Heya,

I was looking at the 380 the other day (not intending to buy but just having a look)
The back seems REALLY high, like out of proportion such that imo it looks silly.

Is this the general consensus?
Could you put super lows on the back to flatten it out?

Just looks strange to me :confused:

Guess it just adds to the luxury drive which lowered springs could never offer?

Alot of the newer cars look a bit odd. Might just be because were used to a certain preconception of what a car looks like.

Is there any technical reasoning behind raising the back?

Is there any technical reasoning behind raising the back?
Good aerodynamics. The higher the bootlid the less of a low pressure pocket formed above the bootlid/behind the back windscreen. Most of a cars aero gains are to be had at the back, not the front. I remember when the TE ( the most aerodynamic production car in australia at the time ) was released i thought that the boot was pretty high, now look at it next to a 380!

Yep I remember reading about that in the first TE/KE brochures, which I still have by the way. TE's and I presume later 3rd gens had a 0.28 drag co-efficient.

As for the 380's bumpy, alot of cars have this wedge shape profile now, the new Lexus IS250 one example. Even still, a black VRX or GT from any angle looks super dooper imo. Anyone followed the 380 and noticed how wide the buggers are?! Seriously, one of the widest cars I've seen for a long while.

It looks high from outside, but once you drive one it doesnt seem that high or wide. but my god it is orgasum to drive.

Heya,

I was looking at the 380 the other day (not intending to buy but just having a look)
The back seems REALLY high, like out of proportion such that imo it looks silly.

Is this the general consensus?
Could you put super lows on the back to flatten it out?

Just looks strange to me :confused:

You are not alone. The high waist-line which rises towards the rear of the car with the stubby boot makes the rear of the car look unappealing. The front looks good on the VR-X spec model.

FF

VE Commodore will have a high rear as well, it's just the new styling direction, it will grown on people.

Yeah as above - its the new direction. WAIT till you see the new Avalon though - that's so awkward and half baked looking that the 380 suddenly becomes a thing of beauty and sleekness by comparison. The upcoming Camry is similar - lumpy and bumpy and bits going every which way...

You are not alone. The high waist-line which rises towards the rear of the car with the stubby boot makes the rear of the car look unappealing.

FF
Thats your opinion... I like the styling, 90% of people here like the styling. This is a new trend just like the short boot/long bonnet of the 60's, coke bottle hip lines of the 70's, shovel noses and big glass of the 80's and soft organic lines like in the 90's.

Yeah as above - its the new direction. WAIT till you see the new Avalon though - that's so awkward and half baked looking...

You mean this bucket? :nuts:



http://www.toyota.com/images/vehicles/2006/avalon/gallery/exterior/large/photo_5.jpg

http://www.drivearabia.com/toyota/thumbnails/toyotaavalonthum.jpghttp://images.intellichoice.com/images/AutoShows/Big/DETROIT/2006_Toyota_Avalon.jpg

......it's just the new styling direction, it will grown on people.

That is what they said about the AU in 1998. It still looks fugly in 2006! First impressions are the most important - either the people like the styling or they don't. Styling never grows on people - they become imune to it over time.

FF

and more...


animated gif.. wait for it to load...

http://dealer.webmakerx.net/Images/Picture/2005/July/lg_AVALON.gif

All the new sedans seem to be really high at the back...but then again all magnas have been high, from the TR up.

Thats your opinion... I like the styling, 90% of people here like the styling. This is a new trend just like the short boot/long bonnet of the 60's, coke bottle hip lines of the 70's, shovel noses and big glass of the 80's and soft organic lines like in the 90's.

If you read the post carefully you will see that it is not my opinion. I was agreeing with somebody else's opinion.

FF

If you agree then you're taking his opinion as your own you realise :P just stirrin

If you read the post carefully you will see that it is not my opinion. I was agreeing with somebody else's opinion.

FF
Reels him in... :sook:

If you agree then you're taking his opinion as your own you realise :P just stirrin

Good1 m8. :D

FF

[QUOTE=CanberraVR-X]You mean this bucket? :nuts:

Yeah that's the thing - very confused looking car - like the sides are from one car, the front is off something from the mid 80s, and the back is off another car again. At least the current Avalon is so bland its styling is not an issue, but this is just plain offensive to the eyes!

I noted also with interest lately when I read that the current 'Fugly' Lexus ES300 has been a sales disaster here in Oz and is now being dropped from the range. Wheras the earlier two models of ES300 were quite sleek for their respective times and were high sellers. So it seems even the seemingly indomitable Toyota has gone too far down the Quirky road with the styling....

Oh yeah and while we're on the subject - the next Maxima! Bleh! Bleh!

You know to me, no matter how much I look at the 380 and that avalon and try to get the style to grow on me, it just doesn't work. It just looks to me like the car would be uncomfortable, imagine having to keep your ass up in the air, the middle section would be so sore. :confused: I know you shouldn't think of cars as people, but that's just the way the high back end makes me feel.

Oh, but in 3 years time when I replace my TJ i'll still be getting one :bowrofl:
*oooogles at the 380's power*

here it is - the 'Aurion':

http://carsguide.news.com.au/story/0,20384,18082680-5002663,00.html

That is what they said about the AU in 1998. It still looks fugly in 2006! First impressions are the most important - either the people like the styling or they don't. Styling never grows on people - they become immune to it over time.

FF I have to disagree there. When I had my TE and started spotting TJ's, I hated them. I hated the way the front bonnet's 'hump' came down onto the front of the car. There were other minor bits and pieces that I didnt like much either. Over time they grew on me, so much so that I went out and bought a TJ.
I think cars are like songs, the more you listen, the more you like.

That is what they said about the AU in 1998. It still looks fugly in 2006! First impressions are the most important - either the people like the styling or they don't. Styling never grows on people - they become imune to it over time.


Problem with the AU was that the car was shaped like a deflated ballon, based on rough styling from the US Taraus, and those lights were shocking - but have you ever seen the rear of the new Merc CLS - falcon rear lamps and a high boot line.

Problem with the AU was that the car was shaped like a deflated ballon, based on rough styling from the US Taraus, and those lights were shocking - but have you ever seen the rear of the new Merc CLS - falcon rear lamps and a high boot line.

Yes I first saw the new CLS in Stuttgart last year - and it is a fugly looking car.

FF