why do new cars have no side moldings, mudflaps, etc.

Who knows how the vogue starts... It's just a design decision.

IMO the side moldings ruin the lines of the car.

 

Aesthetic. 'design before function' has long been a hallmark of more luxury items ('design before function', not 'design instead of function'. This mentality, and the usual accompanying increase in price, have increasingly made their way down to consumer grade, entry level, everything.

Side mouldings, mud flaps: design currently favors clean lines usually marred by moldings. Also they have a connotation of "cheap", though I've seen a few MB's that beg to differ. Same with mud flaps, it's not really in fashion, and it's also much cheaper to leave these two items out.

 

It all depends on how "safe" you feel your doors are in parking lots. I added the moldings and they look fine. The color is an exact match to the paint. The aftermarket rear mud flaps are nicely designed too, again, color-matched to the paint. I think you can find both at Priuschat shop.

 

First, I think you made a small error. You said "essential." I don't think those things are essential. Desireable? Yes. But, rather than have what you bought, I'd rather have a leather covered steering wheel and a little better cloth material for the interior (but not leather). I guess what you want is different than what I want, so Toyota will let us decide what us individuals want and have the parts available for purchase.

It reminds me of a very old story (and I'm sure my numbers are wrong, but you get the idea):

Back in the late 60s or early 70s, the designer for the Mustang wanted to put an emblem on the side of the car. The cost would be $5 more per car. Ford wasn't going to increase the price for the car by any amount (I think they had already commited a price to the dealers). I don't recall the number of Mustangs they expected to sell that year, so let's say 100,000, which would equal $500,000 additional costs for all of the Mustangs they sold. So the Suits at Ford asked the designer if he would guaranty the sale of additional cars to make up for the $500,000. The emblem was omitted.

I just thought of this: I'll assume that these were Toyota parts that you purchased. Which means they made their money off of you without reducing their total Prius sales due to the increased price.

They made their money off of me with addtional stuff I purchased, too.

Dumb Mike

 

I think it is more of an opportunity for people to get what they want. As strange as it may seem, some people do not want what you or I want and they should have the option of not getting it and being forced to pay for it. As was said, these items are not essential, they are optional.

 

If you follow my mod, you will see that I mounted the moldings "higher" than recommendations just for SUV and truck protection. We have a lot of that here too. Keep in mind that no molding will protect you from all vehicles and situations...you just have to hope that one time, "they" bump your molding instead of your car's finish.

 

The Prius is designed for the best co-efficient of drag it can be... all those "essential" items affect drag.

If you choose to add them, go ahead.

 

That's why they created AutoZone. Besides, I've seen Japan's version of "accessories", and I'm glad Toyota showed restraint.