I was a little suprised there were no Lexus "maws" on the list. And yeah, they're all gone nuts, what the hell is Honda thinking with that "civic"? With the Prius, hopefully the pendulum will swing the other way with next gen, common sense will prevail, but who knows.
When the fourth gen came out, I started looking at gen two with fresh eyes, seeing it more positively. Not sure why. C'mon Alan, just a little chauvinism going on? Looking at your pics, the 4th gen "looks" smaller, kinda pinched? Definitely more front-to-rear up-pitch, and I can never get my head around the purpose of that.
I remember when I was a little kid - apparently I raced to the front door to see what car was driving up the street from about 2½ yrs old - a neighbour had one of these: And I always thought it looked the saddest car on the road. Fortunately, when I got mine, it was the much happier version. Oh - the joys of being a 3year old boy.
Which reminds me - My mum knew NOTHING about cars - except by colour. She told me many years later - that when I was 3 or 4 yrs old, I'd run to see cars driving up the street. But one time, I didn't - twice soon after each other. She wondered if I was ill or whatever and apparently asked me why I didn't go. I replied "Oh, that's Mrs Lacey's Morris Oxford followed by Mr Starkoff's Holden - can't you tell by the sound?".
Neat - though it needed 88 nozzles and colours for a piano. I wonder if it would have been better with 15" wheels?
I’ll show you this every chance I get: And I was in front of one of these today: Now that’s a top 10.
I absolutely believe you! As a youngster, I also could identify cars of the era purely by sound, as long as they hadn’t been modified. I still can. I can identify a Toyota Hybrid approaching from behind me by the sound of the inverter, unless it’s in super stealth mode (gliding with all propulsion disengaged). I could also tell a BAC-111 from a Boeing 707, 747 or indeed a DC-10, when climbing out of the local airport and flying overhead. Ditto with Fokker F27 and F28 aircraft. Even the relatively rare Lockheed Tristar - a rather subdued roar on takeoff compared to the rest! I could literally identify a Pratt & Whitney (from a Rolls-Royce Conway) attached to a 707 from a General Electric Turbofan on a DC-10 (the latter seemed to always have a particularly mournful whine). I can still do this with many aircraft and a few stock cars with standard engines. iPhone 6s +
That Lexus maw reminds me of an original Battlestar Galactica Cylon. You just cannot unsee it once you notice it’s there! iPhone 6s +
Since the wife picked the RX450h out, and all I said was “yes dear”, I didn’t have to sway her to like it. In fact, given the large number of them I see out here (and a lot driven by the fairer sex), I’d say that others share my wife’s taste. I think she has good taste, but maybe I’m a bit biased .
When the CT came out it was the first with what became the Lexus corporate identify. It's such an obvious rip off of the Audi front end -- just using angles. Bad ...Some of the cars look like sneakers
I was not referencing the aero aspects of the design ...... the functional use. We have both and everybody thinks from an operational point of view the Gen 4 is improved. It's faster/quiet/improved economy ... but the layout is not as good. The seats are better and the car has more equipment even though we have Gen 3 Fives. I have to agree -- for whatever reason .... I like the 3. It has better visability and it seem to be more open inside. It's also square in the rear -- so it seems to hold more.
Ya know what's really ugly? BMW charges $300 for CarPlay but now it will instead cost $80/year to subscribe. What might turn out even uglier is that people who are willing to pay extra for a car that calls itself the ultimate driving machine probably won't blink an eye and the practice will continue and spread. Unless Apple steps in and says, "Who told you you could do that?!" BMW Apple CarPlay becomes subscription service - Autoblog Edited to fix error.
The article did mention that the Prius is economical and reliable.... When the G4s came out I was so utterly stunned by the design that I had to swear off making comments about it for fear of getting red-carded by the mods. Three years of declining sales since 2016 have been attributed by the wags to everything from declining gas prices, to increasing SUVlet sales, Teslas, and the Russians. As of the time of this post no special investigations have been launched though... However (comma!) in 2019, I saw several reports from the car community with the exiting news that "The 2019 Prius gets AWD, and less ugly." which is completely different from saying that the car is now 'not ugly.' "Less Ugly" is something that happens in a bar when it's almost closing time. All of this this tells me something that i already knew all too well. Beauty is skin deep, but ugly goes all the way to the bone! The G4 is ugly. It's not subjective..... It's a fact, and I personally think that it's been a non-trivial component in their lackluster sales here in the US, even in states where gas prices make them more....ah....'attractive.' Also....consider the fact that despite the fact that the G4 is slower and more under-powered than the G3, they ACTUALLY improved the suspension and some of the interior ergonomics (especially the SEATS!!!) so much that Priuses have been given better ink in these areas by car enthusiasts!! Toyota then negated these improvements with some very unfortunate interior design choices. Can anyone say....porcelain palace? I do not think that I could get my CFO to buy one even if gas were $6 a gallon here (it's $2.19 this AM) and I myself would have to strongly consider giving up a few MPG and going with perhaps the next most efficient model. FWIW, I disagree with the article's ranking. The G4 isn't THE UGLIEST car out there. I would have probably ranked them: 1. i3 2. Clarity 3. Prius I do not think that Priuses have gotten that much more attractive in the last 3 years, although modifying those rear lights a little is DEFINITELY a step in the right direction.......it's just that the competition for "ugliest car" has intensified, especially eco-chic cars. YMMV
I thought it was humorous when we got trolled by Toyota and people here tried to justify what was supposed to be a Super Bowl commercial for the Prius.
Huh: there was a Wallander episode where ID hinged on a witness's (sic?) ability to distinguish car sound.
