catering to the lowest common denominator: our only acceptable emotion.
“Amusingly,” women direct more car purchases than men do, and yet.
I’m not saying that you’re wrong. I’m just saying I want a source for that. 😉
https://www.truecar.com/blog/how-women-are-reshaping-the-automotive-industry/
Thanks! The article however only lists statistics about women’s direct influence. The number 85% is impressive but it doesn’t mean men only influence 15% of the purchases. If men directly influence 86% of purchases (since two people can be involved in a purchase), then they would have a greater impact. To that the article does not provide an answer.
Anyway, nice to see that the numbers are that high. I wouldn’t have guessed. I’m guessing that either the car industry hasn’t figured out the sales potential they’re missing or then they’re just banking on the fact that men are more fragile when it comes to driving a car that is perceived “feminine” (versus women driving “masculine” cars) so it’s more lucrative to simply cater to men.
Is the word [pusillanimous]??
You calling cats? Pspspspspsp
The “Ghosn in 60 Seconds” joke would’ve hit me harder if I hadn’t had to search to confirm that’s how you pronounce his name. I’d been mentally pronouncing it “go-sen” this whole time.
Thank you for pointing this out. TIL the actual pronunciation of his name.
That happy car Miata reminds me of Jerry Seinfeld driving Miranda Sings around in a bug eye Sprite.