While most of our staffers walked around the Maxima chatting about its new design, its wider stance, its weight, engine covers, etc., I thought about how ridiculous we would all look in the eyes of a foreigner who doesn't know or care about cars.
Take, for example, the few quips our staffers had about the Maxima's taillights (which resemble Camry lights) and door handles (monstrous pullers covered in chrome). If you removed badges from three or four mid-size cars and talked with a foreigner about their lights and handles, I'm not so sure that he/she wouldn't just laugh at you and ask, "Aren't these all the same cars?"
Heck, they'd have a valid point.
Today, taillights pretty much all look the same. Door handles are the same. The general shape of cars is almost always the same. And I know a lot of features and styling cues are constantly being refined and bettered, but cars don't really stand out on the road like they used to.
Even the much-hyped Nissan GT-R import is mistaken for the Nissan Z by the general public.
So what would I suggest to automakers that want their new cars to stand out?
Stop being so sensible!
Where did all the crazy excess of the 1960s go? How about the senseless, but good-looking car features such as hidden headlights or split windows?
Does every small feature on every car really have to be justified with the phrases "energy-saving" or "performance-enhancing"?
Give me a slower, two-door coupe with two layers of hidden projector headlights that add 50 pounds to the front end. Make sure the car's rear view is fully obstructed (don't give me that back-up camera or sensors), and surround the windows with real chrome. Better yet, make the doors sound like metal when they are slammed shut (pretty soon drivers will need to hear an MP3 track of an old door closing to know it's safe to walk away from a vehicle). And please, complete my car's look with some high-rise rear fins.
Sure, I'd hate to fill up the car's gas tank. But I'd have a much easier time finding it in the parking lot.