Pop Quiz
The exercise for today is easy. Tell me the last time you saw a car that made you sit up and notice? Bonus points if you exclaimed out loud. “Damn, that car is hot! I’ve got to get me one.” Take your time. We will wait.
Finding a sweet looking car is hard
Did you come up blank? We sure did. It is tough today. It isn’t that there aren’t some knockout cars. It is just that they cost a gazillion dollars and if you live in backwater Sacramento, you are never going to see one, let alone ‘get you one.’ Today the run of the mill car is not so much ugly as boring. They all look alike. Have you noticed that there is one shape? It doesn’t matter what the make or hardly the model. Because of the dangers from the airbags, you can’t let children ride in the front seat so only swinging singles buy two door cars these days and the evolution of the sedan into an all-purpose vehicle with a hatch is virtually universal. It is hard here not to get sidetracked into a rant dedicated to the safety features mandated by the government but we are focused here on the topic at hand – cars today are pedestrian and indistinguishable.
Are we all mindless cogs?
So everybody drives some sort of four door car with cargo space in the back and you can’t tell a Subaru from a Saab (oh wait, Saab is dead so I guess you can tell). I don’t know who to blame for this. There are so many possibilities but I think you have to give the final award to the guys that buy the things. What kind of life must we be living these days if these cars give us a thrill? Why else would you put out the kind of money that used to buy a house for one of these eyesores.
But back to ugly
We haven’t even started with the truly ugly cars- the ones that make you want to stab your eyes out every time you pass one. You know the ones I mean – the Prius for starters with it’s odd front end and the two part greenhouse in the back, 
Even in the dark old days of the 80’s never did GM think up a car design that ugly. Then there are the Tweedledum and Tweedledee of ugliness, the Scion and the Cube. 
Fortunately people don’t seem to be buying these so I don’t have to scream in pain too often on the road.
So now it is time for group participation. Why do you think cars are so boring? What are you doing about it? Have we missed an ugly that needs ridicule? Let us know. And if you drive one of the real eyesores, share with us, for the love of God, why.
I can’t agree more with Ralph on this one, There are some butt ugly cars out there. The new Camaro is kind of cool but there is no chrome on it at all. I get riled up at those stupid VW bugs that are everywhere. I wish we had some good old cars that were good for something. I still wish I had my ’77 Ford LTD. That was a boat with a V8 in it and plenty of chrome to go around. I had a ’77 Ford F150 pickup that I loved, it was a machine…but it leaked a bit of oil and my mom labeled it a death trap. Bah!
I guess it is interesting to have the 70’s recalled as the good old days when, as I remember, that is when the government started their infernal meddling and gave us the disastrous 80’s. It is funny that the cars today with any character are retro styled to remind us of the cars in the good old days. Thunderbird, Camaro, Charger, VW Beetle, Jaguar before their recent restyling into the samo samo of every other car. Wish I could afford an Aston Martin.
.-= Ralph´s last blog ..Time Management Tips from David Risley =-.
Oh god yes. We keep seeing interesting concept cars, and we keep getting boring snoozewagons, cars that are clearly designed for the lucrative Romulan/Klingon/Cardassian market (all those awful unrelated angles) or cars that have kawaii, according to some pimply-faced Japanese designer who still lives at home with his parents.
Jim,
And it keeps getting worse. Some company comes up with something new and uglier and before you know it, the other companies are imitating it.
No shape.
All cars today look like bugs.
Ugly bugs you want to squash!