[blackwasp]

Hey guys, the following came up in my recommended video’s list on YouTube. It talks about the worst trends in the modern Cars and Trucks. I do agree on some of those and I figured why not make a list of the same in the Indian context?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcszMakTHCw

Below are some of the trends I absolutely dislike (in no particular order) in modern cars and hope manufacturers take notice of the same. BHPians, do add to this list.

1. Growing trend of SUVs - We have an overdose of SUVs right from pseudo SUV, compact SUV, luxury SUV, Sports SUV and so on...


2. Sub 4m sedans and SUVs - Thanks to the govt rule, no manufacturer wants to feel left out in a price sensitive market like India. Not only do we have compressed cars, we have to be happy with puny 1.2L petrol engines to get the tax benefits!


Related thread (10 years of the Small Car rule (<4-metre, <1.2L petrol, <1.5L diesel) : Has India benefitted?).

3. 9-speed (or more) gearboxes - The new CR-V and some Mercedes-Benz cars come with 9 speed gearboxes! Is it really required or has the number of cogs in a gear become just a spec-sheet number now?

(It's a Eaton gearbox from a Tata Prima truck - for representation only)

4. Floating screens - These screens look like an after-thought and personally I'm not a fan. I'm also concerned about occupant safety during an accident. Will this screen become a projectile?


5. Fake exhausts and air vents - Forget the sticker ones we spot in the whacky mods threads, modern cars have fake vents and exhausts right from the factory. And when you peak under it, you see the puny, real exhaust pipe behind it.




6. Gaudy / Large grills - The grills of some cars are just growing and growing. In some years we will just see nothing but the grille in the front of cars!






7. Donut spare / lack of spare wheels / tyres with ridiculous profiles - Combining all these into one point. Over time, call it cost cutting or whatever, proper spare wheels have become a rare sight. Manufacturers either give you a donut space saver, a steel wheel of different size than other 4 or simply skimp on the spare wheel! Worst of all, due to a size difference you can no longer keep the punctured tyre into the space for donut wheel.





Related thread (Four's a wheelie, Five's a waste : Is a matching spare wheel a necessity?).

Some manufacturers are also offering ridiculous tyre sizes. Most recent incidences of the Innova Crysta 17-inchers and BMW's runflats come into my mind.




Related thread 1 (Toyota Innova Crysta ZX dumps 17" wheels for 16". UPDATE: Back to 17").
Related thread 2 (2018 BMW 320d - 5 runflats gone bad in 4 months!).

8. Complicated electronics - Modern cars feature a ton of electronics. From safety systems to complicated AC controls, heated / vented seats, cameras, sensors, etc. all of them increase the complexity of the cars. In case of a fault, most cars today require hooking up to a computer instead of finding a mechanical fault. Further, with connected car technologies, there is the threat of cars getting hacked as well.




9. Electronic Parking brakes - While I prefer the good ol' pull handle, many cars today are coming with an electronic parking brake. These not only cannot be used on the move (pulling off a slide), these could go bad due to an electronic fault as well - completely defeating the purpose of a parking brake.

[Rehaan]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[el lobo 6061]

My pick would be Auto Start Stop system.

Everytime I start X1, I need to press a button to disable it. No option to turn if off by default by BMW.

Originally Posted by blackwasp

Some manufacturers are also offering ridiculous tyre sizes. Most recent incidences of the Innova Crysta 17-inchers and BMW's runflats come into my mind.

Problem is the low sidewall height and not the rim size. Anything above 110 mm sidewall is good.

Originally Posted by blackwasp

9. Electronic Parking brakes - While I prefer the good ol' pull handle, many cars today are coming with an electronic parking brake.

Once you start using a eBrake, you won't like handbrake. Its easier and convenient. Tap the accelerator and it automatically disengages. Plus no metal clanking noise.

[SoumenD]

My pick rear wash/wipe and adjustable rear headrests.

I hate this new trend of restricting rear wiper/washer and adjustable headrests to only top models. I mean they are actually pretty cheap stuff which older cars used to have in almost every variant.

With time the airbag/abs combo shifted from top variants to now across all variants, but these basic essential features went missing

[Thermodynamics]

Good observations blackwasp, nice topic.

Some additions to the list

- Jittery AMT
- 3 cylinder engines
- Smaller wider bore engines with poor low end torque

[pganapathy]

For me it would have the trend towards SUV's, complicated electronics and lack of a spare wheel. But by far my biggest bugbear is how big and heavy modern vehicles have become.
Take a modern 3 series and it is about the same size as an original 7 series. I feel that cars from the mid to late 90's had the best balance overall. Not too much electronics, no insane car size and no crazy love for SUV's

[avisidhu]

Great topic!

More than any specific feature, I'd say lack of any meaningful innovation in basic product engineering would be a big grouse. To the point where I just cannot fathom the point of buying any new car! No car model has shown significant improvement in power, handling or any other meaningful parameters, which help provide an enhanced driving experience compared to older generation. After all, one cannot just keep upgrading all the time.

Admittedly though, some Hyundai models have made significant strides. The current and two generation old Verna are altogether different cars.

But as an overall trend, nothing in past decade or so has been exciting enough. Maybe time to just give up hope, and wait to jump to the electric bandwagon!

[1100D]

Electric Power Steering!

[Samba]

I miss the timeless design of the old cars. Specially the no-nonsense body lines. They were simple yet elegant.

From 90's (Toyota Supra in 90's)


The exterior of modern cars are filled with creases and looks so busy and cluttered.

From 2018 (Toyota Supra in 2018)



The interior of the old cars looked simple and gave a feel like, we are inside a car unlike the modern day cars which feel like a cockpit or as if we are in front of a complicated computer!

Interior of an old car-


Today's car-


Few other points-
The bad time is yet to come for the driving enthusiasts -

Manual cars are slowly getting replaced by automatics.
Electric cars will spread rapidly by next 10 years.
May be autonomous cars will be the future!

Disclaimer- I am an old school guy & i love retro designs, so my views may be biased! The changes are off-course for a better tomorrow. I am just being selfish!

All the above pics are shared from Google.

[Traveler]

Excessive electronics and plastic use is my number one beef with today's cars. It seems the manufacturers just want to automate and dummy proof everything and end up complicating things.

Look under the hood of a modern car and you will see plastic all over. I understand they are making things lighter for efficiency, but the price we pay is reliability and life of the overall product.

It seems cars are becoming disposable and consumable commodities. You can no longer hold onto a car for too long let alone get emotionally attached to it.

I can't imagine someone resurrecting a modern car 20 years down the line. There won't be anything left. I don't forsee a future with classic or vintage cars either.

Call me old fashioned, but that's just me then.

[IshaanIan]

1. Compact SUVs killing the market for more premium hatchbacks like the Fiesta
2. Automatics adding to the growth of traffic jams
3. Capacitive buttons
4. Engine downsizing
5. Sheer increase in size of cars from generation to generation in each segment

[Sahil]

3 words- Engine Down Sizing

[Vikram Arya]

Some of the things that I dislike and have become a trend on modern automobiles are as under (not necessarily in an order of preference):

1. Wheel/tire size: For the life of me I just cannot fathom the increasing trend of offering ridiculous wheel/tire size combinations that are sometimes bordering on ludicrous. These larger wheel sizes may look aesthetically pleasing but are a nightmare from ride quality/pricing perspective. I would understand if these sizes were offered as options on sports cars but to offer a standard 19-inch wheel on a Honda Accord or a 18 inch wheel on even a Honda Civic and CR-V is stupid.

2. Creases/angular surfaces: I completely understand automakers desire to stay relevant and engage the younger target demographic however the extent to which some of the mainstream brands are trying to outdo each other in this regard is pathetic. Just look at the 2019 Elantra or the 2018/19 Honda Civic or the 2018 Toyota Camry.

3. Elimination of physical knobs for the infotainment/HVAC controls: I have nothing against modern technology and accompanied designs however not all user interface needs to be “touch” only to be effective/efficient. When I want to increase or decrease the temperature setting on the HVAC system or decrease the volume on the radio I would prefer a physical knob instead of these snazzy touch controls which seldom result in the right increment that one is looking for and are also distracting, to say the least.

4. Addition of cheap plastic inserts on front/rear bumpers: Honestly how many of you really like these cheese graters that car makers are slapping on so many models. Honda Civic anyone?

5. Tight engine compartments: Have you popped the hood of one of these modern cars recently; you will be hard pressed to see the ground beneath for there is so much componentry crammed into such a tight space. So, if you are like me and like to tinker (whatever little one can do with these modern cars), well good luck with that.

6. Coupe-like silhouette: If I’m in the market for a MB CLS or a BMW 650xi, I don’t mind it for I know what I’m getting into but for manufacturers to attempt to replicate this design language on commuter cars is silly for it eliminates the crucial headroom in the rear seat and if you’re 6 feet and above then you will have a hard time sitting straight in most of these cars without your head touching the headliner.

7. Turbocharging: I’m very much cognizant of the fact that all the auto manufacturers are under tremendous pressure to meet the CAFE standards, improve fuel economy and reduce emissions but a 1.5 ltr turbo changed engine in a Honda Accord is beyond me. Turbochargers have improved their reliability tremendously in last few years, but if I want a naturally aspirated engine in a full-size sedan it will not even be an option in a couple of years and some automakers such as Honda have totally eliminated these from their line up. Turbos spin at 180,000 to 200,000 rpm, generate a tremendous amount of heat and these engines will have higher incidents of break down than a naturally aspirated engine for the most part. I guess this is a trend that unfortunately will continue.

8. 9/10 speed transmissions: It is my belief that 6/7/8 speed transmissions do have a positive effect on efficiency however 9/10 speed transmissions are an overkill as the increased weight, cost and complexity negate whatever little advantage if any at all is achieved by so many cogs. I had a chance to drive one recently and the transmission was constantly hunting for the right gear as the ECU was telling it to downshift for it to achieve better fuel economy.

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by IshaanIan

1. Compact SUVs killing the market for more premium hatchbacks like the Fiesta
2. Automatics adding to the growth of traffic jams
3. Capacitive buttons
4. Engine downsizing
5. Sheer increase in size of cars from generation to generation in each segment

I agree that most of these Compact wannabe Crossover/SUV’s end up looking neither here nor there. However they seem to be feeding the trend here in India where everyone wants an SUV.

Why do you say that AT cars are adding to the growth of traffic jams? I would say that the indiscriminate addition to the vehicle population PLUS poor roads, badly maintained and poorly driven commercial and public transport vehicles coupled with the viscerally terrible indiscipline on the part of most drivers, are the main contributors.

[Leoshashi]

Originally Posted by Samba

The interior of the old cars looked simple and gave a feel like, we are inside a car unlike the modern day cars which feel like a cockpit or as if we are in front of a complicated computer!

Isn't it true, aren't they nothing more than a complicated computer now??

I miss those days where cars felt emotionally pure. Today it feels just like any other AI controlled crap.