Once seen, can't be unseen

[sutty2006]

  On 20/10/2019 at 21:37, Crackers said:

I still think it looks awful with the plate centered. The horizontal lights are also an entirely stupid idea, as the brake lights aren't allowed to be on the (one piece, no longer split, nice one LR) tailgate. So, despite the massive tail light units, you only get this much brake light.

As a consequence they have to be ridiculously bright, piercing LED units that blind you when sat behind one. And the drivers won't put it in neutral and apply handbrake because autobox.

 

Compare that absolutely crap bit of design work with the brilliantly visible (and completely distinctive) units on the the 3's and 4's.

You can always tell when you're following a Disco 3/4 at night from a distance because of those lights. And note the width of the (split, woohoo!) tailgate is still just as good as that of the Disco 5.

 

[/rant over*]

 

*maybe

 

Can you tell I don't like the Disco 5 much? 

Expand  

They’ve got a tiny boot too. Horrible. 

 

But anyway 

 

 

[Datsuncog]

The first-gen BMW 1-Series looked reasonably tidy, but I never could work out why they made the sills and bottom of the doors go in that daft bendy shape. Despite the upper lines being quite crisp, it always looked to me like it's sagging badly in the middle.

Clearly, they were banking on their target demographic never having owned a terminally rotten MGB...

[New POD]

  On 24/10/2019 at 10:59, Datsuncog said:

The first-gen BMW 1-Series looked reasonably tidy, but I never could work out why they made the sills and bottom of the doors go in that daft bendy shape. Despite the upper lines being quite crisp, it always looked to me like it's sagging badly in the middle.

Clearly, they were banking on their target demographic never having owned a terminally rotten MGB...

Expand  

It was to.make it look like a kIA Rio 

[NorfolkNWeigh]

Ok its nothing to do with cars, but someone pointed this out to me today and I felt compelled to share.

Edvard Munch was really shit at drawing spaniels.

[vulgalour]

The handle on a Mk4 Golf tailgate looks like a door handle.  It isn't.

[NorfolkNWeigh]

  On 24/10/2019 at 05:20, Snipes said:

I think because this thread is about the details you may have missed until it's pointed out, whole that thing is just a mess for all to see (except everybody at LR it seems).

Expand  

McGovern blamed dealers fitting the wrong type of plate - cunt!

its ok though, for about £500 Ze Germans have a solution

[ETCHY]

  On 24/10/2019 at 16:50, vulgalour said:

The handle on a Mk4 Golf tailgate looks like a door handle.  It isn't.

Expand  

That really does look crap.

[Mrcento]

  On 18/10/2019 at 23:28, Tim_E said:

The thing that always bugged me was on the Fiat Cinqucento; either side of the plates on the bumper are mouldings for vents. Mostly, in the UK one was open and one was not, I think. I'm unclear on this but the thing that really bugged me was why Fiat detailed one of the vents and left the other one un-detailed! It's unsymmetrical and just looks lazy, like they forgot to review their work and let it get made with a simple error!

Expand  

I'm actually going to disagree on that one. I kinda like the non symmetrical vent/cutout on the other side, and it actually serves a purpose, the one on the passenger side leads to nothing. It adds character.  Sure, they could have cut out the other side, but i kind like the fact they didn't just cut the hole for symmetries sake,

I'm far more annoyed at the fact not a single bodyshop who's ever worked on a Cinq bumper has been able to paint it correctly. As with that yellow one above. The strip under the bonnet should be black unpainted and hiding the cut out/bonnet latch. Bodyshops always just lazily paint the whole thing body colour. It's basically just advertising the fact that it's probably been in a bump even after repair.

Hell, they didn't even put the vent trim back on that yellow one...or cut the spars out the centre. That's an 899 s/sx bumper painted yellow and slapped on a sporting. so, so lazy. *shakes head*.

[BorniteIdentity]

Omfg. This one absolutely killed me. The second I noticed it I could never ever stop.

No picture as I’m no longer an owner

The illuminated analog clock on a Rover 75 is angled as such, so that the reflection is constantly on the windscreen. There’s no shield above it, and it’s always there. Constantly. Relentlessly. Just an amber circle. Never ending.

 

[vulgalour]

The front door shape looks fine here, a bit odd, but it's a styling choice right?  Yeah, well... when they put more windows in it makes a lot less sense and Ford's answer was to paint the offending bits black, which draws attention to how odd they look.  I also hate the fact that this one has a single flush-fit window at the back behind the doors, while all the other side glass is indented into the body.  And that rear door top shape can also get in the sea, even though it's there for reasons of practicality.  Oh, and the upper grille on the front looks like an afterthought, like the extra grille they stuck on a Picasso.

Hang on, here's that extra grille on a Picasso.  I also wish they'd blacked the door frames on the Picasso but they didn't, so here we are.

[Crackers]

  On 24/10/2019 at 00:42, vulgalour said:

BANANA CAR

Expand  

 

Bootlid height should NEVER, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES be lower than the bonnet line.

 

Nobody told ze germans this.

[vulgalour]

See also America.

 

[Cord Fourteener]

  On 24/10/2019 at 17:49, Mrcento said:

I'm actually going to disagree on that one. I kinda like the non symmetrical vent/cutout on the other side, and it actually serves a purpose, the one on the passenger side leads to nothing. It adds character.  Sure, they could have cut out the other side, but i kind like the fact they didn't just cut the hole for symmetries sake,

I'm far more annoyed at the fact not a single bodyshop who's ever worked on a Cinq bumper has been able to paint it correctly. As with that yellow one above. The strip under the bonnet should be black unpainted and hiding the cut out/bonnet latch. Bodyshops always just lazily paint the whole thing body colour. It's basically just advertising the fact that it's probably been in a bump even after repair.

Hell, they didn't even put the vent trim back on that yellow one...or cut the spars out the centre. That's an 899 s/sx bumper painted yellow and slapped on a sporting. so, so lazy. *shakes head*.

Expand  

But, on the sporting models, why go the lengths to detail the vent in a contrasting colour and leave the non-vent as an undetailed pressing? Sure, leave it closed but why make a highlight of only one?

Styling and taste is a funny field. Styling is the least important feature of a car for it's practical application but one that is intrinsic to the way the car makers made the car, and one that we as owners invest such a lot in.

[The Vicar]

  On 19/10/2019 at 19:30, bunglebus said:

Fiat Punto badge has the driver facing backwards?

 

Expand  

For a long time I always read this at “Junto” 

[Cord Fourteener]

  On 24/10/2019 at 18:48, The Vicar said:

For a long time I always read this at “Junto” 

Expand  

Junto. Sounds like an entry in the Uxbridge English to me...

[Mrcento]

  On 24/10/2019 at 18:29, Tim_E said:

But, on the sporting models, why go the lengths to detail the vent in a contrasting colour and leave the non-vent as an undetailed pressing? Sure, leave it closed but why make a highlight of only one?

Expand  

Before the sporting, the whole vent situation would have been harder to spot given it was just an untrimmed hole in an unpainted bumper.

My guess is that they knew it was more visible when they body coloured them (especially yellow) and just decided to make a feature of it and tie it into the little coloured pieces of trim (Orange on the blue and black, black on Yellow and red). To me, the yellow one in the pic without the vent looks unfinished.

I think it makes it look more purposeful. (the tow hook being on display at all times, also off centre adds to it too) The pressing on the other side kinda adds to it, it's "sort of" symmetrical in that the shape is there, but isn't there as a vent for the sake of it. But maybe just my taste (i know a few people cut the pressing out and fitted a trim to make it symmetrical, and to me it looks totally wrong!)

I find what Fiat did far less offensive than Daihatsus go at non symmetrical faces!

[Timewaster]

On that kei turbo nutter Gttttttttti R or whatever it is, I doubt there is room to get the air flow to the intercooler and get a plate in the middle. 

Ugly for practical reasons I can accept. 

Especially if it's is a tiny shipping cart that goes like flip. 

 

There is no practical reason for a 1 series BMW to have saggy sills. 

[Noel Tidybeard]

[HH-R]

The tail lights of the current Yaris and Droopy the dog, separated at birth. Looks like it needs a Prozac prescription.

Agreed on the 1 series, they look like they are bending in the middle -especially the coupé.

[New POD]

  On 24/10/2019 at 17:49, Mrcento said:

I'm actually going to disagree on that one. I kinda like the non symmetrical vent/cutout on the other side, and it actually serves a purpose, the one on the passenger side leads to nothing. It adds character.  Sure, they could have cut out the other side, but i kind like the fact they didn't just cut the hole for symmetries sake,

I'm far more annoyed at the fact not a single bodyshop who's ever worked on a Cinq bumper has been able to paint it correctly. As with that yellow one above. The strip under the bonnet should be black unpainted and hiding the cut out/bonnet latch. Bodyshops always just lazily paint the whole thing body colour. It's basically just advertising the fact that it's probably been in a bump even after repair.

Hell, they didn't even put the vent trim back on that yellow one...or cut the spars out the centre. That's an 899 s/sx bumper painted yellow and slapped on a sporting. so, so lazy. *shakes head*.

Expand  

That you know this is impressive. 

[New POD]

  On 24/10/2019 at 22:08, Noel Tidybeard said:

Expand  

Cool.

[Cord Fourteener]

  On 24/10/2019 at 19:19, Mrcento said:

Before the sporting, the whole vent situation would have been harder to spot given it was just an untrimmed hole in an unpainted bumper.

My guess is that they knew it was more visible when they body coloured them (especially yellow) and just decided to make a feature of it and tie it into the little coloured pieces of trim (Orange on the blue and black, black on Yellow and red). To me, the yellow one in the pic without the vent looks unfinished.

I think it makes it look more purposeful. (the tow hook being on display at all times, also off centre adds to it too) The pressing on the other side kinda adds to it, it's "sort of" symmetrical in that the shape is there, but isn't there as a vent for the sake of it. But maybe just my taste (i know a few people cut the pressing out and fitted a trim to make it symmetrical, and to me it looks totally wrong!)

I find what Fiat did far less offensive than Daihatsus go at non symmetrical faces!

Expand  

I get you are a Fiat mini afficianado, and that's fine by me, I think the Daihatsu looks more purposeful, intentionally un symetrical. The Fiat just looks unfinished, to me at least.

[Tadhg Tiogar]

  On 24/10/2019 at 18:48, The Vicar said:

For a long time I always read this at “Junto” 

Expand  

 

  On 24/10/2019 at 18:55, Tim_E said:

Junto. Sounds like an entry in the Uxbridge English to me...

Expand  

Just as well they didn't call it the "Junta". I can't imagine that name being popular in Latin American markets....

[Squirrel2]

Land Rover LWB Station Wagon door handles: The rears are at a different height to the fronts..

However the Spanish made a bit more effort and their Santana-built versions have handles that are in-line..

Squirrel2

[quicksilver]

Some more quirky details from BL. I haven't been all the way through the thread so apologies if these are pearoasts.

Weird how the Princess's front door windows curve upwards at the front to meet the windscreen. Not always obvious as it's hidden by the mirrors but once you spot it...

MPC 389W - 1981 Austin-Morris Princess 2 1700 HL by Adam Floyd, on Flickr

 

And on a similar theme. The Montego's bootlid is above the bottom of the side windows, hence that awkward little C-pillar window that doesn't line up. A legacy of its Maestro origins I guess and Roy Axe never liked it.

1995 Rover Montego 2.0 DLX by Adam Floyd, on Flickr

 

[quicksilver]

Chrysler Avenger. The most half-arsed arse-lift ever. It got rid of the most distinctive feature, the hockey stick lights, and replaced them with bland horizontal ones that made it look like a Marina. The can't be unseen thing is what's above them. Instead of tooling new rear wings, they just put some crappy filler plates where the tops of the hockey sticks used to be and the panel gaps are quite obvious.

Never noticed before, but that bulge in the end of the light cluster is a bit odd too.

[ETCHY]

  On 25/10/2019 at 11:46, quicksilver said:

Chrysler Avenger. The most half-arsed arse-lift ever. It got rid of the most distinctive feature, the hockey stick lights, and replaced them with bland horizontal ones that made it look like a Marina. The can't be unseen thing is what's above them. Instead of tooling new rear wings, they just put some crappy filler plates where the tops of the hockey sticks used to be and the panel gaps are quite obvious.

Never noticed before, but that bulge in the end of the light cluster is a bit odd too.

Expand  

I could never understand why they changed the lights. I mean why the hell would you bother they didn't look old fashioned and I doubt the tail lights were stopping buyers buying it ! Just seems a crazy change.

[quicksilver]

The Chrysler Avenger really wasn't an improvement over the Hillman version. A very generic, nothingy sort of a car with no distinctive styling features whatsoever. At least the Hillman had those unique rearlights but Chrysler took them away.

[Tadhg Tiogar]

  On 25/10/2019 at 11:28, quicksilver said:

....Weird how the Princess's front door windows curve upwards at the front to meet the windscreen. Not always obvious as it's hidden by the mirrors but once you spot it...

 

Expand  

I'd say that's actually quite a neat solution to what might otherwise have been a styling problem. Lotus could have done the same with their Eclat / Excel doors, but no....

As a result, the Eclat looks like the rear two-thirds of a car that has been randomly submarined into the front third of another....

[Skizzer]

  On 25/10/2019 at 12:11, Tadhg Tiogar said:

I'd say that's actually quite a neat solution to what might otherwise have been a styling problem. Lotus could have done the same with their Eclat / Excel doors, but no....

Expand  

That’s only because the one you’re looking at is missing the correct aluminium finishers:

Not to mention the hideous swollen arches and sills and that awful boot extension. Brrr. Nasty.