By Jeff Glucker
The all-new 2022 Hyundai Tucson gets fully revealed today. You may have already seen the photos, but the rest of the specs drop this morning. Everything I’ve read about it (and I’ve seen it in person too, actually) makes it sound like a great option in this space. But I cannot get past the design. This isn’t a problem specific to the Tucson, mind you, but something I feel going wrong with the industry as a whole. We’re seeing “too much design” thrown at every new model. On the flip side, that makes it refreshing when you find a vehicle with some design restraint.
Lines for the sake of adding lines. Creases and angles added around curves all in an effort to make a specific vehicle stand out in its own sea of sameness. When everyone is buying crossovers, how do you make your recognizable? It has to be through design, but it does not need to be through the over design of the product. Don’t take this out on crossovers alone though, as it’s a problem filtering through other segments as well. From pickup trucks to sports cars, designers are tossing out wildly overdone or needlessly aggressive elements.
Someone needs to have their design team take a breather. Take a step back. Then ask them to subtract lines or features before adding more. Remove. Smooth. Sculpt without adding more clay.
Am I wrong here or do you agree car design has gone a bit haywire at the moment?
You have a fair point and a great example, even though the general new direction of Hyundai vehicles has been received quite well. I still remember a controversy from the 90s, when the “soap bar”-Corolla, or E100, was derided as too boring, too anonymous by German motor journalists. So Toyota brought out the E110 with, lo and behold, round headlights and blinkers. Those same journalists went out of their way to describe the car as too wild, and unsellable to “typical Toyota customers”. Toyota even used the quotes in advertising, but, unfortunately, facelifted the otherwise quite bland car to have more conservative headlights later on. But we all know that the same company, today, is the king of pointless crevasses. And whale mouths used to be the target of ridicule and exaggeration, now, they’re an industry standard. I have no clue how car design comes about, to be honest.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/03/Toyota_Corolla_E110_front_20080215.jpg
You have a fair point and a great example, even though the general new direction of Hyundai vehicles has been received quite well. I still remember a controversy from the 90s, when the “soap bar”-Corolla, or E100, was derided as too boring, too anonymous by German motor journalists. So Toyota brought out the E110 with, lo and behold, round headlights and blinkers. Those same journalists went out of their way to describe the car as too wild, and unsellable to “typical Toyota customers”. Toyota even used the quotes in advertising, but, unfortunately, facelifted the otherwise quite bland car to have more conservative headlights later on. But we all know that the same company, today, is the king of pointless crevasses. And whale mouths used to be the target of ridicule and exaggeration, now, they’re an industry standard. I have no clue how car design comes about, to be honest.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/03/Toyota_Corolla_E110_front_20080215.jpg
That is a busy design , like they could not decide which way to go and just threw everything at it.
From my perspective, you’re absolutely correct. It’s like 1958 all over again. Back then, it was tons of chrome, massive bumpers, and fins. Now, it’s tons of sheetmetal creases, massive fish-mouth grilles (that are largely blocked off), fake rear diffusers, and origami-inspired front aero.
I find very few designs admirable these days, and as you said, it’s typically when they show some measure of restraint… which is rare.
TOO MUCH WAHT? WHAT?!? I CAN’T HEAR YOU MY CAR IS TOO LOUD!!
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/a9add17f4059c6b08f222ccffd581d5b29888f7a00c17071c7f3d43f673d24f0.jpg
Okay, it’s been a couple decades and the pendulum has swung the other way.
What was it you wanted?
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/7af8016008259c2507f4fef632bca4228178c1b5a3e7a8bbae15594252d36879.jpg
I like both of these.
No, this:
https://us-browse.startpage.com/av/anon-image?piurl=http%3A%2F%2Fassets.superchevy.com%2Ff%2F94617682.jpg%3Fwidth%3D640%26height%3D426&sp=1605295936T8db42d4e136b2690340d47c15286ede3c818f4e98d11b8dc09c68c3c66bd04ac
NB: I would post a picture but @#$&!!! discus says I’m not logged in….again…
They are in a very difficult place. I think too many companies tone down their designs so they don’t risk offending the general public and I applaud Hyundai for taking a chance and trying to make a potentially boring car visually interesting. It’s so hard to make your small SUV stand out in a very crowded market. I actually like the design and think they could have done much worse (Pontiac Aztek, we are talking to you.) It’s kind of like modern phone design…the base dimensions and layout reflect a tried and true maturity of design. We know what works and doesn’t work, now how do you make your phone stand out?
I think a car stands out with its engineering, performance, ergonomics, available features, price-competitiveness, and subjective feel. I didn’t marry based on appearances, and I don’t buy cars for looks. I’m not saying it hurts if a car is attractively styled, but I actually avoid cars that “stand out”.
In my experience, anything that’s desperately seeking attention probably doesn’t really deserve it.
I sort of like the new Tucson, but yes, absolutely things are getting overstyled.
Then again, give the people a muted, mundane option, and they hate it.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b5/Mitsubishi_Space_Star_1.2_MIVEC_ClearTec_%28cropped%29.JPG/280px-Mitsubishi_Space_Star_1.2_MIVEC_ClearTec_%28cropped%29.JPG
Not really, bland design is just another form of bad design and not the opposite of over-fussy design. Look at the even simpler. cleaner lines of the Peugeot 205, I don’t think anyones really made a better proportioned hatchback since this Pininfarina classic
https://www.silverstoneauctions.com/images/_aliases/large/3/7/5/3/2163573-1-eng-GB/01.jpg
Even non GTI versions looked good.
https://s31.wheelsage.org/picture/p/peugeot/pininfarina/205_junior/peugeot_205_junior_3.jpeg
..or indeed the Honda E as pointed out elsewhere.
Not really, bland design is just another form of bad design and not the opposite of over-fussy design. Look at the even simpler. cleaner lines of the Peugeot 205, I don’t think anyones really made a better proportioned hatchback since this Pininfarina classic
https://www.silverstoneauctions.com/images/_aliases/large/3/7/5/3/2163573-1-eng-GB/01.jpg
Even non GTI versions looked good.
https://s31.wheelsage.org/picture/p/peugeot/pininfarina/205_junior/peugeot_205_junior_3.jpeg
..or indeed the Honda E as pointed out elsewhere.
You have a fair point and a great example, even though the general new direction of Hyundai vehicles has been received quite well. I still remember a controversy from the 90s, when the “soap bar”-Corolla, or E100, was derided as too boring, too anonymous by German motor journalists. So Toyota brought out the E110 with, lo and behold, round headlights and blinkers. Those same journalists went out of their way to describe the car as too wild, and unsellable to “typical Toyota customers”. Toyota even used the quotes in advertising, but, unfortunately, facelifted the otherwise quite bland car to have more conservative headlights later on. But we all know that the same company, today, is the king of pointless crevasses. And whale mouths used to be the target of ridicule and exaggeration, now, they’re an industry standard. I have no clue how car design comes about, to be honest.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/03/Toyota_Corolla_E110_front_20080215.jpg
In the beginning, there was not any real design; form followed function.
Then Harley Earl came along to bring in design from square one. That developed a whole new specialty, for designers who could draw cars people actually wanted to buy as rolling art instead of transportation, or who could turn a fuddy-duddy Falcon into a Mustang.
I think the problem today isn’t too much design, it’s too many designers. They all want to stand out. Good looking cars are still being designed, but crappy designers still have to work somewhere.
https://hips.hearstapps.com/hmg-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/images/img-2469-1564158647.jpg
Sode on it’s almost like a 1940s design when they had almost integrated the fenders into the body; perhaps we are going the other way now?
It also has to do with having vast areas of sheetmetal to fill.
we’re indeed going back to 1940s at least in size and proportions
I think the Honda e, much like the venerable Volvo 240, wears its uncreased sheetmetal very well. Handsome cars, both– no need for peacock feathers.
https://car-images.bauersecure.com/pagefiles/86601/honda_e_ev_051.jpg
https://germancarsforsaleblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/P6220011_zpssxb1nmf9.jpg
WAHT?!?
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/94739a7812ce1cfca9eb23ed2bad72de2e7d7c3bc0f8ca14f21cf42376d88ad2.jpg
Excellent contrast for the argument. I despise that car, which is a shame considering its fantastic performance.
I’ve just now noticed that this Civic has three exhaust outlets. Why?
The middle one is a trailer hitch.
My sources tell a different story:
https://i.redd.it/oj2lcab7uiv21.jpg
Ah! Then the other car must use RCA A/V cables!
The 3 tips are not just for looks. “Honda wanted to offer a sporty, engaging sound in aggressive driving, without punishing drivers on long commutes or highway trips. And the automaker wanted to do so without resorting to stereo-enhanced engine sounds or complex (and expensive) multi-mode muffler systems.”
https://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars/car-technology/a10032609/why-the-2017-honda-civic-type-r-has-three-tailpipes/
In other words, people have gone soft. They want something that looks perma-angry, but isn’t. By contrast, as I’ve pointed out before, properly angry Type Rs looked like this in the 90s
https://hothatch.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Honda-Civic-Type-R-MK1-EK9-1.jpg
Also both not SUVs…
Mind you the Hyundai Elantra is just as bad, so it’s just as much Hyundai flexing their metal shaping ability
Here are some cogent thoughts on the subject:
http://www.autoextremist.com/current/?currentPage=7
The side view looks like the end result of somebody not folding a nautical chart properly and it hurts me in the OCD.
Back at Design Central we’d call this shape salad. I actually think this Tucson is one of the more cohesive examples. Most of the Lexus CUVs on the other hand…
I would say yes, but since all new vehicles are crossovers it’s hard for me to give a shit.
“Lines for the sake of adding lines. Creases and angles added around curves…”
Have we entered it? Buddy, we’ve been knee deep in this phase for a while.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/5bf8a7a6a1b7cbbd33b088953a97df3f947f877f484144b3eff433168685ee07.jpg
“Have we entered a phase of “too much” design?” Yeah, about 20 years ago.
“Have we entered a phase of “too much” design?” Yeah, about 20 years ago.