You lose, Toyota

“When creating the first-ever Toyota C-HR, Toyota's team of global designers (my underlining) was inspired by a single theme: the diamond.”
HUH? Do they realize how silly that sounds? Or am I out-of-it? Totally clueless — an old geezer unhip to the new reality?
Whatever; I wouldn’t touch this thing with a ten-foot pole!
Ugly as sin! Even a platypus looks better.
I admit I am no longer addicted to automobiles.
I occasionally find myself seeing cars not familiar, and many are grotesque.

A Jaguar XK-E. (Photo by BobbaLew.)

A Porsche 904. (Photo by BobbaLew.)

I come from an era that generated the best-looking cars ever: the Jaguar XK-E and the Porsche 904.
Unfortunately the Porsche is a racecar, but I certainly drew enough 904s.
Even some of Detroit’s cars looked pretty good, but now they seem in lockstep with the Japanese.
I happen to own a 2012 Ford Escape. It looks pretty good, but it’s five years old, and slight rust is appearing.
I don’t look forward to replacing it. It’s an All-Wheel-Drive SUV. Oldsters like me like the taller seating of an SUV.
I also need All-Wheel-Drive. It negates having to clear my long driveway unless I get eight or more inches of snow.
AWD also makes it easier to chase trains. (I’m a railfan.) I can safely navigate icy dirt-tracks and farm-tractor paths.
No doubt a 2012 Escape is not as aero-friendly as what’s available now. It’s a brick.
Even an XK-E and Porsche 904 have lousy aero.
“Sleek lines and distinctive exterior” — are they kidding? Dumbo the Elephant is “sleek?”
Even Honda looked fair not too long ago. Now they look awful. It’s their attempt to paste brand-identity on the front of every model = that ugly strip across the full frontal face of every offering.
The FIT looked fine until they started doing that. A wonderful chassis with excellent space-utilization. But I can’t get past its front.
Then there’s Lexus with its angry upsidedown fishmouth grafted to the front of every model.
Not too long ago I saw what I think is the new Prius. All pointy knife-edges poking toward the stratosphere; even its corners.
Nice concept, but dreadfully ugly; a turnoff.
Even Detroit is doing brand-identity. Chevrolet pasting the same styling themes on every model. And Ford with its Aston-Martin grille, or sundered in two with a slivered opening up top.
Even Chevrolet is doing double grille-scoops, which look ridiculous on its tiny “Spark.”
Only Chrysler has good-looking styling; purveyor of the infamous K-car.
Is this what I have to look forward to? Frumpy cars totally lacking in grace?
“Sleek and distinctive” is the XK-E: prettiest car of all time.


Prettiest car of all time.