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> ...because every car people are buying looks identical... Why wouldn't you expect this sort of convergence? A bunch of companies trying to solve the same pr

by Syonyk 3y ago

> ...because every car people are buying looks identical... Why wouldn't you expect this sort of convergence? A bunch of companies trying to solve the same problems with the same constraints are likely to find very similar solutions. We saw it with aviation - over time, jet aircraft look more and more like each other, because certain solutions, once they become available (twinjets demonstrating enough reliability for extended overwater operations) are simply better in about every metric you'd possibly care about.

gpm 3y ago
Because different people need different things from their vehicles, and as such the optimal shape should be different. Moreover because it's pretty clear from consumer preferences that vehicle-profiles are largely a fashion choice, and there still isn't much variation. A vehicle that I'm much more excited about than cybertruck in terms of shape is aptera [1], with a drag co-efficient of 0.13 (model 3: 0.23, toyota corolla: 0.29). They're giving things up in exchange for this (most notably back seats), but if you don't need the things you're giving up it's a huge win. [1] https://aptera.us/ https://aptera.us/
- kyleee 3y ago
  I want one. I hope they’re doing well
chucksmash 3y ago
I get your point but there is also a huge amount of aping what is successful. E.g., as gas mileage requirements increase, you'd expect things to become more aerodynamic. Separate from that, the Ford Escape was reworked to look like a knock off Subaru and the Ford Explorer was reworked to look like a knock off Range Rover. If it were just a matter of convergent evolution to fit the constraints of US gas mileage regulations, why did the Ford Explorer also copy the Range Rover's hood lettering?
argonaut 3y ago
Car design is driven more by market analysis / price discrimination than engineering constraints. Engineering constraints explain some aspects of car design but they don't explain the generally conservative designs of a lot of automakers. Take the new Toyota Prius, for example. The updated model almost looks like a concept car but still has a similar shape to other cars. There's no constraint reason Toyota couldn't have styled the car similarly in previous generations. I'm guessing they made the car look like this because Prius sales were falling and they decided they needed to be aggressive with styling for sales. They may have also decided that consumers that want a car with lots of cargo space are going for SUVs and crossovers anyways, so they could make the new Prius sleeker. There are also tons of examples of automakers intentionally reserving nicer looking features as more expensive options or for more expensive luxury models. Fabric is not really cheaper than fake leather (both of these materials are just plastic). But automakers always charge more for fake leather.
BoxOfRain 3y ago
I do wish it was common to have more colours at least, everything on the road being black, white, or silver is really bland and soulless in my opinion.

by Syonyk 3y ago

gpm 3y ago

Because different people need different things from their vehicles, and as such the optimal shape should be different. Moreover because it's pretty clear from consumer preferences that vehicle-profiles are largely a fashion choice, and there still isn't much variation. A vehicle that I'm much more excited about than cybertruck in terms of shape is aptera [1], with a drag co-efficient of 0.13 (model 3: 0.23, toyota corolla: 0.29). They're giving things up in exchange for this (most notably back seats), but if you don't need the things you're giving up it's a huge win. [1] https://aptera.us/ https://aptera.us/

kyleee 3y ago
I want one. I hope they’re doing well

chucksmash 3y ago

I get your point but there is also a huge amount of aping what is successful. E.g., as gas mileage requirements increase, you'd expect things to become more aerodynamic. Separate from that, the Ford Escape was reworked to look like a knock off Subaru and the Ford Explorer was reworked to look like a knock off Range Rover. If it were just a matter of convergent evolution to fit the constraints of US gas mileage regulations, why did the Ford Explorer also copy the Range Rover's hood lettering?

argonaut 3y ago

Car design is driven more by market analysis / price discrimination than engineering constraints. Engineering constraints explain some aspects of car design but they don't explain the generally conservative designs of a lot of automakers. Take the new Toyota Prius, for example. The updated model almost looks like a concept car but still has a similar shape to other cars. There's no constraint reason Toyota couldn't have styled the car similarly in previous generations. I'm guessing they made the car look like this because Prius sales were falling and they decided they needed to be aggressive with styling for sales. They may have also decided that consumers that want a car with lots of cargo space are going for SUVs and crossovers anyways, so they could make the new Prius sleeker. There are also tons of examples of automakers intentionally reserving nicer looking features as more expensive options or for more expensive luxury models. Fabric is not really cheaper than fake leather (both of these materials are just plastic). But automakers always charge more for fake leather.

BoxOfRain 3y ago

I do wish it was common to have more colours at least, everything on the road being black, white, or silver is really bland and soulless in my opinion.