Remember when lighting fixtures were smoothly blended into the shape of the car?

"If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent" (essextee) 07/24/2019 at 09:30 • Filed to: None

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Pepperidge Farm remembers. I could rest my mug on that shelf.

BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast. > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 07/24/2019 at 09:42

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I remember, too. and as a fan of clean and sleek design, it is starting to piss me off a little bit , actually.

It is hard to find cars anymore where the headlights and tail lights and such are actually well integrated, and not protruding and awkwardly shaped.

functionoverfashion > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 07/24/2019 at 09:44

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An oppo posted that exact thing recently, can’t remember whom - putting a coffee mug on the protruding taillight, that is. 

Milky > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 07/24/2019 at 09:48

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I almost entirely agree, because ew.

But also they can look painted on if too flat.

Urambo Tauro > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 07/24/2019 at 09:48

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Oof. I t’s not just the aesthetic that bugs me, though . It’s the vulnerability. I miss having true bumpers as the first line of defens e , and now these lenses are jutting out from the body, just asking to get damaged first . It doesn’t help that m odern light housing s are way more expensive than yesteryear’s...

Thomas Donohue > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 07/24/2019 at 09:51

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You can’t rest a coffee on it, but I like the way the 981 rear light blends into the spoiler.

fintail > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 07/24/2019 at 09:54

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This is more garbage pioneered by Toyolex, right?

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > Milky 07/24/2019 at 10:00

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If you do it right they look fantastic. This will sound silly but one of my favorite taillights are the ones off the late model Continental. That little scalloped edge that continues the line from the subtle  ducktail is just unnnnfff

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > Thomas Donohue 07/24/2019 at 10:02

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That's acceptable because it's actually shaped into the bodywork rather than protruding for no reason.

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > fintail 07/24/2019 at 10:03

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Yeah it was a Highlander or Rav4 I didn't bother to check which.

fintail > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 07/24/2019 at 10:05

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Pic looks like a Highlander.

IIRC, Toyota got the bulging lens trend going several years back, maybe a Prius thing.  Then of course, as so many stylists are copycat sycophants, it spread like a plague.

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast. 07/24/2019 at 10:06

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I think Overwrought is a good word for this.

Svend > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 07/24/2019 at 10:08

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I like how the current Insignia has a chrome strip that runs over the tops of the car doors from the bottom of the A pilla r, down the D pillar and then into the rear light cluster.

I also like how the previous gen Insignia incorporated the chrome strip into the light cluster but also incorporated the reversing lights into the chrome strip, in the light cluster.

Just like on the estate, which were mounted to the tailgate.

and so had auxiliary lights for when the boot was open.

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > fintail 07/24/2019 at 10:08

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It's mostly Asian automakers, I find. Kia and Nissan are just as bad.

DipodomysDeserti > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 07/24/2019 at 10:16

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Nope.

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > Svend 07/24/2019 at 10:24

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Kia did a similar roof arch on the Optima that I always liked. I've seen people crying that chrome has no place on modern cars, but it does. It just has to be utilized a bit differently.

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 07/24/2019 at 10:39

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Its aerodynamics more than styling. That shelf helps with airflow around the back of the car.

BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast. > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 07/24/2019 at 10:39

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A v ery good description. Overwrought and over styled seems to be de rigu eur for production automotive styling recently, lamentably.

HammerheadFistpunch > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 07/24/2019 at 10:46

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aero.

it’s for aerodynamic reasons. a protruding headlight can offset the drag of the side view mirror and a protruding taillight is a laminar flow separator...ie vortex generator to move the separation boundary

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > HammerheadFistpunch 07/24/2019 at 10:58

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And giving the car mumps is the only way to achieve this?

Bylan - Hoarder of LS400's > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 07/24/2019 at 11:00

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Its like a spoiler for the side of the car, it spoils the negative pressure that would be created by a smooth rear end. You cant have an actual spoiler on the back without it literally protruding. Its just physics

HammerheadFistpunch > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 07/24/2019 at 11:02

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you could give it shingles

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > Bylan - Hoarder of LS400's 07/24/2019 at 11:25

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There are plenty of automakers that manage to have good aero without mounting a shelf to the back of the car.

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > HammerheadFistpunch 07/24/2019 at 11:25

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I would prefer that

HammerheadFistpunch > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 07/24/2019 at 11:30

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on the front fenders too?

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > HammerheadFistpunch 07/24/2019 at 11:43

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Yasss queen

HammerheadFistpunch > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 07/24/2019 at 11:44

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pimples. Pimples everywhere.

Bylan - Hoarder of LS400's > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 07/24/2019 at 12:20

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You’re absolutely right, but wh en people stop buying cars with the bulbous rear tail lights and drink shelves, automakers will stop d esigning them that way. I do NOT see that happening

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > HammerheadFistpunch 07/24/2019 at 12:27

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Story of my life

Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 07/25/2019 at 18:49

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These are either character line extensions or aero extensions.

The latter is mandated to improve highway fuel economy, so they either stick ungainly plastic mouldings onto the car, or attempt to integrate it into the taillamp lens.

This one looks like it could be both.