There’s not much else that can be done to make new vehicles better – given government constraints.
They cannot, for instance, be made lighter – which would be much better for both fuel efficiency and performance – because of government “safety” regulations. So they have become heavier and less efficient and require more power to maintain their performance.
But the government insists that they also be more efficient at the same time its other insistences have made them heavier than ever. This tends to hurt both efficiency and performance.
The car companies try to deal with these at-odds insistences by (among other things) affixing performance-enhancing turbochargers to engines that would otherwise be too small to move the vehicle adequately; these smaller engines have replaced the larger engines that didn’t need performance-enhancing turbochargers because they were strong enough without them to move the vehicle adequately.
But those large-enough-for-the-job engines weren’t “efficient” enough and so they had to go.
And that’s why all the undersized, heavily boosted engines. And hybridized engines, too.
Because the government says that cars must be both “efficient” and “safe,” they also increasingly look alike – because complying with those two insistences imposes constraints that serve to impose parameters on how all cars look, irrespective of make or model. It is why, for example, all cars are now much taller than cars used to be – and have up-high (and bulbous) looking rear ends especially. This improves rear-impact “safety” scores. But it also makes it hard to see what’s behind these behinds, necessitating closed-circuit cameras and back-up beepers to avoid running over or into things.
Up front, it’s similar.
The same basic shape – because that shape is most aerodynamically efficient. It is why NASCAR cars also all look the same. You have to look (hard) for the badge to tell whether you are looking at a “Chevy” or a “Toyota.” It’s the same on the street – although Chevy and Toyota (and everyone else) go to often-extravagant lengths to make grilles and headlight assemblies look different.
As if that made much difference.
It’s a shame – because we could have so much real difference, if the government got out of the “safety” and “efficiency” insisting business. Not – to be clear – that there is necessarily anything wrong with either of those things, a such. What’s wrong is the blinkered insistence on these things to the detriment of all other things.
A 2025 Mazda Miata weighs just shy of 2,400 lbs,. – which is extremely heavy for a small, two-seat roadster. The current Miata is about 300 lbs. heavier than the original 1989 model, just for reference – and all of that extra weight is compliance weight. If Mazda weren’t forced to comply with government insistences, it could have made the 2025 Miata lighter than the 1989 model, via the use of light-weight materials such as carbon fiber and aluminum that would have been too expensive to use back in 1989. But Mazda cannot use them today – because the result would be a non-compliant Miata that didn’t meet current “safety” requirements. The implication being the ’89 Miata was “unsafe.” No. It just wouldn’t be compliant with ’25 federal insistences.
But it would be much more efficient than the current (2025) Miata.
The latter touts 28 MPG in city driving and 34 MPG on the highway. How efficient would it be were it 300 pounds lighter? How about 600 pounds lighter? It is probably possible it could be even lighter than that – were it not for the need to comply.
How might cars look – were it not for the need to comply? We don’t have to imagine – because we can look up how cars used to look before cars had to be compliant. No other car looked like a Buick Invicta – because Buick was able to make the Invicta look like nothing else.
The shape of a classic Beetle looks like nothing else, either. Because the Beetle’s designers were free to design it as they liked – as opposed to designing it to be complaint.
We took such differences for granted – and even made fun of cars that looked too different, such as the infamous Ford Edsel. Now there’s not much to make fun of – for the same reason it’s kind of pointless to make fun of a square vis-a-vis other squares.
Or the same glass of water, served in the same glass.
We might and almost certainly would have all kinds of different engines, too. We can be sure of that because – once again – we used to have them. There were so many different types of gasoline engines – ranging from inline fours to flat twelves – that it is difficult to remember them all. And there were diesel and rotary engines, too. Today, it seems almost every car is powered by the same 2.0 liter four – because so many of them are. It is not a coincidence.
It has everything to do with compliance.
If compliance were to end, so would the stagnation we literally see everywhere. The same-same thing, everywhere. As a guy who writes about new cars, I am often forced to reach deep to come up with something to say about this one vs. that one – such as this one having a 10.2 inch touchscreen vs. that one’s 8 inch touchscreen.
I’d much rather be able to write about the differences between something like a a 1972 Buick Riviera and a BMW Isetta. But we’re not allowed to have such differences because of all the insistences.
. . .
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EVs are the only vehicles allowed to break the rules. Many of them are different shapes (Tesla Model S vs. Rivian vs. Tesla CyberFuck [er, “truck”], etc.), inefficient (“up to” 300 miles of range vs. 300+ miles for ICEVs), AND are inherently unsafe (giant, self-igniting Li-ion firebombs that take DAYS to fully extinguish, vs. gas/diesel tanks that DON’T self-ignite).
Makes you realize how much our leaders really “care” about us.
Oh wow, look at this. WA state is proposing putting speed limiters into cars of people caught speeding (https://www.roadandtrack.com/news/a63656295/washington-bill-limiting-devices-in-cars/).
Any technology that’s deployed into cars of “criminals” is eventually deployed into all of them.
Not only do these post-peak cars all look like the same 4-wheeled bars of soap, now, they will also prevent you from driving them as you see fit.
I suspect within the next decade, we won’t even be allowed to drive at all. In fact, we won’t be able to do much of anything at all. For our “safety”, of course.
We went from driving rolling works of art to blobs of plastic.
Totally off topic, but here’s an article about a General Motors developed lunar rover.
https://www.thespacereview.com/article/4931/1
I see this, and read this just a moment ago; https://s3mag.com/gr86-long-live-the-sport-compact-coupe/
“The GR86 almost doesn’t fit in today’s world…
It has a ’90s soul, and that’s a good thing. Because as seen through my eyes, the bulk of today’s car culture ‘knows a lot about cars’… but can’t drive stick. Today’s automotive world compares cars in ‘numbers & statistics’, but leaves out the substance & connection. And today’s sports cars have gotten fast… to their demise. I never thought I’d say that. More power was always what we were chasing. And we got there. But while advances in technology made new cars blistering fast, it’s also made them numb, ugly, expensive, & uninteresting. And I don’t think the trade-off is worth it. Because somewhere along the line, we’ve lost the sweet-spot in a sports car. We’ve lost the connection; we lost the plot. In other words, we lost the affordable, attractive entry-point… that had the ability to capture the moment & create a lifestyle. But not totally.”
Wonder how much a Toyobaru would weigh if it weren’t for Saaaaaaafety regs?
Proof that anything the (((government))) touches…destroys, weakens, or makes less of what the creators original intent was.
Always remember, no bad how it gets, the government can & does make it worse!!!
Yep….if it ain’t broke , fix it till it is !!
It’d weigh a lot less. My 1979 Corolla, which sat 4 comfortably, was under 2,000 lb. The Toyobaru only sits two comfortably (I know, I’ve got one! Lovely car). My 1991 Geo Metro weighed about 1,600 lb. Having driven a 200HP, 1,300 lb Caterham, it’s hard to put into words how much of a joy it is in the corners. That’s more than the power to weight ratio of a C8 corvette and much more fun. Zero creature comforts, though.
There’s an old Riviera that appears to be about the same year as the one pictured in the article that sits next to a storage building on one of my favorite country back road driving routes. It’s been there for years. I’m hoping I see the owner outside sometime when I’m passing by. Would love to find out about it and have a closer look.
Here’s a truncated version of an episode of “Counting Cars” where they overhaul one of these beautiful cars.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7twgLMNetA8
How far weve fallen:
Christmas 77 I was headed home on AF leave. Final leg was O hare to MSP in an empty 747 maintenance ferry to NWA hub.
Hit it off with PIC from my old nieghborhood and sat in cockpit 3rd seat. Soon as we finished climbout FO had to pee. I moved into RH seat.
I dont need a 747 simulator anymore. It flies so much easier than Id ever imagined.
Massive list of violations!
No harm done. Lifetime moment memory. My son wont have that chance.
“ and sat in cockpit 3rd seat “
Joey – do like movies about gladiators? Ever seen a grown man naked?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7OJXBBOF3M
I always loved the look of that beautiful (family batmobile) Riv as much as the FWD Olds Toranado.
Works of art and labors of love.
Way back in ‘73 my post high school job was working for the local car rental company owned by the West Seattle Buick dealership. We had two boat tail Rivs in the rental fleet what a kick! Many times the day was spent ferrying cars from one location to another. Getting to drive the Rivs was sweet – full motion power seats, plenty of legroom, quiet. How far we’ve fallen, if you’ve ever driven one of these old school “personal luxury” cars you’ll know.
Automotive regulations are so strict that they’ve ruined mainstream cars, but the US is particularly bad at it. In the EU, regulations are strict as well, but they’re outcome based. For safety standards, there are some maximum forces that crash test dummies can experience, and how you achieve those forces in a crash is up to you. If you show, via crash tests, that your car meets the rules, that’s good enough.
The US has those standards, but additionally, mandates specific components to be installed, such as steel door beams of a particular weight and grade, particular designs of crash structures, etc. My usual example of this is the Alfa Romeo 4C, a tiny sports car. In Europe, it weighs about 2,000 lb. The US version weighs about 2,400 lb. Both are equally safe, but the US version has all those mandated pieces added on.
Let’s not forget when all the cars look and sound the same watching NASCAR will be as exciting as sitting on your lawn watching rush hour traffic. Most of my friends who used to be fans now would rather weed their lawns than watch NASCAR as it’s more exciting.
Which is why all the dashboard displays and remote starting apps are becoming the big differentiator. The vehicles all look the same on the outside, so try to “skin” them on the inside. I’m sure this is why GM kicked Apple CarPlay to the curb in favor of their own design.
Probably won’t work, since the Apple cult does what the Apple company tells them to do. But at least you’ll know when you’re in a GM vehicle over say a Ford or Kia. Because your phone won’t do what you want it to do.
The problem with new cars is they have no soul. My summer daily driver is over 25 years old and the styling isn’t too different from the new cars, but look at what the difference used to be: 1930 vs 1955 and 1955 vs 1980. Styling changed now it doesn’t.
Back in the day you might have gotten excited when the new cars came out for the first time but for some reason I can’t get excited about a new touch screen or key fob. At this point I’d be excited to see the Edsel come back…..
GM wants the Patents from the “infotainment” systems to weaponize against competitors, forcing a license payment for nitpicky details.
NASCAR already is like watching rush hour traffic. Once they stopped racing real cars and started running the same cars with a different engine and a fake fiberglass body, they were dead to me.
Who even knows if the most talented drivers are even participating in the sport?
It’s all a bunch of rich kids who have been karting since they were 2, and even bring/take their sponsorships along with them.
There’s no blue collar slobs who work their way up through regional series to attain success in national series. Now we have to hear about these kids when they’re 12 and the countdown clock is on until they can participate.
Besides, with the standardization of everything, it’s all just a modern day IROC/spec series. No more innovation and exploration. Smokey Yunick would be banned for life from NASCAR if he was still around.
Most of the big Sportsballs™ series are lame and formulaic at this point.
If not for the rise in legal gambling, hardly anyone would watch.
Hi Flip. Yep, “If you ain’t cheating you ain’t racing” said it all. Watching the illegals competing in the “Mini Mall 500” is more exciting than NASCAR now.
Hey, what wins on Sunday sells on Monday. If a Toyota wins the Daytona 500 in a few weeks, I’m running straight to the dealer and getting me a rear wheel drive Camry with the push rod V8.
Made me laugh but at one time you could buy a car close to what Richard Petty drove. Engine size, platform and what have you. Sadly; Horst they may try to convince you a turbo hybrid 4 is the same as what won. I hope you don’t fall for it.
Oh, that’s already someone’s plan. Ford floating out an EV stock car.
What a day, if you can look it in the face and hold your vomit…
https://www.motor1.com/news/749248/ford-mustang-mach-e-nascar-prototype/
I can only imagine, racing Daytona and a pit stop is an hour to charge the battery, hahaa………….
Or better yet, they force the e-juice in and they blow up.
Many of these edicts are presented with press releases that tout some alternative reality where CAFE standards will create jobs, inspire engineers to come up with novel solutions and the public will rush to buy the compliant vehicles. From 2011:
Ceres defending 60-mpg CAFE standard for 2025
How’s all that working out?
Like the knights who say ni, once you give in and give them a shrubbery, they won’t stop there. Soon they’ll demand the impossible.
Every car needs to be painted dark red kidney bean red.
Just primer them all, then a wrap. Problem solved.
Bibi is flyin’ into the abysmal place not worth telling or speaking about to inform Trump if you don’t do as I say, I will kill you.
“…and even made fun of cars that looked too different, such as the infamous Ford Edsel.”
I’d toss the Pontiac Aztec in that group. But for Walter White / Heisenberg (“Breaking Bad”), the Aztec has nothing to offer aesthetically. Though according to the interweb, it had a V6 and got 26 mpg on the highway.
Indeed, Mike –
The Aztec was not a bad vehicle at all. The v6 was a highlight. I’d drive one of these – and consider buying one, too – because they’re cheap, because people think they’re ugly (true). But I never cared about such things, being a weirdo that way!
The Aztek was the pace car of the 2001 Daytona 500. From motorosport.com:
The version of the Aztek that will appear on America’s biggest motorsports stage for “The Great American Race” has been enhanced in a number of areas to better its performance as a pace vehicle. It features a Magnuson supercharged powertrain by Vrbancic Brothers with headers done by Doug Thorley and Mike Cook. The supercharged engine, which has enlarged exhaust valves and Manley rods and pistons, will turn out 330 horsepower – an increase of 145 horsepower over its 3.4-liter V6 showroom counterpart. Additional ride & handling enhancements include stiffer bushings, springs and shocks, and the vehicle has also been lowered. Brakes are from Baer Racing.
Maximum Bob speaks freely about how the Aztek went from a great idea to death by committee.
https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a15361262/complete-acquiesence-bob-lutz-reveals-how-the-pontiac-aztek-happened/
If anything, it’s probably a tale of how we got to where we are in the greater auto landscape with oceans of lame ‘crossovers.’
I never thought they were a bad car, nor ugly. I believs it was a 90s design,which was the peak time for cars and car lovers. There was never a time when cars were more acessible and affordable.
Add the 1990 Pontiac Trans Sport, greenhouse on four wheels with guardrail body trim wowser!
Last good looking Pontiac – 1986 Gran Prix. No, not the Aerocoupe, gack.
See I like the Grand Prix 2+2.
This was pleasant to read, “Last good looking Pontiac – 1986 Gran Prix.”
The ’84 was the last Pontiac I ever owned. …It. was. nice.
Compared to all the other rides I had before it, another word would be, smooth.
Also, thanks, I’m edumacated, I didn’t know there was a word for that fugly “Aerocoupe” crap. …I Never did like that style.
‘If compliance were to end, so would the stagnation we literally see everywhere.’ — eric
Political stagnation means being mired in what George Washington called ‘entangling alliances’ that never made any sense, and mock our values. Yesterday I sent this message to the US Capitol Police:
[email protected]
Tip: individual wanted on warrant
Dear Madam or Sir:
Press reports indicate that Israeli prime minister Netanyahu will visit President Trump tomorrow, Feb. 4.
An outstanding warrant from the ICC (International Criminal Court) dated 21 November 2024 charges Netanyahu with a war crime and crimes against humanity.
Please consider this message as both a crime tip, and a formal request that the Capitol Police arrest and extradite Netanyahu to The Hague to face arraignment on the grave charges leveled against him.
Thank you for your cooperation.
————
What a disgrace, that our government consorts with war criminals … and picks our pockets to pay for their odious crimes.
Then the other shoe dropped:
Dear Senator Kelly:
Yesterday the Wall Street Journal reported that the Trump administration notified Congress of new arms transfers to Israel. These include 4,700 1,000-pound bombs, worth more than $700 million, as well as armored bulldozers built by Caterpillar, worth more than $300 million.
https://archive.ph/3bqn3
I VIGOROUSLY CONDEMN making the United States complicit in Israel’s ongoing genocide.
Arrest the war criminal Netanyahu. Stop all arms and aid to apartheid Israel.
Looks like a task for eLoon and his DOGEs.
Cost per Arab death is *way* too high, and the kill rate is far too low.
I suggest nerve gas for the kill agent.
The U.S. has the technology:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dugway_sheep_incident
All that remains is to dispose of the corpses.
But the technology for incinerating bodies on a large scale is well known, so that should involve no technical problem, and there is an abundance of natural gas just of the coast of Gaza, so fuel supply should not be an issue either.
The only problem would be P.R.
Jewish death camps….what a concept.
Where is Eddie Bernays when we really need him?
“Where is Eddie Bernays when we really need him?”
The Jew who wrote “Propaganda”?
I have his book. It’s an essential read.
But I don’t think we “need him”.
Any more than we “needed” his uncle Sigmund Freud or his descendant Marc Bernays Randolph, who co-founded Netflix…just in case anyone was unsure what Netflix is actually for or who owns it.
Consorts with war criminals? They are war criminals!
Good observation Horst
Isn’t it funny how people can’t even fathom that we now live under a government that is criminal?
Laws don’t matter. The constitution doesn’t matter. The clowns in charge do what they want to do. Laws don’t apply to them. Yet here we are.
Lock that psychopath up F²
I double dare ya.