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modern cars - easy to identify?
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badhuis



Joined: 20 Aug 2008
Posts: 1390
Location: Netherlands

PostPosted: Wed Mar 15, 2017 1:01 pm    Post subject: modern cars - easy to identify? Reply with quote

When I was 15 I could identify almost all cars on the road. Up to about 12 years ago I still could do that.
However nowadays I struggle to know what type and even what make of car I see. Those SUV types, mid class, high on the wheels, very popular, they can be a Toyota, KIA or Renault and I would not know it if it was not for the make emblems.
On my way to the office, once per week, on the motorway you see all these new leased cars. Many of these do not have any type badges fixed. Mercedes especially is worrying, I simply do not know (or recognize) what types of Mercedes there are anymore. They do have a modern station wagon that looks quite good, not too bulky and even stylish, but I do not know what exact type this might be.
I have to confess my "modern" car (13 year old X-type) also does not have any badges at the rear. It was an option not to have them and the first owner choose not to have any. As there are not many X-type estates on the road (here in the Netherlands I never saw another one since three months) I can imagine many do not know what type of Jaguar it is.
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peter scott



Joined: 18 Dec 2007
Posts: 7113
Location: Edinburgh

PostPosted: Wed Mar 15, 2017 1:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yes, 15 year olds today have a much harder life than we had!

When I was 15 (and I'm sure this applies to many other forum members too) I could identify lots of different cars with my eyes closed. That would be difficult today and with all electric cars it's even difficult to tell if they are there with your eyes closed.

Peter Laughing

p.s. This is clearly a job for artificial intelligence. Perhaps facial recognition or more simply just number plate recognition.

p.p.s. Lag from hitting submit to seeing my update 35 seconds.
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roverdriver



Joined: 18 Oct 2008
Posts: 1210
Location: 100 miles from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

PostPosted: Thu Mar 16, 2017 9:10 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I agree! When travelling in my father's car I enjoyed recognising and noting the various makes and models that we encountered. That was in the 1950's.
If I happened to witness a crime involving a motor vehicle, I would have little hope of explaining the make and model to a policeman these days.
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52classic



Joined: 02 Oct 2008
Posts: 493
Location: Cardiff.

PostPosted: Tue May 23, 2017 9:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Me too! I'd say that from about 1955 through to the early 90's it would be a rare occasion if I could not name make and model of any car on the road, but no longer.

More worrying is that I don't really care. I find it very difficult to whip up any enthusiasm for modern cars which may go some way to justifying why we don't have one in our household any more.

Under the bonnet it is a similar story, I no longer recognise any of the bits which used to be second nature...... " Where are the HT leads son?"
Do you mean the coil packs dad?"
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Ellis



Joined: 07 Mar 2011
Posts: 1382
Location: Betws y Coed, North Wales

PostPosted: Tue May 23, 2017 11:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

"No definable shape" is how I view new cars these days. In my village there is a VW Up, a Skoda Citigo and a Seat Mii and I only recognise the owners by the different colours. All three are all but identical which of course they are.- same body except for the badges.

One of my mother's friends bought a new car on the 1st of March. It looked like a Vauxhall to me, had a letter which looked like a "H" on the bonnet.
"Honda?" I ventured. No. "It's a Hyundai i10" was the reply.

"Oh".

I looked at my daily drive, a Land Rover Defender 110 with a warm glow of satisfaction. Everybody knows what a Land Rover looks like.
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Peter_L



Joined: 10 Apr 2008
Posts: 2680
Location: New Brunswick. Canada.

PostPosted: Tue May 23, 2017 11:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Our Dodge Journey looks a bit like this. We are on our third and to be honest as far as the engine goes I have only ever "fiddled" with the yellow bits.

http://www.autos.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/2015-Dodge-Journey-Crossroad-AWD-TS-10-1024x682.jpg


.......... and yes, back in the 60's through the 90's, I could spot most models from nearly out of sight. Now... as mentioned above, I am not that bothered.

I once heard it said that if computers design cars then they all have to look the same. I would agree that the comment is fairly near the mark.
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peter scott



Joined: 18 Dec 2007
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Location: Edinburgh

PostPosted: Sat May 27, 2017 10:00 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ellis wrote:
Everybody knows what a Land Rover looks like.


Yes, of course they do..


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D4B



Joined: 28 Dec 2010
Posts: 2083
Location: Hampshire UK

PostPosted: Sat May 27, 2017 2:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ellis wrote:
Everybody knows what a Land Rover looks like


Yes Ellis, I know what mine looks like Wink



Inside and out!

Steve
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Ellis



Joined: 07 Mar 2011
Posts: 1382
Location: Betws y Coed, North Wales

PostPosted: Sat May 27, 2017 4:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

peter scott wrote:
Ellis wrote:
Everybody knows what a Land Rover looks like.


Yes, of course they do..



That's not a real Land Rover Peter.
That is an upmarket Sports Utility Vehicle with mega technology which will be used for nothing more adventurous than the school run or trips to sports clubs. The badge is for effect only.

The last real Land Rover built at solihull was the last Defender which rolled off the production line on January 29th 2016.

(And I still can't copy and paste from Photobucket to add a photo for effect Twisted Evil )
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Peter_L



Joined: 10 Apr 2008
Posts: 2680
Location: New Brunswick. Canada.

PostPosted: Sat May 27, 2017 6:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

[quote="Ellis"
(And I still can't copy and paste from Photobucket to add a photo for effect Twisted Evil )[/quote]

You may have to ditch PB. See thread about it on here.
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peter scott



Joined: 18 Dec 2007
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Location: Edinburgh

PostPosted: Sat May 27, 2017 6:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

https://youtu.be/dFMBiB6Un74
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alastairq



Joined: 14 Oct 2016
Posts: 1950
Location: East Yorkshire

PostPosted: Sun May 28, 2017 9:36 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Another modernist problem for me is, do we really know what we are buying?

IE, what make is it really?

When a Jeep is really a more expensive FIAT? [for example?]

Or a Nissan is a Renault in a Kimono?

Every time one swears never to buy a certain make again..they get you...every time!! Sad

At least, when one bought a Ford Anglia..one knew one wasn't going to get a Morris Minor in disguise!!

Didn't BMW once have the option of NOT having any model badging on the car?

I wonder how many actually took up that option? Not many Brits, I would think?
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ukdave2002



Joined: 23 Nov 2007
Posts: 4100
Location: South Cheshire

PostPosted: Sun May 28, 2017 12:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I suppose as manufactures consolidate or share components and have to comply to more and more legislation, it's enviable that designs both mechanical and body shape are going to a common place.

I also think that the quality gap that existed between the premium and non premium manufactures has got much closer over the last few years.

Dave
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MrWhite



Joined: 09 May 2017
Posts: 105

PostPosted: Wed Jun 28, 2017 10:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ditto all the above for me too. I thought those Land Rovers were awful when they came out, until recently I saw a convertible one, I mean who would buy such a thing?
Also why is it that Sports Utility vehicles always need twice as much space as their actual width and no matter what you are driving, their owners seem to feel it is their duty to prove they are faster than you?
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lowdrag



Joined: 10 Apr 2009
Posts: 1585
Location: Le Mans

PostPosted: Fri Jun 30, 2017 8:10 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

peterwpg wrote:
[quote="Ellis"
(And I still can't copy and paste from Photobucket to add a photo for effect Twisted Evil )


You may have to ditch PB. See thread about it on here.[/quote]


Crossing the threads so to speak but the only way I can paste now is to open the photo and click on the IMG code (bottom of four on the right). Sometimes I have to right-click and copy sometimes it copies automatically. But what worries me now is how to open another account and get all my photos across from photobucket.
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