Such is the case with cars. Driving in to work today, I saw a BMW X6. Yikes. The vaunted German auto manufacturer was never known for its outlandish or innovative design; more for their top-notch driving experience and relatively conservative look. The X5 was innovative back when the SUV was still a truck that you could stand to drive for more than 20 miles. It offered luxury and stability in a larger package.
The X6 follows this new trend of genre-busting, but to unfortunate results. It's ugly. It's a BMW hatchback, a la the Gremlin, the Aztek, or the Crosstour. That's right, Honda's in the game, too. Take a standard Accord, make it about 10 inches taller, add a clunky-looking hatchback, and you've got a Crosstour. Or a Venza.
To be fair, the recent crossover crop started with Toyota. Credit where it's due. This one looks like a snubbed and shortened Highlander, which looked like a neutered 4Runner in the first place. There must be a market for these cars or BMW and Honda wouldn't be racing to produce their own, but it's disheartening.
Maybe we're working toward a convergence, and "crossover" is only the intermediary step. Maybe all cars will be essentially the same in the future - one centralized, evolved design. Maybe Apple should look into this...
2 comments:
They are basically station-wagons made to look 'sporty'.
That's what SUVs were: Sport Utility Vehicle. This is a mutation. It's all just to fill a gap first. When one company does it, if it sells at all, the rest jump on the wagon.
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