Car Design Trends Come and Go
Just like everything, trendy automotive designs usually come and go with time. One year, tail fins are popular; the next, they make gearheads cringe. In fact, there are plenty of unique design choices that once featured on just about every newly released car, only for them to fade out of style. Let’s take a closer look at some automotive design trends that we’re glad are gone.
Black Wheels
When black wheels first hit the scene, they looked undeniably cool. They were incredibly distinctive and usually featured on high-performance cars. However, when you get into the nitty-gritty of things, they actually aren’t very practical, as they disguise the diameter of the wheel. For this reason, they aren’t quite as common as they once were.
Horizontal Tail Lamp Bar
One of the most obvious changes to cars over the years has been tail light designs. Back in the day, simple designs were far more common. Then, we went through a patch where horizontal bar lights were all the rage. While they may have looked pretty sleek, this trend has slowly started to die out.
Flying Roofs
A flying roof (though not a technical name) refers to a roof that appears detached from the C- or D-pillars of the car. While this trend did create a more interesting side glass graphic, it also compromised the driver's rear quarter visibility.
Fake Hood Scoops
Fake hood scoops offered an aggressive design but were impractical in many ways. Muscle cars, in particular, seemed to always feature them, even though most car enthusiasts knew that they were simply for looks. As a result, fake hood scoops slowly became less and less popular.
Excessive Chrome Trim
Like with interior design, excessive trim was once a hot commodity in the world of automotive design. In fact, you would struggle to find a car that didn’t have excessive chrome trim on both the interior and exterior. However, as minimalism took over, this trend slowly died out - and we are glad it did.
Pop-Up Headlights
Pop-up headlights were once all the rage - especially in the 80s and 90s. With that being said, they were incredibly impractical and prone to mechanical issues. Nowadays, you hardly ever see them on new cars, even though some vintage vehicles that feature pop-up headlights still sell for a fortune.
Oversized Rear Spoilers
If done correctly, rear spoilers can look incredibly cool. In saying that, we are definitely glad that oversized spoilers are a thing of the past. This unique design trend was more about style than aerodynamics, making it rather impractical. To be honest, we don’t even think that they looked that great anyway.
Wood Paneling on Cars
One design trend that screams ‘old-fashioned’ and ‘outdated’ is wood paneling. While this look may have been popular in the 70s and 80s, it no longer fits the trendy minimalistic and modern movement.
Unnecessarily Large Grills
Sadly, you will still find a few modern cars that feature this design trend. To be honest, we don’t understand what all of the rage was about. Oversized grills are both impractical and purposeless. On top of this, they make properly cleaning your car a bit of a nightmare!
Hard Plastic Interiors
We don’t see why anyone ever thought that this was a good idea. Just a few years ago, every newly released car seemed to be made using a hard plastic interior. Not only was it cheap-looking, but it was also incredibly uncomfortable. Luckily, most car companies have started replacing them with soft-touch materials.
Overly Complicated Infotainment Systems
While having a high-tech infotainment system may be nice to show off, there is no denying that overly complicated systems are more of a headache than anything else. Let’s be honest. We don’t even know what half of those buttons do anyway.
Unnecessary Roof Racks
Some car companies started including roof racks on their vehicles in order to make them look more off-road capable. However, in many cases, this design choice was simply implemented for aesthetic purposes. In other words, they don’t actually function as proper roof racks!
Bubble-Shaped Mini Vans
Some of the earliest mini-vans were designed to appear very rounded in shape. Thankfully, recent designs have given way to sleeker, more stylish models.
Two-Tone Paint Jobs
Just a few years back, two-tone cars were seemingly everywhere. While we can understand that it may be difficult to choose a car color, this design trend definitely wasn’t the way to go, as it simply looked a bit cheap.
Vinyl Roofs
Vinyl roofs were meant to mimic convertible tops. However, while they may have been popular at first, they didn’t age well. Nowadays, you’d struggle to find a single new car that features a vinyl top.
Continental Kits
Continental kits were essentially external spare tire mounts. There is no denying that they looked cool, but, in reality, they were incredibly impractical.
Excessive Body Cladding
A few years ago, excessive body cladding was extremely common. In fact, most newly released models featured over-the-top plastic trim that made the car look both bulky and, in our opinion, rather cheap.
Landau Bars
Landau bars were yet another design element that served no real purpose. This decorative feature was mainly found on hardtop cars. Over time, however, as people came to realize that they were pretty useless, the bars began to fade out of popularity.
Opera Windows
A few years ago, opera windows were arguably one of the most popular design trends. They were essentially small, decorative windows that added little to no visibility. For this reason, the trend slowly died out—and we are glad it did.
Fake Vents
Like many of the previously popular design features on our list, fake vents served no real purpose - other than aesthetically, of course. In fact, they were incredibly impractical and made it more difficult for owners to clean their cars properly. As a result, they began to fade out of popularity pretty quickly.
