Why don’t all cars look like Ferraris? | Hacker News Reader

Why don’t all cars look like Ferraris?

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25 pointsamitassaraf21 comments

"As you can tell it is not so simple to point out why I can’t tell the difference between a Civic and a Volkswagen in the streets of Ramat Hasharon in Israel."

I beg to differ.

The reason Civics and Volkswagens look the same is that most vehicles are designed under the same constraints, particularly maximizing interior space while reducing drag. And most makers are using the same techniques to solve those constraints.

Ferrari tosses out the interior space constraint and adds others.

Fieros and Solstices and such were actually pretty crappy. (The MR2 just doesn't do anything for me.) S2000s are still reasonably popular, and the MX-5 is a periennial best seller.

Also, safety systems and laws dictate some of the shape similarities. Its an expensive game to come up with a new shape.

Plus, some of us find Ferrari to not look as good as a Jaguar E-Type or a Porsche 356 speedster. I'm pretty sure there are people whose heart sings when they see certain Chevy, Fords, Hondas, etc.

This is an area where I get pretty excited about EVs. You don't have to hinge a literal block of metal downwards so it doesn't end up in passenger's lap. The sled design provides a ton of lateral rigidity that's hard to match.

It's no wonder that Tesla destroyed the competition on safety. There's also probably still improvements to be made given how new EVs are yet.

Yes. My Nissan Leaf has great room. At 6’5”, I have several inches of head room, and can put the seat all the way back with adults behind me.

Weirdly, the non-electric Smart Car can actually fit some big people, but it does suffer a bit in the gas mileage department.

I am enjoying driving a hybrid for the weight distribution the batteries provide. It does help winter driving to have some balance in weight on the back wheels.

Compacts tend to be taller. For some reason, as they make cars longer, they make them shorter. Though my Leaf is still several inches taller than a Volt, with about the same length. The Volt is horrible for leg room.

I can guarantee you that there are Texans who prefer their F-250 King Ranch diesel fine-tuned six different ways to Sunday more than any fancy foreign thing.

Since I'm in farm country in North Dakota, I agree and I can say it is no accident Ford sells a truck that lists out near $100,000.

Kinda like asking why isn't there a single "best" brand of car. The answer is fairly obvious in that "best" is hugely subjective and governed by many variables including a particular individual's needs or preferences. This gives rise to many "local maxima" in the subjective preference function, allowing a variety of car types to exist.

because Ferraris and other supercars are built to go fast at the expense of literally everything else.

The overwhelming focus on aerodynamics results in a sterotypical look, but it's just one that happens to be horrible at carrying groceries or more than two people.

At least in the US they make good looking but affordable car like the mustang, camaro, corvette,...

In europe it’s really rare to see a car that doesn’t look like a potatoe.

The other thing is that because of CAFE standards, there is convergent evolution towards maximally aerodynamic blobs.

Pedestrian safety standards make them converge towards aerodynamic blobs with tall hoodlines.

None so pretty as Crockett's Daytona. (Even though it was really a kit-car based on a 70s Corvette.)

What makes cars design look different is related to intellectual property.

Literally this month GM patented new designs for it's cars of the future.

The Toyota MR2 was a failure?

Yea I wondered that too. I mean I'm super biased, I owned a 2L Turbo 1994 MR2. I loved that car, I was so sad when I sold it. But it was impractical (limited space), somewhat uncomfortable and hard to repair (mid-mounted engines are much harder to work on)

It certainly was a car appreciated by many, but I guess if you asked 100 people what an MR2 was, only ~20% of then would know, so I guess in that regard it was a failure.

When I see the occasional MR2 MK2 around today, I still consider looking to buy one in decent state.

>It certainly was a car appreciated by many, but I guess if you asked 100 people what an MR2 was, only ~20% of then would know, so I guess in that regard it was a failure.

I wouldn't regard that as failure, it was never intended to compete with a Yaris for example - it wasn't exactly a mass market car, but I think used to elevate the brand among enthusiasts.

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