Sometimes there are features in a car that make you think, “They could have done without this”. This list is a shout-out to all those features. Check out the list below and let us know what you think of it.
10. Rolls-Royce Door Umbrella
Okay, it wouldn’t be a Rolls-Royce if the backseat passengers didn’t get to take out an easy to deploy expensive umbrella from the inside of the doorjambs of their cars. Still something that we find totally extra and not required.
9. Dodge Ram Daytona’s Wing
The only question is why? Dodge Ram Daytona would have looked better without this wing that has been added to it. Come on!
8. Porsche’s Leather A/C Vents
We get that it is Porsche we are talking about, but really? Why clad the AC vents in leather?
7. VW Beetle Dashboard Vase
A nice touch but totally unnecessary and useless. You’d expect them to keep distractions to a minimum, doesn’t seem to be the case here though.
6. Emblems In Headlights
Who is ever going to notice this? Why not spend this time in improving something else. No really, focus on other details please.
5. Mercedes-Benz’s Fake Exhaust Tips
This was added only for the sake of a sporty look and again our question is, why? Why add fake exhaust tips? Totally useless and a feature that could be avoided.
4. Plastic Covered Engine Bays
Why did they feel the need to cover up that beautiful live machinery, we’ll never know, but this is something that they could have done without! Why add something that has no use?
3. Fake Air Scoops And Vents
When it comes to design and performance enhancements, fake air scoops and vents really don’t do anything at all. Just ditch them instead of adding something that is totally ridiculous.
2. Door Projector Puddle Lights
There must be better ways to gloat than having a logo shine down on the ground thanks to the door-mounted LED projector. A simple LED would have done the job, why make it so extravagant that you are called names every time you visit local supermarket.
1. Modern “Landau” Tops
Does it really do something? There was a reason it went out of style and it should stay out as well!
[ Via Jalopnik ]
You can’t call yourself an engineer with this article. Most engine top covers also contain some kind of noise suppression, taking away the tappy mechanical noises that irritate the driver. Most engines these days are a jumble of pipes and wires under those top covers, thanks mainly to emissions legislation, so they would not be beautiful if the cover were to be removed. The majority of car owners never lift the bonnet (or hood) anyway.
People that buy Rolls Royces expect the kind of small details like door umbrellas that don’t rattle around loose in door bins, otherwise they wouldn’t pay the extra money for a Rolls.
Cars like the Merc and the McLaren use styling as a selling feature as much (or in some cases more so) as performance. The fake exhaust trims and the blanked-off intakes give the car a look that the target customers would appreciate.
I am an engineer in the car industry – have been for 27 years so far – and I understand the need for cars to make a profit and sell. Without these ‘pointless’ things, the cars would be less popular, and therefore less profitable.
This guy live in a box shape house without any paint…….nothing would impress him.
The air scoops at the front are not for looks it serves to cool down the brakes and is a if deal
Really scraping the barrel with this article. I wouldn’t class artistic styling as useless or stupid design. If it evokes an emotion it serves a purpose. You might ask yourself then well what is engineering? The archaic conservative, maybe even misogynistic, view of ‘engineering’ may have agreed with this article, but what that gets you is something that is very efficient and practical yet lacks any sense of artistic flare. A more broader, liberal view of engineering would take into account consumer insight – which within itself is a science involving statistical analysis, market evaluation and copious amounts of R&D.
For example, the vase in the VW Beetle added decoration to the interior of the car and no doubt as result massively increased the sale-ability of the car to a female market – which is a massive market if you can tap into, look at the popularity of the Fiat 500… I would say that this was engineered extremely well (liberally of course!).
You have too much time on your hands !!!