"flatisflat" (flatisflat)
10/22/2020 at 15:33 • Filed to: None
0
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"flatisflat" (flatisflat)
10/22/2020 at 15:33 • Filed to: None | 0
| 16 |
On the topic of the ever en- girth’ ening mesh face on nearly every car today, I don’t think I’ve come across a cohesive take on the predominant impetus behind it.
Is it really strictly an aesthetical trend? Is there a manufacturing benefit? (less paint costs , less front end to paint chip, better cooling?) Something else?
!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!
Anyone have any educated /
actual
insights into this?
412GTI
> flatisflat
10/22/2020 at 15:36 |
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Pedestrian Crash standards seem to be influencing a lot of these big grill trends. I’m sure there’s some aesthetic reason behind it too.
davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
> flatisflat
10/22/2020 at 15:40 |
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https://www.marketwatch.com/story/chinas-new-status-symbol-car-grilles-2012-05-05
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davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
> 412GTI
10/22/2020 at 15:40 |
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The Chinese like big grilles, and they cannot lie.
ranwhenparked
> flatisflat
10/22/2020 at 15:42 |
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Purely aesthetic. Giant grilles are very popular in China, buyers associate them with an affluent look. Also an easy means of creating instant brand identity and recognition.
Also, the gigantic wheels cars and light trucks have nowadays mean taller, more massive bodywork to enclose those wheels, and European Union pedestrian impact regulations require a tall, blunt front end, both of which are easier to style with a large grille.
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davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
> flatisflat
10/22/2020 at 15:43 |
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Outward p
rojection of wealth.
https://paultan.org/2020/02/03/jaguar-wont-do-big-grilles-says-the-trend-is-crude/
feather-throttle-not-hair
> flatisflat
10/22/2020 at 15:43 |
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I’d always assumed it’s just “I want to look rich.”
Like...people saw a Bentley some time in the 80's and were like “Ohhh. It looks exactly like everything else on the road, but it has a big grille”
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flatisflat
> davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
10/22/2020 at 15:48 |
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Yeah, I had read the influence of the Chinese market thing too, but the grill embiggening has been going on for some time now (and I think even for cars that don’t arrive in China’s market), so there’s gotta be something a bit more at play.
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flatisflat
> ranwhenparked
10/22/2020 at 15:50 |
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Good point ! The overall increase in scale of all cars everywhere I can definitely see having a nearly ‘necessitated’ knock-on effect on the proportions of the car’s face.
i86hotdogs
> flatisflat
10/22/2020 at 15:50 |
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My best guess is you can hide more sensors and cameras behind the grille vs having them on bumpers and fenders. If not, then purely aesthetic and appearance. There are many articles out there that show how much of certain vehicle’s grilles are actually functional. Some only utilize about half of it. My Jeep Renegade I used to drive only utilized about 20% of each of the 7 openings.
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davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
> flatisflat
10/22/2020 at 15:52 |
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That article’s from 2012.
Um... increased global narcissism?
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flatisflat
> i86hotdogs
10/22/2020 at 16:03 |
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Yeah, my call-out of the ‘better cooling’ was a bit tongue-in-cheek since I did already know that for most situations, actual cooling passages are pretty minimal behind all that black.
7:07
> feather-throttle-not-hair
10/22/2020 at 16:20 |
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I see Space Ghost , I upvote. It's that s imple.
Textured Soy Protein
> i86hotdogs
10/22/2020 at 16:33 |
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Definitely not for sensors. If you squint you can see the active cruise sensor on this is actually in the middle of the opening below the grille.
Other Genesis models have tried integrating the sensor into the grille where the sensor is a plate with the grille pattern painted or photo printed or something like that onto it.
Amoore100
> flatisflat
10/22/2020 at 16:35 |
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I think it’s also trying hide modernity—having big, overexaggerated features looks good in photos, looks good on the internet, but it’s in person where they come off as garish or massive. For example, this looks a bit bland and featureless in this image:
but this looks cool and fast:
Until you get to it in person and realize all the cool exaggerated features are just plastic moldings and the car feels like the size of a beached whale. The original Accord, in comparison, comes off elegantly spare or pure in person because low sightlines, high bumpers, and thick tires.
My realization of this was having my roommates’ 2012 Sonata and 2004 Civic parked next to each other where the Sonata is absolutely massive but completely cave-like inside where the Civic feels teeny but is like being in a fish bowl. The key, though, is that the Sonata is far “ better looking” because it’s so exaggerated, and that’s what happened to the 2006+ Civic too.
Mark Tucker
> flatisflat
10/22/2020 at 16:40 |
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Hey, at least this one kinda looks like it’s smiling, and not like it wants to murder the road.
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feather-throttle-not-hair
> 7:07
10/22/2020 at 19:58 |
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I spent a lot of high school reciting silly space ghost quotes.
I discovered recently that the whole thing is on HBO max......