In Defense Of Boring Cars and Why We Need Them

“All cars look the same nowadays,”, “Why do cars feel so bland now?” are all sentiments you hear a lot within the car community recently. Whether it be hating on how new SUVs look like the same 16 jellybeans from 16 different companies, or ranting about how the automotive industry needs more V8 two-seater convertibles, there’s tons of people online complaining about the soulless modernity of the automobile.  As a car enthusiast myself, I find myself sympathizing with most of these statements but as I dug deeper, I realized that we NEED these boring cars, let me explain.

There’s a few reasons as to why cars all look and feel the same nowadays. Firstly, let’s talk about costs. A company’s ultimate goal is to earn as much profit as possible and automakers are no different, which is why they’ve started to initiate globalised vehicle production platforms. The more cars using the same platform, the more parts are shared, and the more costs are cut, plain and simple. However, it also comes at a “cost” to how many designs could be done on the same platform, resulting in a homogenous blob of similar looking vehicles. 



Tighter safety requirements, emissions and technology are also one of the reasons as well. Since the 1990s, tighter safety standards meant that automakers needed to make their cars more larger and rounded for crumple zones and passenger safety. More airbags and thicker A-pillars were needed if they wanted to pass regulations. Not to mention the infinite amount of new safety technology needed in new vehicles like lane-keep assist and autonomous emergency braking. 

Fuel emissions regulations also played a part in this, as automakers needed to make their designs as aerodynamic as possible, as seen in the recent sharp sporty design trend especially on SUV’s. From an enthusiast standpoint, these all resulted in a heavy, unengaging and soulless drive. What’s worse is that the steering nowadays feels light and lifeless, it’s like life has been extracted away from these cars, but does it need to even have it at all?

Look, the truth of the matter is that we need these boring cars. No matter how soulless or unintuitive the drive will be, the average consumer couldn’t care less about it, and why would they? All they need is a reasonably priced, comfortable, people-hauler or grocery getter, not a mountain carver or a dragster. In fact, enthusiasts should be thankful these cars exist for the average consumer to purchase. Cool sports cars aren’t cheap to design and even more expensive to manufacture, those who’ve kept up with the sales numbers of sports cars will know that companies lose money on the sports cars they make, so a company needs to be somewhat wealthy enough to tank the cost of producing one. Without these ‘boring’ cars, none of our adored sports cars would’ve even been made at all.

 
A good example of this would be Toyota with their sports car lineup right now, as they now have the GR 86, GR Corolla and GR Supra, with even the GR Celica announced. The millions of Camrys and Corollas sold globally was how Toyota got back into their exciting era of new sports cars. So while it might feel disheartening to see the streets dominated by SUVs that could pass as siblings, they’re the unsung heroes that keep the lights on at the factory for all automakers.

In the end, it’s a symbiotic relationship. The practicality-driven cars provide the foundation, and the passion-driven cars build the legacy. So, instead of cursing the blandness in modern cars, maybe we should celebrate the fact that, for every 16 jellybean SUVs, there’s a glimmer of hope for another GR Celica, another Mustang, or another MX-5. There’s the increasing worry of sports cars getting the bland treatment too, but that’s a conversation for another day. The heart of the automotive world is still beating, it just needs a little support from its practical brothers.

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