Aesthetics are changing, technology is innovating, and car design is constantly "evolving." There are always new trends and new ideas emerging, but new things are harder to accept, just like we see those who can't understand, but are shocked The design always raises the question: Why is it designed like this?
Go it alone or cut corners?
As the most incomprehensible new trend, split headlights definitely escape the category of "ugly", but make people feel awkward, disrupting the traditional front face layout of eyes, nose and mouth in everyone's mind, and turning the most outstanding thing into The clever headlight is divided into two areas. If not handled properly, it will be difficult to find the visual center of the front face at a glance, leaving people confused and confused, which is really uncomfortable.
In fact, split headlights are not a new product. As the prototype of split headlights, the flip-up lights that are very popular among car fans have been very popular in the last century. The maverick French cars have used the split headlight design many years ago. Now the split headlight will attract attention again, because brands such as Lynk & Co and BMW have adopted it as a family design element.
In fact, split headlights are not just for showing personality and improving recognition.
The split headlight divides the traditional headlight into two independent functional areas. The upper part is the daytime running light and the turn signal. The daytime running light is lit during the day. It uses narrow LED light sources to show a sense of technology. The conspicuous position is very satisfying. Meet the need for turn signals. The lower part is the main light source, which is positioned lower than traditional headlights. When turned on at night, it will reduce the possibility of blinding the opposite driver. Although these are the advantages of split headlights, their effects are limited after all. In fact, the more direct reason for adopting split headlights is cost.
Traditional design strives to depict the car lights as big, watery eyes. Both the outline shape and the internal structure of the lamp cavity are carefully crafted, but the split headlights are different. Not only are the daytime running lights on them narrow. , even the main light source is hidden, and the shape and structure certainly don’t have to be that complicated, which will save costs in terms of R&D design and mold manufacturing. But whether it is innovative or innovative, or whether it is economical and practical, as a consumer, we still hope that split headlights should be as pleasing to the eye as possible, and not be too indiscriminate and too scary.
Old "rules", new "order"
If the design of the headlights affects the visual effect of the front of the car, then the body posture will have a huge impact on the entire shape. This is very obvious in the design of new energy vehicles in recent years: many electric vehicles are becoming more and more like vans. .
In the past traditional designs, we are more willing to see a slender and stretched body shape, in which a large part of the sense of luxury comes from the compact front overhang. The distance between the front wheels and the firewall is long. The more models comply with this rule, it means a more powerful engine and a higher level. Many luxury models and sports models are designed in this way.
But some current electric cars and concept cars no longer follow this set of rules. The A-pillars that are very far forward and have a very sloping angle are almost integrated with the "engine compartment", and the entire body height is also higher, making it look like a van. Single-car form.
In fact, this attitude is also a helpless move. Before there is a breakthrough in battery energy storage technology, using smooth shapes to reduce the drag coefficient has become the top priority, and electric vehicles do not need to reserve space for complex fuel power systems. Moving the A-pillar and firewall forward can also leave more space for the passenger compartment, which also meets the demand for more interior space in future smart travel. As for the shrinkage of the crumbling zone caused by the forward movement of the firewall, there are some radical opinions that the future autonomous driving system will largely avoid accidents, so there is no need for a large crumbling zone. In any case, it can be regarded as a "van" "I found a reason.
In addition, in the manufacturer's propaganda, the increase in vehicle height is to create a so-called crossover style, but in fact it is restricted by the thickness and arrangement of the batteries on the chassis, which forces it to cross borders. In fact, the "van" shape more reflects the limitations of current technology and the trend of electric vehicle design focusing more on functionality. Under this situation, the increasing number of "vans" may be an unchangeable reality.
Practicality is no match for exaggeration and coolness
Compared with appearance, car interiors have changed even more in recent years. The most obvious one is the large central control screen that is getting bigger and more outrageous. Since the Tesla Model S uses a large vertical screen and the Mercedes-Benz S-Class uses a Dalian screen, the era of screens dominating interiors has arrived. Today, large-screen forces are sieging the city and fighting on two fronts in the fields of new energy and fuel vehicles. New cars either have a large number of screens, are large in size, or are numerous and large.
Some "conservatives" believe that the current screen is too exaggerated, which greatly reduces the design of the entire center console. The interior design should not be a pile of plastic panels with a large tombstone inserted. More importantly, operating the screen is not like using physical buttons. Touching the screen is more likely to cause the driver's attention to shift. Data shows that in 2017, fatal accidents caused by distracted driving accounted for 9% in the United States. If this is the case, then why are the major manufacturers so obsessed with large screens?
Because large screens can not only keep up with the fashion of intelligence, but also have other functions.
First of all, cars have more and more functions. Not only can they run, but they are also equipped with various comfort and entertainment features. If you want to control so many functions, using all physical buttons will make the central control look like a computer keyboard. It’s hard to find them because they are densely packed, and a large number of buttons will also increase the cost of molds. In addition, for new energy models or new power brands, in order to launch products faster, some functions are not fully developed when the new car is launched, and must be subsequently improved through high-end OTA. If physical buttons are used, it is later discovered that certain It would be embarrassing if a function needs to be deleted, so the large screen of the car has become the most loyal partner of OTA. You can change or delete it at will.
In fact, these are the benefits of large screens to manufacturers. If there are any benefits to users, apart from the visual shock and the function of watching movies for the co-pilot, there are not many practical uses. Even so, under the wave of intelligence, the trend of multi-screen and large screens will continue for a long time, but some recently released models are also making new explorations, and we believe that as human-computer interaction matures , the screen will also return to a more practical form, no longer more for the sake of more, and no longer for the sake of bigness.
As ordinary consumers, we cannot change design trends and can only silently watch manufacturers perform, but this does not mean that we must accept them. Although there is no absolute good or bad design, what you like is what you like, and it is important to maintain independent thinking. You must identify which designs you want through the meaning and purpose behind the designs. Don’t be led away by so-called trends and publicity.
