Are we going to lose good-looking cars???
 

I just read in the recent issue of CAR magazine that there are lobbying efforts in Europe to ban low, swoopy (and therefore sexy) designs for more upright and 'safer' ones. What the hell is that all about?! I mean alright I understand it's for the safety of pedestrians when it comes to accidents/collisions, but the article suggests that in 10 years time all production cars will have to have more Civic shaped styling (apparently that car was a success in terms testing), while current cars will be progressively phased out... :shock: :x

I'm a huge fan of automotive design, to the point where I was going to study it. I find cars are Art on Wheels. They not only move us from place to place, they also move us within. I love the sturdiness of the Benz or Bimmer, the sexiness of a Ferrari or Maserati, and elegance of a Lexus or Audi... :D

These friekin lobbying groups are pissing me off...alright you wanna save the lives of pedestrians, do so (and I will be fully supportive), but why kill an Art form that touches so many people around the world? Let's face it, everybody likes to see a good-looking car. Everybody: Like that Nissan commercial where young and old, car fan or not, people just stare at the sexy shape of the 350Z. :wink:

People in Europe, take up arms if these groups become too powerful - ok now I'm getting carried away! :lol:

Any input?

Ah, thats one of those lobbys that will never pass. Auto makers and car enthusiasts are just too powerful and if they did this im sure there would be huge protests and many people would just ignore it. I mean... do you actually think Ferrari would turn all their cars into civics!?! Reminds me of the lobby a few years ago that was going to ban all V8s and make it impossible to liscense anything with a V8 in it. Its impossible to do because theres too many die-hard pple out there with 57 chevs, or even chev. pic-ups that would never let their V8 go.

MEH! That's just a bunch of hippies. Don't take it to serious. Fuck them! I'll run them over with a Hummer if I have to :)

The law is not so much banning the 'form' however, it is stating a required distance between the top of the engine and the bonnet, so that when a person hits it, they have a 'crumple' zone!

Therefore, cars that are mid engined or rear engined will not be effected, saving some cars. However, Aston Martin are going to have some problems.

I have not read the new Law yet. So what I have said is only what I have heard. If you like, I can go have a proper look and say exactly what will be going on. I go back to work on the 5th, so I can do it then.

Not really a lobby IMO.. if the new test will impose different shapes to be passed, our cars will change, as sad as it can sound, and if Ferrari will want to produce more than 50 cars/year, they'll have to follow the rules too...

Lobbys different than national or international laws...

Is it even Law yet??! lol

It will be for sure IMO... test changed with the time passing and they'll keep changing I suppose... the only solution is to see pedestrian disappear :P

lol, imagine that! Going from pedestrain zones, to pedetrian FREE zones lol

I think that's one of does ideas that will probably never take off. Why? because if a car is very safe bla, bla bla, and is very ugly no one will buy it. So the manufactures won't let that happen. When i look at photos or videos of cars i don't say, "it's looks safe." i say "the shape is great". You have to remember that the guys im brassels don't have nothing to do so they have to find something that will come on the news, and everyone comments about, just to prove that they are worth it. Bring the fashion in to cars and instead of having one you will have two.

That would be cool to know jon_s!

As for the other comments; I sense two very different responses. Those that belive in it actually becoming a law, to others re-assuring me to ignore it!

Well, if every car around will be "ugly" if we will desire a nice looking car the only solution would be in the second hand market...

Europeans are all backwards! The lot of em.

C'mon Pimrusis....don't be making statements like that. That BS comment will only piss people off.

fuck the lobby groups. heres my solution. look both ways before u cross the road! and if u have one of those drunk drivers lookin to whack ya on the sidewalk, may god help you..... :shock:

Stop watching CNN. your government and media outlets are the ones who are backwards. unless your native american you more than likely came from europe, making you none other than European my little short fused, pea brained americano.

I think they did pass that law. Remember in that Top Gear episode with the jag/volvo guy, he mentioned something about new eu requirements on crumble zone for the pedestrians and the us requirements on protecting unbelted drivers by moving the front windshield up and forward.

So, eventually the jap car manufacturers will take over the industry when the only legal design is a cube.

Yeah, I've heard about this as well and for as far as I can recall these regulations will be here in a while.

Although it might be a setback for car design in the very near future I agree with the editor of the Dutch car magazine Autovisie who said car manufacturers are creative enough to work their way around these rules and come up with good looking cars that follow the regulations. He compared it too the US regulations in the 70s that required cars to be able to withstand crashes at low speeds without damage. Immediately after these regulations took effect it resulted in cars with hideous rubber bumpers stuck to them which destroyed the looks. Very soon after that car designers tackled these problems and designed beautiful cars that complied with the regulations.

It's going to be interesting I think. We might see more mid-engined or rear-engined cars and more flat (boxer) engines or bonnets that lift up a few inches a fraction of a second before the car hits a pedestrian.

Right, here we go! I would love to say that I did a lot of research on the issue, but that would be a lie as EVO has done a lot of work for me! However I have added some of my own opinions, and also some links to relevant sites! So this is a summary of what their (quite long) article says (I make no apologies for the length, as this is an important issue):

Firstly to clear up my own question of, ‘Is it even Law yet?’ The answer is currently no, however the new safety rules are hitting us in the form of a regulation. This without out going into the complexities of EU Law means that there will be an outline of the criteria for the new tests. Then each member state will have to implement these tests before a deadline which will be in the directive. Anyway, enough of that, back to what really matters!

Firstly, the new tests will not completely change the way cars look. So you can all breath a sigh of relief! The first stage of the regulations is due to come into force by 2005. The finer details are still to be completed. Such as whether there will be any exemption for small volume makers, which would save the skin of TVR, Morgan and such like. As it stands though, they still have to comply.

The key words in the directive are: Cars must have frontal structures that ‘mitigate (lessen) the severity of injuries to pedestrians…….’ This is the general concept, and will be introduced in two stages, the first we will see in 2005, but in 2010 much stricter tests will come into force.

The problems that designers are facing revolve around the engine and associated organs such as intercoolers! 80% of all fatal car accidents are cased by head injuries (HI). In order to reduce this, the 2005+ test will require roughly 60-70mm of clearance between the highest ‘hard point’ or the engine and the bonnet. While in 2010+ this distance will increase to around 100mm!

So what have the clever designers come up with to counter-act this problem? Well, quite a lot actually! Swedish specialists ‘Autoliv’ have come up with the “active bonnet” which put simply, is a bonnet based on the same principle as an airbag. At the point of impact the bonnet raises to the stipulated 100mm in under 70 milliseconds. To find out more, go here: http://www.autoliv.com/ (then goto: Research and Dev/ Some projects/ Pedestrian Protection)

The designers have taken this issue of safety and run with it, coming up with some of their own ideas. Such as lowering the bonnet latch to remove it from the path of a victims knee. Removing all the electronics associated with Xenon lights, and move them to the rear of the engine bay, leaving only the glass at the front. There is also talk of mounting the cooling fans and radiators at an angle so they don’t just act as an obstacle. Some designers are even questioning the need for conventional bonnets! I would be very interested to see what they have in mind! (These ideas are from Arup, Advanced Technology Grp)

So what will be seriously affected? Answer the SUV (oh what a shame!) Russell Carr has assured us that the next Lotus Elise will not change too much.

However this is just the start! ‘Urban Safety’ is a hot topic for the EU. They (ETSC) want to reduce pedestrian deaths by 50% in 2010! To do this some drastic changes are needed! The physical restriction of a cars speed in an urban environment is a very real possibility!


I hope this clears up some issues! In short, trust the designers, they are a clever bunch and will work around any new regulations!

I think that will do for now lol

I think it's ridiculous, the only time I hear something from the EU is when they want to ban somethig or restrict something.

Yeh I regret to say that I have heard about all this aswell. Its not as extreme (yet) as having all cars as boxes, but really its to have a bigger gap between the engine and the bonnet so in a pedestrian crash their head doesn't smash against the block.

You can't criticse the safety aspect, but then who is going to buy a box on wheels, even if it is powerful?? Lets just hope that the designers find a way around it. I think it's safe to say that we may never see another car as good looking as the DB7 :(