What happened to the futuristic designs that vehicles once followed?

>>14592916
>Why is everything so cluttered when it comes to car designs today?
ftfy

Because the 1950s were a period of utter economic excess and scientific progress in the US that made everyone believe they were rapidly approaching a utopic future, and product design was a reflection. The atmosphere in the US simply began to sober up in the early 60s not just economically but also in social and international politics.

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>>14592916
>Why is everything so minimalistic when it comes to car designs today?
If only.
Exteriors are bland and boring, not really minimalistic. The good looking cars in the 80s could be described as minimalistic.

Interiors are cluttered and overdesigned.

Hopefully minimalism will become a trend in the auto industry as it did in the tech industry, but I wouldn't get your hopes up.

>>14593001
Depressing to think it didn't turn out that way. The cars were beautiful though

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>>14592916
>Why is everything so minimalistic when it comes to car designs today?
nigga on what planet you live on because car designs today are anything but minimalistic
also even base tier shitboxes have touch screens which definitely isn't minimalistic

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I personally can't wait until this "sweeping bulbous bonnet and long sweeping lights always in the exact same shape" trend dies

>>14593030
Depressing to think that a society with such abundant means saw its future in drive-ins and microwaves instead of things that actually mattered like sustainable urban planning. The 1950s were the birthplace of cookie cutter neighborhoods and driving dependency.

>>14593001
>Because the 1950s were a period of utter economic excess and scientific progress in the US that made everyone believe they were rapidly approaching a utopic future, and product design was a reflection.

>Then the baby boomers came and fucking destroyed it all in cold blood for a quick buck

Fixed

>>14593046
It never will because of pedestrian safety regs.

>>14593058
fuck off

>>14593056
>implying
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHjS9YBXzXU

>>14593056
Depressing In that the futuristic and technological Utopia that was expected to become just didn't.

>>14593075
I am implying a lot of things.

>>14593066
I don't understand how the design of a car can have any effect on how much it hurts a person that it hits unless it has a fucking spear on it.

>>14593083
Technology doesn't automatically fix everything just by pissing away your resources on it.

>>14592916
>What happened to the futuristic designs that vehicles once followed?
Aerodynamics, thanks to fuel crises.

>Why is everything so minimalistic when it comes to car designs today?
AERODYNAMICS. All those obstructions fuck with airflow. I'd much rather have a generic swoopy-lined car than some big pigfat landyacht that can't hold a lane at 80MPH and will spin out if cornered above 20MPH.

You may as well ask why car suspension was so bad in the 50s and 60s...
Oh, wait. You're American; suspension over there HASN'T CHANGED IN DECADES.

>>14593085
If you think the fifties only cared about such things as drive-ins and microwaves, then you've been misled.

There was indeed a concerted effort in areas such as urban planning to create the utopian society they felt was on the horizon.

Aero

>>14593095
There has to be a certain gap (like an inch or two) between the top of any engine component and the hood, so the hood can deform to cushion the fat American body bouncing off of it. So the hood is higher.

This in turn pushes up the seating position, which raises the windshield angle and the beltline and a bunch of other things. What you end up with is a bar of soap.

>>14593164
Hahahah oh man

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I found a 1956 Oldsmobile and was wondering if there is anything I should be on the lookout for.