Bureaucracy is Sucking the Life Out of Car Design

I’m disappointed that bureaucracy is sucking the life out of car design. Seriously, it feels like the automotive industry is wrapped-up in so much bureaucratic red-tape that it’s choking the life out of what makes/made cars exciting. Gone are the days of wild & unbridled creativity. It’s been replaced with regulations… regulations that seem more designed to make cars conform rather than making them better. 

Bureaucracy has destroyed elegant automotive design…

That battle is already lost. Take the infamous bumper regulations for example. Back in the 1970s, the U.S. decided that bumpers needed to withstand a 5mph impact without damage. Now, I’m not saying safety isn’t important, but when do the lines overlap between regulation safety & regulating artistic expression. Just look at the Jaguar E-Type or the Fiat 124 Spider. These beauties ended up with heavy, ugly, clunky bumpers that looked like an afterthought – because they were. Sleek, romantic, aerodynamic lines? Gone – and replaced by steel or thick rubber monstrosities that could double as battering rams. The E36 BMW M3 is a driver’s legend. But it had to be modified to meet U.S. crash standards. The result? A reinforced front bumper that added weight & altered the car’s handling dynamics. You know – the whole reason someone would choose a BMW M3 in the first place.

The design copycat conundrum… 

There was a time when a design firm (such as Pininfarina) used specific design language for each individual client. Every manufacturers’ design language was identifiable. Not just up close, but from what felt like a mile away. Now? Automotive designers jump ship & take a specific artistic design language with them. And you’re left with vehicles whose interiors look like a Rolex watch… purchased on a Temu budget.

Remember when cars & trucks had true character? 

When they had unique & authentic appeal? Car companies were distinctive. There was something about each individual model that you could feel. A Porsche didn’t look like an Audi, and a GM EV crossover wasn’t also a new Acura EV crossover. We had real options. And car companies used true style & nuances to garner our attention. I’m not saying that doesn’t exist anymore, but now it seems to be isolated to certain lifestyle vehicles (like Jeep, Bronco, last-year’s Mopars, etc).

Yes – thanks to the never-ending parade of global government regulations… 

We have applianced our automotive industry. Pay attention to how car-makers advertise cars nowadays. It often revolves almost completely around safety, tech, & convenience… with very little to do on how they actually drive. In a lot of cases, they barely even show you the whole car anymore (why bother honestly)… just a fancy headlight, taillight, grille… or black roof. And don’t even get me started on the unnecessary design changes forced by bureaucracy that seem more like posturing than anything else. 

Walk through any parking lot… 

And try to tell me which Target mom-machine is which without looking at the badge. It’s like playing a really boring version of Where’s Waldo. Except this time, Waldo is a bloated crossover with all the personality of a soggy cardboard box. And he’s not wearing red, just light gray or dark gray. It’s a comically sad, and it points to how indifferent we’ve become as a society. And how enslaved we are to convenience, monotony, and ‘safety-regulation’. 

What happened to design standards? 

Look at some of the newer vehicles: They’re trying so hard to look like high-end models that it’s laughable. Meanwhile look at an actual high-end vehicle like a BMW – they’re somehow worse lol. New BMWs have become absolutely atrocious. They look like a European car company making fun of a Chinese car company… who’s trying to copy a European car company. BMW actually stated they’re designing for the Chinese market first. I wish they’d go back to designing for BMW first; that’s what we loved.

Follow the leader I guess… 

Have you seen the new Buick Encore? Not that you’d remember if you did lol. But it looks like someone ordered a Lamborghini Urus off Wish.com. Then again – have you seen the Lamborghini Uras? It also looks like someone ordered a Lamborghini off Wish. Then there’s the GMC Canyon, which looks more like a Toyota Tacoma than the actual Tacoma. Seriously, what’s going on here? 

These design changes aren’t about improving the car or making it more enjoyable to drive… 

They’re about complying with some regulation, or trying to fool the consumer into thinking they’re getting something they’re not. It’s posturing, plain & simple, and it’s killing the soul of car design.

We can’t forget about emissions, ugh…

Ok let’s be honest, by the 70’s, some emissions regulation was probably needed. However at this point, the bureaucracies are using ‘climate change’ to impose their will over the automotive industry and also YOU, along with your options, hobbies, pastimes, passions, and artistic expressions.

And then there’s the Chicken Tax… 

The Chicken Tax is a 25% tariff on light trucks & other vehicles within a particular category imported to the U.S. It’s a rule from the 1960s that’s still haunting us today. Want a small, efficient pickup truck? Too bad. The Chicken Tax has kept models like the new Toyota Hilux (a tough, dirt-cheap, two-door diesel) out of the U.S. market. This tax has done more than just keep good trucks away; it’s forced U.S. manufacturers to focus on bigger (and coincidentally more profitable) trucks, leaving consumers like me to choose between an expensive behemoth or… well, a slightly smaller expensive behemoth.

This same bureaucratic nonsense… 

Is also why so many of us are stuck waiting 25-years to import the cars we actually want from overseas. I’ve written about gray market vehicles before – if you’re curious, check that out. The vehicles some of us dream about, those iconic rides that are still roaming the streets of Japan or Europe, are essentially an overpriced 25-year wait away. And why? Because the same kind of regulations that brought us the Chicken Tax have made it nearly impossible to bring these cars over without jumping through a series of expensive and time-consuming hoops. It’s like being told you can have your cake, but only after it’s been left out in the sun for two-and-a-half decades. Why?

Here’s the real question: Where’s the Fight?

Why aren’t the manufacturers putting up a fight? And why aren’t they pushing back against these ridiculous regulations? Are they silenced/censored by political correctness? As a consumer and an enthusiast, I want to see some backbone. It’s like the industry has just rolled-over & accepted that this is the way things have to be. I don’t buy it. If these companies started standing up to the overreaching governments of the world, maybe we’d see some of these absurd laws & prices get rolled back. Politicians are supposed to represent the will of the people, right? Maybe we’d see a return to cars that are designed to thrill, not just comply.

But all the blame can’t be on the manufacturers. As car & driving enthusiasts, why aren’t WE fighting this either? SEMA is doing their part… I think/hope. But as enthusiasts, a lot of us seem blissfully unaware and/or unconcerned with the continuous stripping of our choices & freedoms. 

I believe this lack of fight is part of the reason why so many younger kids these days have no interest in driving…

Teenagers are not seeing cars (or a car industry) that inspires them. On the culture side, today’s car enthusiasts fight for views more than they fight for causes. And kids aren’t seeing cars that make them want to get behind the wheel. Instead, they’re growing up in a world where cars have become expensive generic appliances, designed by committee’s, AI, and regulation. If we’re going to bring back the love of cars, we need to bring back the fight. And time’s about up. So here’s my call to arms: It’s time for manufacturers to stop playing nice. It’s time to push back against the bureaucratic nonsense that’s stifling art, energy, creativity, and passion.

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