The Five Top Features of Car Design Today

Like fashion and many other things in our life, car designs evolve and change with time. The price of fossil fuels has forced car manufacturers to make them smaller and more fuel efficient but this does not mean they must also lose elegance and style. Kinetic designs are what it is all about today, kinetic energy is the energy of motion, of flow, this is what cars today seem to do, and they appear to be moving even when they are not.

On the outside for example, you do not have any more sharp corners or high square roofs, ornaments are pasted on low, they do not protrude anywhere on the car, nothing is out of line, not even the lights. This is one of the best features new compact cars have; you can put your hand on the front corner of the bumper and move it slowly back, to the hood, the roof and all the way to the back without breaking your touch, smooth and easy. New car designs are completely aerodynamic, they are made to avoid wind resistance and improve speed with less effort.

Cars today are oval shaped on the outside, they do not have protruding antennas either, and the antennas are now inside the front or back windows. Rear view mirrors are small and wide, close to the door, they do not stick out either, they are designed with a greater range of movement so that the driver can see more with the touch of a button, the inside rear view mirror is larger and covers more room. The same thing happens to the back of these cars they finish in a downward angle; even hatch backs have smooth, flowing backs.

Since cars have shrunk on the outside, manufacturers have gone through a lot of work to keep the insides comfortable and spacious. Again the kinetic energy design can be seen all over the interior of every new car model. This is especially true about the door arm rests which stretch all across the door, not like before when they were made with a little plastic thing where you could barely fit your elbow. Cars now have long and flowing arm rests where you can really rest your arm on.

The same thing applies to dashboards, dash boards are not square or pointed anymore, they are smooth and round, giving you a sense of perpetual motion and equilibrium. Since manufacturers have somehow managed to reduce the engine sizes and increase the inside of their new models without affecting power and performance, new cars are spacious and have more than enough room so you can stretch your legs in. The seat design and the dash board design give you an air of comfort and space.

The central console with all the buttons and accessories is also part of the new, futuristic look in compact cars. Everything is accessible; you do not have to reach out for any button. In fact some of them have voice activated features. The turning signals and other sticks are now much smaller so they fit well with the rest of the design. There are no out of place objects anywhere. Remember being unable to change seats because you got stuck on the stick, well, this does not happen anymore.

Everything inside and outside of these cars designed with kinetic motion in mind is in place. Everything flows and nothing stops the flow of air on the outside or positive energy in the inside. Even the dials are luminous and visible from every angle inside the car, many of them do not have buttons any more, they are equipped with touch pads, no more turning knobs and pushing sticks, all you need is the touch of a finger.

Hugh McInnes is a car lover addicted to driving fuel efficient cars. He loves how car designs have evolved and changed with time, Kinetic designs are what it is all about today

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Having decided to take an indefinite career break, Hugh is touring Australia in his ute and paying his way by writing freelance.

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