Are Cars Getting Uglier?

I am back from my little hiatus over the weekend. A lot of cars just debuted via the internet today so I'm taking the opportunity to express my feelings for modern car design and how it is getting uglier by the redesigns.

Take the new Mercedes-Benz A-Class for example. It is a compact, European hatchback. Fortunately, we here in America probably won't get the five door hatchback pictured here. Instead, we'll be getting a mini-CLS. Anyways, back to the point. The front looks plain out messed up, while the rear end looks like something Kia would offer, not a high-end automaker like Mercedes. Okay, maybe it's not that bad, but it still isn't pretty either.

Next is the Bentley EXP 9 F concept. It is a preview of the production Bentley SUV, and the concept here is powered by the W-12 motor found other Bentleys. I expect the four liter turbocharged V-8 in the Continental to be offered as well. A hybrid powertrain could be an option, too. Anyhow, the front looks ugly, with the turbine air intakes and headlights at the edge of the car, an overly dominating grille, and odd intakes to the side of the grille. The profile vaguely resembles a Lincoln MKT, while the rear basically a lightly re-skinned version of a Range Rover's. It doesn't really work, in my opinion.

The next car on my list is a Mercedes as well. It is the Mercedes-Benz SL-Class. The rest of the car is nice, but the headlights are bothering me. They have an oddly goofy beautiful expression to them. It looks like they're supposed to continue down the meet the bottom corners of the grille, but they don't. The one pictured here is a SL63 AMG, which packs a 530 horsepower (557 with the Performance Package) 5.5 liter turbo V-8. It is lighter than the previous generation, and should provide better handling.

Another car is the new Ford Kuga (a.k.a.- next Escape). There isn't anything bad, but it just looks over busy to me. Also, I'm not turned on by the humongous air intakes, especially since most of it is fake. The interior does look nicer, with high-quality materials, including the piano black veneer. However, the steering wheel looks terrible, and I don't really like the hexagonal nature of the design in general. It doesn't help that it looks tiny,

So there you have it, some recent debuts that didn't connect with me. It helps to know that there is still some sanity in this world, though.

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