Just a bit of idle waffle, but during a recent post regarding Cyclists and angry drivers etc, someone mentioned that the design of many modern cars was aggressive, although I can see why that was said, I did wonder if they were purposely designed to look aggressive or is that just the style of our time.
Take the new Mustang, or any new Ferrari, Lambo, Jag F Type sports car or even our own beloved MK4 which has a more " Shark " like look to it , or come to think of it, the new Ford Focus,all have a more aggressive look, is it just the style of our time or is it made to appeal to an aggressive new type of driver?
When the Citroen DS was first launched in the 50s, the Design amazed everyone , again that Shark like look , which was totally new compared to a lot of other car designs of the time, aggressive , or just the shape of things to come ?.
Some cars seem to have faces, although this may be me just losing it in my old age.
I was looking at a Daimler Dart recently a lovely looking car in my opinion, but it has a distinctive sulky, pouty bottom lip , and some cars look like they are smiling .
Some cars that blew people away in their time like the early 80s Audi Quattro now look old hat design wise, will the aggressive looking cars of today look old hat in a few years, and where will car design go from here, bearing in mind we will be driving full size Scalextric cars in the not too distant future, will they be practical and âboxyâ or be even more aggressive and futuristic?.
Who knows, and does anyone actually care ?
The âfaceâ I remember most was the smile of the âFrog-eye Spriteâ! 
Yep, good example, remember them well, 
The most aggressive looking vehicles on the road in my opinion are trucks, especially Renaults and Volvos.
I am not sure it is about the overall look, I certainly donât think the MK4 looks aggressive, but cars that are designed to look intimidating in your mirror. Certain cars for a while now have had âevilâ or cross looking lights. Itâs this stuff, the get out of my way look. https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/bmw-design-chief-new-4-series-grille-will-be-brand-shaper
It was me. I loathe the 'get out of ,my way , peasant â styling of most of the more expensive offerings from Audi , BMW and Mercedes especially. The current BMW M car styling has become a parody of BMW house style, as if an M4 has spent too much time in the gym and devoloped a taste for steroids .
Sports cars can look lovely without looking like they want to mug you - look at an Alfa Duetto or a Lotus Elan from the past - or a Porsche Cayman or Renault Alpine now .
As for (retch) Premium SUVs I have no idea why anybody would be seen dead in one . Is it just me who finds the idea of an Audi Q 8 - 5metres long , 2 wide and weighing well over two tons utterly absurd ? Just great on an English country road or car park eh ?
I think these things follow me just so they can park next to me when I am away from the car, making it next to impossible to get in.
Also think the âsafetyâ argument for getting a big SUV is about as selfish a position as it is possible to have. âBaby Tarquin is safe because when mummy drives into a peasant car while doing her makeup the weight advantage is like a bowling ball hitting a skittle.â
Sorry to rant, I think I have lived in Surrey too long.
Some cars do tend to have a certain aggressive âJudge Dreddâ look about them, or perhaps even Star Wars Stormtrooper. Just current trends I guess, especially amongst some Toyota SUVs it seems.
And yes, the ND does look a bit more that way, rather than the previous incarnations of the Worldâs favourite roadster, which have more gracious, flowing, curvaceous lines.
Each to his own though - some people must be buying them, otherwise they wouldnât make them.
Personally although I love the look of old classic sports cars , like the TR5 or Morgan etc, Iâm ok with modern designs as well like the Mk4 which I love ( although I own a mk3 ) and the Jag F type etc, but you can see which way the designs are going, even a lot of the running lights on cars have an upswept frowning eyebrow look which gives it a real " attitude look" it doesnt bother me but I can see why it can be seen as intimidating, unfortunately we live in an aggressive cut and thrust world, which increasingly includes our roads , and perhaps that is reflected in the design of a lot of modern cars.
As for big expensive SUVs , a lot of it is down to image , and making a statement, I used to live near a school, and come picking up time ,the bigger and flashier the car , particularly the big 4x4s ,the nearer the main entrance they would park, in spite of ample space along the nearby roads.
I agree, Iâm fairly open minded about car design myself , but people see cars in different ways , my wife for instance has always liked the Fiat 500 because it looks âcuteâ , and as you say, some cars have a Stormtrooper look, to me, a lot of cars have a predatory Shark like appearance, but this can also be seen to some extent in some older cars like the E type , Marcos, or Citroen DS.
Itâs all about peer pressure at the gym/social club/school gates, once one gets one they all try and outdo each other. The thing is nobody outside their clique gives a monkeyâs.
We went to Dent yesterday. The approach road from the Ribblehead Viaduct end is very narrow and there is a very very narrow bridge with a sharp 90 degree entry, which has obviously been run into by cars/vans on numerous occasions. Scary even for an MX5. When we got to Dent there was an Audi monstrosity (Audi Q7/Q8) parked up (in the direction of travel we had followed) which had a lovely fresh massive scrape down most of the nearside! This propensity for buying massive cars and then driving them on typical British narrow country lanes (cos itâs 4 wheel drive innit?) is a bit silly. They should stick to motorways and A roads.
We drive an SUV because we like the elevated driving position so we can see better what is going on around us, especially on the motorway. We also want space for the dogs (which you can get in an estate car) but also the ground clearance and off-road capability (which you canât).
However, I hate the modern obsession with âaggressive stylingâ. Back in the day Jaguar used the slogan âGrace, Space and Paceâ yet every review of their new cars will inevitably make reference to more aggressive styling. Why for heavenâs sake? Whatâs wrong with designing a less aggressive car? The XK8s and X308 XJs from the late 1990s werenât aggressive and looked much nicer than todayâs offerings. William Lyons must be turning in his grave.
I think modern electrical light/bulb technology allows headlights and sidelights, in fact all lights ,to be made smaller thinner and with sharp lines which lends itself to edgy styling.
Keith-Jayne does have a point about accessibility, as some years back an Uncle of mine bought a Citroen Picasso purely as it was easier for my Aunt to get in and out, but the school run oversized SUV posing scene is alive and well, I work in the leisure industry and see similar scenarioâs every day.
People usually refer to the front-on view of a car when referring to aggressive design.
However the side-on view is interesting - hereâs why
5 years ago I was t-boned by and older, wedge-shaped ford transit pickup while riding my bike. I was thrown upwards and forwards and landed a few yards away.
Now the wedge shape was I believe a legal requirement at one time, with deformable bumbers set low. so that in a pedestrain accident the victim would not end up under the front of the car or injured by the trim.
But if you look at many cars now fron the side they are anything but!
Some examples for you to look at
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The mini - now a typical flat-fronted car
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Citroen - lovely upside-down chevrons of (presumably clip-on) chrome-plated stuff, great for ripping flesh?
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One estate car I saw a while back, maybe a Mazda, maybe a volvo - a nice wedge-shape, but the wedge would push you downwards, its under the front bumper, with the bumper about head-height for my 4-year old grandson. If you wanted to make a killer you couldnât do a better job (land rovers with sump guards, and commercial vehilces apart)
I could go on, but look for yourselves.
And also ask yourself - how many cars can you spot where the front indicators are all but invisible except when seen from the front? (try left front indicators as seen from the front right, like when waiting at a traffic island)
To add to the problemâŚsince the mention of âdriving full size Scalextric carsââŚis the lack of noise! How will the visually impaired pedestrian cope, indeedâŚI myself who have all (well, the majority 
) of my senses intact was out walking the other day near my homeâŚabout to cross the road, I turned only to be scared witless by this silent creature creeping up on my blindsideâŚan electric car!! I hadnât walked into the road without looking, I was still securely on the pavementâŚbut it was creeping up (almost) behind me.
It is only in circumstances such as that when you realise how much - as a pedestrian - all your senses are used normally without knowing. Electric cars - no noise and no smellâŚpotentially a massive danger to pedestrians. Even the old electric milk floats had that whining noise, so you got some kind of warning. But God forbid all new electric vehicles have âthatâ sound - perhaps a simulation of a ânormalâ vehicle sound.
Thank goodness, I still have my NC with itâs Cobra Road Back boxâŚno one will receive heart failure due to a shock from me and my car.
I seem to remember something in the old Highway Code talking about âAudible means of warning of approach.â
A Cobra back box fits the bill.
New cars might not look very pedestrian-friendly in accidents but theyâre much more carefully designed than used to be the case. Thereâs a lot of attention paid to the height at which a pedestrian would be struck (remembering that it might be a child or adult) , how those parts will deform to cushion the blow and what the person will hit next when the impact spins them over (hence the unloved bonnet popup hinges on ND cars, to raise the bonnet and provide more cushioning space before a pedestrianâs head impacts the engine block). And of course shiny chrome grille parts and bonnet ornaments are now just aluminised plastic brightwork.
What about when the yanks raised the ride height of the MGB by about 2 inches and fitted 5 mph impact bumpers, if you were run over by a chrome bumper B, you ended up on the bonnet, if you were run over by a rubber bumper B, you ended up underneath as it chopped you above the knee. Still at least the indicators didnât get broken. 
I agree it ruined the car, but that was a US regulation that mandated cars should have bumpers at a standard height so they would hit bumper-to-bumper and that they ought to survive a 5mph shunt without needing repair, which isnât unreasonable. I donât know why BL used the US-market rubber bumpers in the UK too - cost I guess. But hitting a pedestrian above the knee doesnât drag them under the car.