Is toyota trying to be anything but #1?

I've been paying attention to gen 2 that I see while driving around. My take is that each generation has a less friendly look. Gen 3 is a bit more cool than 2, and 4 is downright angry.

 

Its about time it got pissed off!

 

That's what I like about it,it looks like it's saying " move over BMW Prius is behind you !"

 

Walking the dog this morning, see Honda's joined in the pointless features fray. This is a Fit rear "bumper", with some sorta "grill". It's a solid piece of plastic, the opposite of useful:

 

Its called a design. Like what designers get paid to do, design cars. Like an artist. Some people like Picasso paintings and some hate them. Its all in the eyes of the beholder.

 

There's been motorcycles with phoney gas tanks, air intakes too. It's common practice. But just 'cause the BS is building doesn't mean we have to embrace it, lol.

 

I guess we should all be driving Volvo 240's! They were pure, no BS!

 

In my pic above, notice how the bumper is sculpted to flow towards the (blank) grill.

 

AND?

 

What's being describing here is not, as I use the words, design or even industrial design, its fashion design, a very different thing.

It's intended to induce irrational purchases with visual cues that serve no functional purpose but many people will incorrectly interpret as the latest and the best rather than just trendy.

It also helps to persuade people to replace the car a few years later because it now looks so out of date.

I always look for functional, logical and timeless in designs. I try to visualize how it is likely to look to me and potential buyers halfway though and at the end of it's usable lifespan. (Say 20 years for any car I would consider buying)

 

I tend to look at some new cars and don't care for their looks, but as they get older, I like their looks more. So I agree with you that a good design will stay fresh for many years to come, and that it may actually look better with age.

 

i loved the look of the early lexus es300's many years after they had completely transformed the design.

 

Personally, I'm a Frank Lloyd Wright "Form follows function" kinda guy...

 

In some European countries, cars are required to have rear foglights. For other countries, the manufacturer can make a different bumper, or cover the holes in some manner. On a car like the Fit, cost is likely a big consideration.

 

Often that is the case. Those strange reflectors in the bumper on a US spec car are the rear fogs on a EU car, though often they change one of the reversing lights into a fog light. That does leave the reversing light as a bit useless though. Many more modern cars have a central rear fog in the middle at the bottom of the bumper - like the Leaf.

I checked the Jazz/Fit rear bumper on an EU spec car and the rear fogs are in the existing rear lamp cluster. It appears the strange grill is just there for looks. It seems to match the front where styling.


Notice the lower red section of the rear lights is brighter? That's the rear fog.

 

Thanks for researching that.

And yeah, the logic is clearer: if you're gonna have an imaginary air intake at the front, it makes sense to have an imaginary air outlet at the rear, lol.

 

I'll wait until I see the 2016 Prius in person. From all the photos I've seen of the Tesla, I was shocked when I saw one for the first time today. The pretty red Tesla was in line with a bunch of other cars heading east on 365 probably going towards Old Forge, and I was amazed it wasn't as big as it looked in all the photos.

 

wow, red? have yet to see anything but black.

 

Yeah I always thought it had an almost bland look to it, and that it even looked a little like a Ford Fusion from the front. I think I've changed my mind, very sharp.

On a side note I think I need to get out more. Only the second BEV I've seen in the area. The other was a Leaf.