We’ve seen plenty of car manufacturers adopt radical new visual identities in recent years, with everyone from the likes of BMW to Rolls-Royce unveiling new logos. Indeed, anything car design-related is almost guaranteed to elicit a strong emotional response – and that goes for the interior and exterior of the vehicles themselves.
Petrolheads have been sharing their least favourite car design details via car magazine Jalopnik, which put out a general callout asking “what car has the most egregious design flaw?” (Looking for design inspiration? Check out the 10 best car logos on the road today.)
From Tesla’s retractable door handles to the Cadillac Lyriq’s glove compartment that can only be accessed via touchscreen, Jalopnik itself shares plenty of examples. But it’s in the 250+ and counting comments where the real fury lies.
“The centre door lock on my BMW. it is infuriating!” One user exclaims (presumably thinking the button should be on the door itself rather than under the dash). Another bemoans how aluminium inlays on gearsticks get “ridiculously toasty after a few hours in the sun.”
Others complain about low quality parts. “1990-2010 plastic parts in the engine bay. I’m looking at you BMW and VAG and your crappy plastic dipstick tubes, plastic water pump impellers, plastic EVERYTHING. I checked the oil on an Audi 1.8t and the dip stick tube just disintegrated, some chunks fell into the oil pan. How was that a good idea?”
And then there are some cars whose entire design, nay, existence, is seen as egregious. The top offender? Tesla’s, Cybertruck, of course. Says one user, “Cybertruck. Just like, the whole goddamn body. It’s a knife on wheels. There are so many ways this thing can hurt both pedestrians and its owners. Get hit by one of these things and you’re done for sure. But if you own one? Watch out. That 90° angle on the frunk will straight up scalp you when it’s open, and the rear of the bed will gouge a chunk out of your arm if you graze it while walking past. Not to mention all of the fingers (and produce) the frunk has already consumed.”
So there we have it – while many cars might be famous for their sleek and covetable designs, there are a whole lot of quirks big and small that drive fans up the wall. For some inside knowledge on what goes into the design of a sports car, take a look at our interview with Lexus at Milan Design Week.
