Ep. 13 100 Years of Car Design: An Overview

I'm not gay in any way, but your voice is perfect for these great videos. And if I was, still is. Thanks for the great content bro

In the 2020s+ cars re sadly (IMHO) disappearing from the roads. Daily I park my 2013 SLK fairly large 2-seat convertible (also a dying breed) between giant square hulking pickups & SUv's, and at the extreme but also VERY popular GIANT HULKING pickup trucks with extended beds, These latter vehicles never fit properly in a standard parking spot, and also often sport mirrors that extend far from the body so the drivers can maneuver into said parking spaces and roadway lanes.

Car design is cyclic, just like womens fashion. THAT SAID, you will get a few models with extra effort (370Z) but most with status quo looks. Most of the effort will go into the Crossover Utility Vehicle, 45% US mkt, and SUV, 10% US mkt; however, it is HARD to REDESIGN a BREADBOX. Actually & Ironically, THEY WILL PROBABLY SPEND MOST OF THEIR EFFORT ON PICK-UP TRUCKS. Bada Bing.

The Ford Granada ALSO PROVIDED the Mercury Monarch model. Mainly stiffening brakets welded onto the existing chassis & over existing brackets for more ride isolation, & chassis stiffness, different (higher?) trim levels, and possibly more factory options than the base Ford. I TOTALLY DIG THE EURO SEDAN. I do NOT believe plenty of Granada customers AND a majority of Mercury customers
WOULD HAVE BOUGHT IN, THOUGH. Hence, we get complacency with the 70s design into the 80s. Demographics, Demographics, & Demographics.

The idea & issue came up when you pointed out Audi headlights, etc.
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1. Building brand loyalty:
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Strong product differentiation makes your business memorable. Customers will associate elements of your brand.
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The more differentiated your product is and the better it meets your target audience’s wants and needs, the more likely they are to become repeat customers.
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2. Achieving higher price points:
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You can increase your profits, sometimes by a significant amount, through product differentiation.

You can typically sell a differentiated product for a higher price because people will pay for durability, appearance, and customer service. They will also pay more for packaging they like or an experience that excites. (But for some businesses, of course, your strategy may be to differentiate by setting lower prices than what’s on the market.)
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3. Narrowing down your target audience:
Product differentiation helps you refine your target audience as well.

The more research you do and the more you differentiate, the better you’ll understand who’s actually buying your product or service. Then you can repeat the process to streamline your target audience even more. Focusing on a niche group of consumers often leads to better sales and return on investment (ROI) for marketing expenditures than trying to market to the general public.

A GUIDING
PRINCIPLE OF GM:
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Under company president Alfred P. Sloan, General Motors offered "a car for every purse and purpose." A buyer might start with a Chevrolet and gradually trade up to a fancier Oldsmobile, Buick, or Cadillac. It was the opposite of Henry Ford's one-size-fits-all Model T.

VOLVO (24x) had a reason to be boxy. SAFETY, and a smaller chassis would yield more interior space, if boxy. American Kars like the Chrysler "K" same thing, except Safety was not from the ground up.

Come to think of it, Ed.
I have been wondering why cars look the way they do over the decades. YOU'RE JUST THE MAN FOR THE JOB.

I know there are plenty of critics of it, but I'm super into the 2000s Art & Science styling. People really don't give enough credit to Cadillac for setting that design trend, I remember seeing an Escalade rolling up to my school and the rich kid from Hillside hopping out, and I thought "Wow, is this guy a time traveler?" I definitely think we are on a new movement from Art & Science, just look at some of the gaudy over the top grilles on cars today, Acura's pentagon, Lexus's hourglass, the Hyundai Palisade's geometric spreadsheet of lights and chrome. Hyundai really have been leaning into this trend, though feel like Audi and Volkswagen arguably started the trend, like with the 2008 A4's elegant row of LED daytime running lights. I remember seeing that A4, and being a little thrown off, they were really emphasizing those LEDs in ad material, they knew it was something bold and new. Though I feel like supercar manufacturers were already playing around with these lines and themes, because they really could afford to, no, they were expected to push the envelope in every way. I feel like the super/hypercar world is actually a great portal into the future of automotive design, and I think your theory about pendular design trends still holds up, just look at the soft, swoopy design of the Koenigsegg Gemera. It's very distinct from the jellybean roundness or airstream roundness of previous movements, and is more about making soft lines look as sharp and strained as possible. Even Lamborghini, a company that traditionally has stuck to their angular wedges through thick and thin, has started introducing more curviness to their cars, the new Revuelto is probably their curviest car since the Miura.

2000 - 2010 was the dullest

car designers nowadays are just getting inspired from razer gaming mice

cool🤯

For me I noticed cars nowadays look a bit boxy

make box cars great again

One of the most entertaining car channels on YT. Entertaining yet informative and very well presented!

I just discovered these channel, I love it! Thank you for the effort you put into these videos

This is a great video of which I enjoyed watching. 'But', I do believe that you emphasized styling after the 2000s, as being just that. styling and not the practical demands such as wind noise regulations, that came in around that period. I believe that our current rounded shapes are here to stay, due to these demands, and that the angular headlights and grilles are a desire to return to straight lines as you suggested is the cycle, without affecting the wind noise requirements. That is just my opinion anyway.

Really enjoyed this. My hope is for designs to get back to long hoods with an ornament I can see.

You are too much america focus. In terms of design most of interesting things happen in Europe.

😂 its like i'm lafhing in my head. Thanks for all these good moments!

I wish a company would make a new electric DMC de-lorean. The lights and flux capacitor can be optional

Imagine being in the 20's when all cars looked the same getting into the wrong car by mistake.
man 1: "MY APOLOGIES MY GOOD MAN, I THOUGHT THIS WAS MY AUTOMOBILE. OH LOOK THERE'S MINE RIGHT THERE"
Man 2: "OH IF I HAD A PENNY FOR EVERYTIME THAT HAPPENED, FRIEND YOU HAVE A FINE DAY"
*both men share a good laugh as they tip their hats and walk away

1) It's worth noting that the description Art Deco wasn't used before the war, but only from the early 1970's onwards. Not sure who coined the term, but it stuck for commercial reasons. Of course, there has been an "Exposition des Arts Décoratifs" in the 1920's in Paris, but the abbreviation "Art Deco" only came much later
2) Europeans loved to call those looooooooooong boxy late 1950's American cars "sardine cans".

My personal opinion is that chapter 8 of this video is where cars lost style.

You totally ignored Italian car design, which started at least in 1922, passes through Pininfarina, Bertone, Giugiaro, Bruno sacco (Mercedes) and Flaminio Bertoni (who designed Citroen Ds, the only mentioned). How is it possible

Margins are now very thin for Dealers & Vehicle Manufacturers. Service & Parts is where it's at.
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Many designs have straight & verticle Side bodies. Meaning many will NOT waste extra money on Stamping Press tooling to put in body lines (forget Side trim weight & cost). Head & Taillight assemblies were a way to change things up or round body Side panels into front & back.

Like Women's Fashion, Automotive Design HAS been cyclic. Things will change MORE from ICE to EV, from Sedan to SUV, and from Steel to more Aluminum. AS SELF-DRIVING BECOMES MORE WIDELY ACCEPTED (and / or integrated into the roadway) Interior layout will change. Pickups will be around a long time as is.

no way he just skipped over the first gen mustangs. 👎

I Don't Like Today's Sharp & Edgy Car Designs, I Like The 1990's And 2000's Car Designs Because They Were Smooth, Curvy, And Simple. I Wish Most Auto Makers Would Go Back To That Type Of Styling. Also Another Thing They Make Too Much Crossover SUVs.

The 80s-90s is the most drastic change. Which makes sense, because the 80's & 90's were complete opposites culturally.

....hard and angular.......soft and round........hard and angular..........soft and round...........hard and angular.........

Why aren't there cars that are the opposite of a square like a circle? It's more aerodynamic and friendlier to people who can't afford cars and thus have to use their legs to get about.

A modern car with modern features but the style and grace of a 1930s car will be something I would love to see!

this video is absolutely amazing and so awesomeee, giving gists of everything to research upon. this was really helpful for me

I'd guess this car design generation is the "cool generation". Back in the 00s and 10s cars not only looked incredibly alike but they were also all big-booty blobs, some combination between "jellybean" and "ponton" with lots of squatting. The thing is that electronics, cartoons and media in general went broody and sharp and curvy all at the same time, getting cool. Designs on everything else went beserk. There was the creation of the "coolness factor". Cars were tethering to buyers with the "soundsystem momma", but we all craved the "Angry Yugioh Hair". Then there came the Honda Civic, testing the waters. Trying not to get too far from what buyers accept but throwing a few bones to the newest gens. According to all old peeps around it was the ugliest mf to be ever made and nobody understood why it was selling. Then there came the Civic 2016. All oldfarts gagged at the "hideousness", but all younglings were drooling at the first "cool car just like the videogames". Now, all car companies invest on cool. Now headlights gotta be angry, blobby body with microscopic detail islands won't cut it, folds over folds over folds over folds..., dynamic poses are life, bumpers are death, big wheels - big gains, the future is grillless.

I can't believe that I've just watched a video essay on car design that never even mentioned the og, the inventor of the car itself: the Mercedes-Benz...
Still a good video

the trend today is moving away from the car and towards the SUV

ik ruik nederland

I believe that the citreon ds is the most beautiful sedan ever made

Great overview and well done and presented! But haveyou missed the SUV revolution since 2005 ...?

The eastern european grenada was even more rounded and stylish

I’d say cars are taking a more futuristic/SCI-FI in the 2020s. Look at the 2023 Honda accord, it makes me think of a futuristic city

Personally, even the 90s and 2000s the cars had their own identities, it’s nowadays that every car is the fucking same.
And if you ever wanna see a minivan that was different than the Grand Caravan back then, look no further then the Chevy Uplander and Pontiac Montana

title: 13100 years of car design
me: wait wha..?

My first car was a 1999 Opel Corsa Eco 1.0 12V edition i got it at 2014. It had run for like 240.000 Kilometers and they shut down the injection for one of the 3 Pistons so it sounded like a 2 Stroke engine and ate like 4 liters on 100 km i loved it got to 320.000 when it broke down :( ...still miss her she was my grassgreen little jellybean

1930s😍

I would love having the whole era of 1950-1980 car designs back to being popular.

I like the more stylish, simple modernism, spacey, sharper, edgy analog, retro Cassette futuristic look but not cyber truck level of edgy. Just a bunch, of nice angles with a little bit of curvature.

Modern cars look to curvy for me, regardless of how aerodynamic they are i just don’t like the bean/passive aggressive look.