“All cars will look the same one day because there is only one slipperiest shape”. That is what a car enthusiast said to me in the 1980s when the Ford Sierra was new in the market (admit it – the car was upsetting, but you had a strange urge to own one). And for a while at least, it seemed that all the manufacturers were producing similar-looking models suggesting that technology, aerodynamics and speed were all the consumer could think of.
Not so – as the public became wealthier and cars became comparatively cheaper, people decided that they should differentiate themselves, not just by brand and price, but that their car should now say something about who they were and how they lived their lives. In fairness to the motor industry, it has responded with enthusiasm. For example, today, if you want to drive a car that looks like it belongs to Elmer ‘wabbit season’ Fudd, you can. I am thinking of course of the most repugnant car on the road, the Fiat Multipla. But it does not end there. If you are a 20-something cutie you can have a plastic flower in your Beetle, or, if you are a google-eyed loon called Bez you can drive a Subaru Impreza, and if you like a 7 Series BMW – well, I am told that it is now a matter of taste.
