[saket77]

Also, to answer a lot of "how this became this?" on this thread:

Most platform of cars were changed as they became outdated in terms of safety standards. Hence, when company had to build a new platform, they chose to build a new car around it too. However, they retained their successful brand names like Verna, Zen, Alto, etc. Maruti tried to lure customers by building a hype around the Estilo and projected it as a successor to the old Zen. Ironically, it was more of a Wagon-R rather than a Zen, sharing common platform and engines. It did not shared a bolt with the old Zen, but since it was a brand owned by MSIL, they could rename it. However, the strategy backfired. They tried to correct it by dropping the Prefix 'Zen' from the Estilo, but it was too late by then. Even the brand name could not save the Estilo.

Same with Verna and many other cars of the thread. However, some became head turners too, like the Verna.

[rangarx]

I happen to think many times this topic and discuss with friends! In my opinion, of all cars sold in India, Mitsubishi Lancer is the best looking classic design ever. Amazingly elegant and timeless. Cielo to some extent. Yes, present day cars are weirder, and I am not too old to think this way!

How on earth this sub 4 meter rule is changing the Indian road scenes. Simply could not stand the looks of any sub 4m sedan in India now. So sad!

[DHABHAR.BEHRAM]

Originally Posted by shebin

I still enjoy looking at my K10 and taking it out for a spin.

Dear Shebin - you are absolutely correct. Before the K10 disappears for good (it will inevitably happen one day, it happens to all sensible things), today only, I have bought myself a brand new Alto K10 for personal family use. It is one of the very few good looking Indian cars still being made and sold. It also has excellent power to weight ratio and a very good driving posture. How it has managed to survive till now itself is a mystery.

Nowadays, it has become a fashion to give frog's eyes as headlights (Beat), Sunsilk shampoo advertisement model girl's flying hair as door lines shape (Verna), suddenly completely offshape rear side panel radii (Eon) and the result of Mohammad Ali's punch as tailgate shape (Maruti Ritz & Mahindra Quanto). YUCK! .

There is a silver lining to the cloud though. You can still buy a Made in India made poor man's G-wagon without robbing a bank! ENJOY! .

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar

[VinodDevil81]

An interesting topic.

I believe this process of "destructive face-lifting" and churning out all sorts of hideous upgrades will continue and we are only going to see even more ugly "modern" cars in the coming years.
What I always failed to understand was,once they have struck a perfect balance in looks, why don't they just freeze it there for a few years and change only the internals in the following upgrades?
Why should there be a compulsory change in the looks/shape for every upgrade? If it sells well and there is nothing wrong with the looks, and nothing substantial to upgrade in the internals too, then why should there be an upgrade/facelift, just for the sake of it?

The old zen is the most fitting example of this.But I think it is not entirely the Estilo which ruined the original zen's name.
Estilo just struck the final nail in the zen's coffin, but IIRC it started somewhere in 2004 much before estilo, when Maruti had launched a facelift to the original zen, which looked very ugly compared to the model it replaced.
My love for the zen ended with that upgrade. Ofcourse, I still love the old zen, and I am glad that I had owned one for many years.

Hope a day would come, when car manufacturers release upgrades like how most PC browsers are getting upgrades these days.
Silently, without any change in the looks- changing/updating only the internals in the new version.
For instance,what difference can we notice between Chrome Version 36 and 35? Or Firefox 30 and 31?
Who is really bothered these days, as long as it looks the same and functions the way a browser is supposed to?
I agree that it may not be possible to entirely implement such a product evolution cycle to automobiles, because it is a different market altogether.
But something can be done and there is a great scope for improvement/change here.

[abhi29]

Originally Posted by saket77

That 25L car buyer must be wanting to look different from a 6L Polo. No offense meant to anyone, but it's human nature.

Totally agreed on that. I think having a good differentiation across the product line and the segments should be more important than using a common design language just to build familiarity for the brand.

A customer of 25L car would prefer exclusivity over showcasing brand loyalty

[cpbopanna]

To borrow Behram Dhabhar's words, thank God Mahindra has retained timeless classics like these!



The Mahindra Thar has neither been 'Boleroed' nor 'Quantoed'; at least not yet!

[nim_peter]

Zen Classic is one which comes to mind. Also I like the old Accord V6 than the new ones.

[TheLizardKing]

Completely , but this must be the FIRST thread on Team-BHP where everyone has only words of praise for VW.

When I bought my first car last year, I was a complete automobile noob and hadn't even heard of our beloved forum. I was looking for a hatch and there were only two that made my heart beat faster: the Punto and the Polo. The wife didn't like the Punto. My loss.

BUT. I'm still as much in love with my Polo as I was when I first saw her on the day of her delivery. Timeless. Elegant. Classic. A perfect marriage of form and function. Das Auto, all the way. Just this evening, I was standing next to her, admiring her lines and falling in love all over again...

[zenren]

Originally Posted by nim_peter

Zen Classic is one which comes to mind. Also I like the old Accord V6 than the new ones.

Were you referring to this when you mentioned Zen Classic?


This is an exception of how Maruti didn't wait for a decade to destroy a design. In hind sight, this was probably the starting of a trend - chrome overload on new cars.

[tbppjpr]

Originally Posted by TheLizardKing

this must be the FIRST thread on Team-BHP where everyone has only words of praise for VW.

Indeed But VW deserve that. Hope atleast they don't get trapped in demand of Indian market and continue delivering what they are great in.
----

Putting another contender in this thread:

Hyundai i20 :

Initial version :




Facelifted one:




Upcoming one:




Image sources: Google and i20 scoop thread on TBHP.

Not sure if it has already been discussed in this thread

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by tbppjpr

Indeed But VW deserve that. Hope atleast they don't get trapped in demand of Indian market and continue delivering what they are great in.
----

Putting another contender in this thread:

Hyundai i20 :

Initial version :

Facelifted one:

Upcoming one:

True. The new one is an ugly duckling, literally. That long bonnet is so out of proportion- it reminds me of a duck's beak.

The first generation was much better!

[Kumar R]

If this report is to be believed, the superb styling and looks of the present series of VW cars may not last too long. Is VW going the Hyundai way !?

http://www.diseno-art.com/news_conte...gt-up-concept/

VW of the future ? (image from www.diseno-art.com)

[deetjohn]

Great thread. The action in this thread shows how important aesthetics is when it comes to cars. Form precedes over function clearly. Proportion is very important and our current rules make it incredibly difficult to get it right. Hopefully, manufacturers will get the drift, soon.

My all time favorite is the old Octavia vRS. It still looks stunning and most importantly so young! Shades the incredible Lancer SFX.


And, all is not lost though. My favorites from the current lot.

The hatchback


The entry level sedan


The premium sedan


The compact SUV


The premium SUV

OT: I think my next car is going to be black.

Originally Posted by ajaypjayaraj

Design wise THE car that has kept its character from its first generation till the latest one (Globally) would be Porsche. The legendary 911.

Good point. The only ones I hate are those with the runny egg headlights. Thankfully, they have gone back to round/oval ones with the 991.

Courtesy: Pajero from ZigWheels, rest T-BHP.

[RajaTaurus]

Man, I was harping on this subject for quite some time, only waiting for someone to start a thread. I was thinking may be my perception was not up to the current trend. But seeing this thread, I am convinced that I was not entirely off track. I think it all started by BMW's X series modification and Hyundai followed it. To take a well-cut clean-line shapes and chop/cut/slice/groove all over and call it fluidic! Al least VW is keeping some clean lines, but Suzuki, Hyundai and Mahindra are having a free-run at exterior. No single car is appealing to me. Unnecessary overdone curves in the name of 'futuristic looks' only irritate eyes and doesn't really 'appeal'.
OHC was one of the cleanest looking car, in my view, Maruti Baleno and Lancer closely following.

[PrideRed]

I think it has to do a lot with buyers. Majority of the people/mass do not prefer plain vanilla anymore. Clean and neat lines is preferred by enthusiast but not by masses anymore.
I have seen many people in here say that VW cars are plain vanilla,too old fashioned.
In current era, for a car to be said "Good looking", it should have below:
1.Oodles of Chrome.
2.A butch,angry look in the front.
3.Beige inside.
4.Some bling alloy wheels.
5.Curves everywhere.