Should Car Makers Retain Old Design Cues in New Generation Cars?


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Recently we have had quite a hot debate on the Storme thread about whether Tata should have retained the old body shell in Storme or not?

We have also seen Suzuki almost doing the same with Swift,even though body shell of new Swift is different fronm the old one yet it pretty much looks the same!!


In the international scene we have cars like Range Rover,Porsche,Beetle,Mini etc,where new gen cars look very similar to the old one.


So do you agree with this trend? Please present your answer with logic.Thanks.


THE X-OVER
 
Thread Starter #2
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Re: Should Manufacturers Retain Same Body Style/Old Design Cues in their New Gen Cars

Unlike others I don't mind or crib over the fact that a manufacturer has retained same body style in their new gen cars if:

1. That car should be legendary and almost should have a cult following.


2. The basic design should have a timeless charm.


So while I agree with Tata in what they have done with Storme,but Vista should have a different design from old Indica as the brand was diluted with taxi image.
 
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Re: Should Manufacturers Retain Same Body Style/Old Design Cues in their New Gen Cars

No if it doesnt get better or appealing.

yes if it has ageless benefits like outside visibility or structural advantage.
 
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Well this is subjective, where I would like few cars to retain the originality like, Lancer, Rovers and ofcourse Safari. etc.

While at other places I would like completely new car, Like Sumo, Dzire. etc.
 
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Yes whether the car is,
1.successfull.
2.beautiful for eyes and pleasure to drive.
3.right on brand image.
4.safer as time passes.
5.having a design that can overcome time.
 
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Today's world population is more than 700 crore. Out of this 700 crore humans, how many are going to be looking similar to other humans. Each one is looking different, i have visited many places in India and seen atleast a million faces in my life,i have not come across any one resemling me.If that is the real world then why we should see the old cars again and again. It is really boring. Imagine your wife and your neighbors wife are looking the same,Will you ever turn your head towards your neighbors house(Just for fun).There are 100 crore cars allover the world,but only few designs.It is really shame on mankind.The car makers are fooling us or otherwise they dont have ideas.Today duster is selling like hot cakes,why? The design is new and we got bored with scorpio.So in my opinion go for new designs.i dont want to see any swift,sumo,scorpio likes.
 
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Today's world population is more than 700 crore. Out of this 700 crore humans, how many are going to be looking similar to other humans. Each one is looking different, i have visited many places in India and seen atleast a million faces in my life,i have not come across any one resemling me.If that is the real world then why we should see the old cars again and again. It is really boring. Imagine your wife and your neighbors wife are looking the same,Will you ever turn your head towards your neighbors house(Just for fun).There are 100 crore cars allover the world,but only few designs.It is really shame on mankind.The car makers are fooling us or otherwise they dont have ideas.Today duster is selling like hot cakes,why? The design is new and we got bored with scorpio.So in my opinion go for new designs.i dont want to see any swift,sumo,scorpio likes.
So what do you expect? 100 crores designed car for each person? [lol]
 
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my views.
if you are a volume player you need to update the looks of the car. no matter how timeless your design is.

with those volumes the eyes get used to the shape, hence the love is lost for that vehicle , no matter how good it might be during the launch times.

if you are a niche player, and all it cares is just carrying their legacy, like the premier padmini, HM ambassador, willys jeep, then sure yo u need to maintain the design cues.

its not going to set the charts on fire anyways, so why invest that much more money in design and redesigning of the newer dies for their sheets panels? [lol]
 
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There is nothing wrong in retaining the old look. But if the vehicle is not equipped well up to the market expectations it will simply be seen as an upgrade or facelift. This could actually back fire especially when the old generation is still open in the market.

In Storme I was expecting a Global vehicle from Tata which could stir up not just the Indian market only but the international arena as well. Along with their efforts in setting up the JLR unit in China with Cherry, Tata should have developed a world class product in Storme on their own in India.We Indians deserve better vehicles for the money we spend with better quality and luxury.[frustration]
 
Thread Starter #11
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I think we must understand that OEM's follow two kinds of design philosophy:

1. The Evolutionary philosophy.


2. The Revolutionary philosophy.


Now if a car has reached the end of its design life,i.e.,people don't find the design exciting,it has lost its charm then its better to go for the second kind of design;the revolutionary one:where the new gen car will look completely different from the old one.Prime example is old Verna/Elantra/Sonata<<<<<Newer ones.


But if a particular car has cult following meaning that fans of that car swear on the design of that thing,it possess timeless charm then its better to follow the first design school of thoght:the evolutionary one.Prime example is Range Rover,every RR looks like a RR yet there is something very subtle and new.

Most people criticizing Tara for retaing old body shell in Storme don't understand the cult following a Tata Safari has,Tata has modernize Safari yet retained something in Storme that is so quintessentially Safari!!
 
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Having some designs shared with outgoing model is OK but having all models look the same is bad. Eg. All audi's look the same, except R8. Same is the case with VW.
 
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It seems like our Member Xover is swinging his Forked toungue is to favor Tata safari storme.
Hold on,
1, then why isnt old model discontinued yet?
2.Any Idiot including myself is bound to laugh at such a goof up which looks more of a job half done when they both side by side at same stall
 
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Thread Starter #14
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It seems like our Member Xover is swinging his Forked toungue is to favor Tata safari storme.
[lol]

I have had my fair of love/hate/debate/respect in our wonderful forum,but "forked tongue",that's like slaying The Xover with sweet knife.C'mon buddy thou can do better.[lol]

Hold on,
1, then why isnt old model discontinued yet?
2.Any Idiot including myself is bound to laugh at such a goof up which looks more of a job half done when they both side by side at same stall
Just wait for few more months and Tata will discontinue current Safari barring the LX variant that will serve as an entry level variant for the Safari range.
 
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Yes, if the old one was a well loved and accepted design, and no if that was a universally mocked at design. In the first case, the manufacturer should focus on improving the less stellar aspects while going mild on those that worked in it's favor. There is something called a character of a vehicle-in looks as well. I, for one, detest the looks of the new Patrol.
 

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