Car design seems to go in trends so we get rounded shapes and then boxy ones. They have to appeal to a wide audience so can't look too wacky. If you took the grille off the 164 it could a Ford or anything. I actually prefer the more minimal rear. The lights ought to be just functional. Some newer cars have them even smaller with LEDs.
Some companies try quirky designs, but those tend to do less well. I still like to see something different. They have to work around the practical aspects of fitting things in, aerodynamics and safety.
I know Alfa have their fans though. A friend had the 166 V6 and he loved it. He ended up spending a lot fixing the engine after a cam chain failure.
The 166 is basically an evolution of the 164, but I'm not a fan of the rounded look.
I assume his 166 was an interference engine design where the valves will be struck by the pistons if the timing fails.
He probably had to replace most of the valve-train.
I've watched a mechanic make a mistake trying to fix an interference engine, and bend all of it.
Today cars are all kind of similar because there are so many regulations, and most can't really try to do something different.
The Tesla Cyber Truck is an example of doing things different, but I don't understand how they managed to get around so many regulations.
Yes, I think the valves got trashed in his engine.
From what I've heard the Cybertruck has been a disaster with most sales going to Musk's own companies. It looks like it was drawn by a child.
I would never buy one, but I do find it kind of cool looking.
They can hit 60mph in 3 seconds which is insane considering it weighs between 6600-6900 pounds which is nearly the same weight as my F-350 4x4.
There are quite a few of them around here, and for a while I couldn't go more than a few days without passing one on the road.
He claimed they were going to be about $40k, but they ended up between $70-100k.
It didn't make much sense to me because people who drive trucks aren't usually the same people who would want an EV.
But then again, there's Rivian whose truck costs about the same money(or more), and I see a surprising number of those around here too. But I guess they are owned by people who have plenty of money, and don't actually need a truck.
And behind the rear door there is a compartment that folds down and it goes all the way through. You can even stand on the compartment door like a platform.
The Rivian is also rated for off-road and several feet of water, but it also looks a lot cooler. Even if I could afford a new $100k truck I'd go with an older model like the one I have because it's less technology and more reliable in my experience.
But I think the Rivian nailed it for an EV truck:
I don't think the Cybertruck is actually legal to use in the UK as things stand. Big pickups are much less common here and can look out of place. I know they are popular in the US, but the trend for bigger vehicles is not really a good thing. I get that some people need them for work, but they are over the top for taking the kids to school. You end up with a sort of arms race as people feel they need something bigger to be safe from other vehicles.
I do have my own issues with Musk, but he has history on making claims he can't meet. He has driven EV adoption to some extent though. Our next car will be an EV, but probably not a Tesla or a truck.
In the USA Tesla cars are very widespread, but sales of EV's are falling lately.
I'm told it's because the batteries degrade after 5 years, and replacing them is costly. I've never owned one, but all of the battery devices I've owned the battery was the part that started to fail. I'm dealing with that on my phone right now.
Vehicles in the US have always been on the larger side. German cars and Australian cars are kind of similar in size, and US car sizes have somewhat gotten smaller I think. But family cars were wagons, then mini-vans, and now SUV's.
Women seem to often drive SUV's here, and those are pretty large.
Japanese models have gotten larger too.
Honda Civic used to be a very small car, and now they're bigger than a Ford Focus. Trucks in the USA have always been a thing, and the size of the trucks today is definitely larger. I think a lot of it has to do with our roads system. Even in cities the roads are pretty larger here.
Just today we borrowed a friend's F350 diesel to haul another truck that has no engine cross-state.
The trip was 130 miles, and $100 of fuel put the tank at 3/4 with diesel at $6.50/gallon. It had a quarter left when we got back.
Originally were going to use my truck, but it's a 2008 gas engine with 300k miles so I was relieved.
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