# Cars Are Too Much alike-Would 1940's Styles Be Of Interest? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 30, 2013, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cars-are-too-much-alike-would-1940s-styles-be-of-interest/675127 "2013-11-30T05:54:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2013, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cars-are-too-much-alike-would-1940s-styles-be-of-interest/675127/21 "2013-12-01T09:28:57Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > Cars are very boring these days-you cannot tell a Nissan from a Toyota, or FORD, or GM. They all have the same basic look. Would there be an interest in some 1940s design features (like outboard fenders, higher roofs, split windshields, etc.)? > Chrysler had some success with the 1930s-look PT Cruiser-I liked the design, but the car itself had too many problems. > Still, there would be a nice thing to have more diversity in body styles. > Would you buy a 1940s-look car? Assuming I had the funds to do so, very likely. I agree that older-style cars were much more visually interesting than current ones. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2013, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cars-are-too-much-alike-would-1940s-styles-be-of-interest/675127/22 "2013-12-01T09:55:01Z")
If it wasn’t for fuel economy, price, and upkeep (and now safety, which I hadn’t considered), I’d definitely want an older-style care for looks. Though, these days, you can get your “different” fix just by picking a color. Even red will make your car not look the same. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2013, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cars-are-too-much-alike-would-1940s-styles-be-of-interest/675127/23 "2013-12-01T11:29:07Z")
Hell…maybe in the future, flexible flat-panel displays will be cheap and durable enough that they could cover the outside paneling, and you could use a [“normal map”](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normal_mapping) to give the _appearance_ of a differently-shaped body while still retaining the cheap/fuel-efficient/pedestrian-safe frame. It might make your eyes bleed from looking at the thing, tho’. The DoT might be a buzzkill about that. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2013, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cars-are-too-much-alike-would-1940s-styles-be-of-interest/675127/24 "2013-12-01T12:53:07Z")
> [@Macca26](#): > > The main two reasons all the cars look alike these days is pedestrian front end crash test ratings and aerodynamics. All the front ends are tall and softer edged now so as to not kill pedestrians right away, and then naturally from there everything else has to rise up in the name of superior airflow. So the back ends have also been getting higher and bigger in the name of aerodynamics and better gas mileage as a result. When aerodynamics are key all the cars start ending up with similar profiles. There’s some truth to that, but read about the [Kammback](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kammback). It’s a truncated teardrop style, developed in the '30s, that’s very efficient but wasn’t used much because people didn’t like how it looked. It may be finding its niche in hybrids, though; The Toyota Prius and Honda Insight are Kammbacks. As to the OP, I don’t think cars now are any less distinctive than they ever were. It’s just that the identifying characteristics have changed. If you came of age in the '40s or '50s, you learned to identify cars by the chrome, the portholes (or was that just the 1954 Buick), tail fins, etc. Guess what, that’s not how to tell cars apart anymore. Now there are things like the shape of the grill opening, the headlights, turn signals, rooflines, and such. If you see the [Hofmeister Kink](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hofmeister_kink) in the C-pillar, it’s probably a BMW. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cars-are-too-much-alike-would-1940s-styles-be-of-interest/675127.md?page=1)