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Why don’t all cars look like Ferraris?

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Re: Why don’t all cars look like Ferraris?

#3
"As you can tell it is not so simple to point out why I can’t tell the difference between a Civic and a Volkswagen in the streets of Ramat Hasharon in Israel."

I beg to differ.

The reason Civics and Volkswagens look the same is that most vehicles are designed under the same constraints, particularly maximizing interior space while reducing drag. And most makers are using the same techniques to solve those constraints.

Ferrari tosses out the interior space constraint and adds others.

Fieros and Solstices and such were actually pretty crappy. (The MR2 just doesn't do anything for me.) S2000s are still reasonably popular, and the MX-5 is a periennial best seller.

Re: Why don’t all cars look like Ferraris?

#4
post #3

" As you can tell it is not so simple to point out why I can’t tell the difference between a Civic and a Volkswagen in the streets of Ramat Hasharon in Israel. " I beg to differ. The reason Civics and Volkswagens look the same is that most vehicles are designed under the same constraints, particularly maximizing interior space while reducing drag. And most makers are using the same techniques to solve those constrain…

Also, safety systems and laws dictate some of the shape similarities. Its an expensive game to come up with a new shape.

Plus, some of us find Ferrari to not look as good as a Jaguar E-Type or a Porsche 356 speedster. I'm pretty sure there are people whose heart sings when they see certain Chevy, Fords, Hondas, etc.

Re: Why don’t all cars look like Ferraris?

#8
post #3

" As you can tell it is not so simple to point out why I can’t tell the difference between a Civic and a Volkswagen in the streets of Ramat Hasharon in Israel. " I beg to differ. The reason Civics and Volkswagens look the same is that most vehicles are designed under the same constraints, particularly maximizing interior space while reducing drag. And most makers are using the same techniques to solve those constrain…

Also, safety systems and laws dictate some of the shape similarities. Its an expensive game to come up with a new shape. Plus, some of us find Ferrari to not look as good as a Jaguar E-Type or a Porsche 356 speedster. I'm pretty sure there are people whose heart sings when they see certain Chevy, Fords, Hondas, etc.

This is an area where I get pretty excited about EVs. You don't have to hinge a literal block of metal downwards so it doesn't end up in passenger's lap. The sled design provides a ton of lateral rigidity that's hard to match.

It's no wonder that Tesla destroyed the competition on safety. There's also probably still improvements to be made given how new EVs are yet.

Re: Why don’t all cars look like Ferraris?

#9
post #3

" As you can tell it is not so simple to point out why I can’t tell the difference between a Civic and a Volkswagen in the streets of Ramat Hasharon in Israel. " I beg to differ. The reason Civics and Volkswagens look the same is that most vehicles are designed under the same constraints, particularly maximizing interior space while reducing drag. And most makers are using the same techniques to solve those constrain…

Also, safety systems and laws dictate some of the shape similarities. Its an expensive game to come up with a new shape. Plus, some of us find Ferrari to not look as good as a Jaguar E-Type or a Porsche 356 speedster. I'm pretty sure there are people whose heart sings when they see certain Chevy, Fords, Hondas, etc.

I can guarantee you that there are Texans who prefer their F-250 King Ranch diesel fine-tuned six different ways to Sunday more than any fancy foreign thing.

Re: Why don’t all cars look like Ferraris?

#10
Kinda like asking why isn't there a single "best" brand of car. The answer is fairly obvious in that "best" is hugely subjective and governed by many variables including a particular individual's needs or preferences. This gives rise to many "local maxima" in the subjective preference function, allowing a variety of car types to exist.
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