why do auto engineers hold back on attractive styling?

This is something I've never understood.

Why do auto engineers hold back on making cars more attractive?

It seems as if if you want better styling, you've got to pay for a more expensive car. Why not just make the less expensive cars really attractive in the first place?

If I had billions of dollars to start a car company, I would make all my models really nice looking. Saturn blew it by making their cars look less attractive than they should have been.

Becky.

Reply to
Honda Chick
Loading thread data ...

Engineers have little say about styling unless it is absolutely impossible to meet an operational goal. Styling is a job for the artistic types on the design team unless they have been overruled by the aero engineers who have been strongarmed by the sales folks and Feds who want better fuel economy which ultimately results in all of the vehicles looking remarkably similar.

Reply to
lugnut

Because the auto makers have suceeded in selling the better styled cars for a greater profit margin? As long as supply and demant allows them to exact a greater profit for premium (if you will) cars w/ better styling, why should they not?

OTOH you might (as a smaller auto maker) desider to upset the apple cart in the interest of getting a larger market share by offering a better styled product a lower price.

Reply to
The Masked Marvel

It's because the lower end models need to appeal to a wider audience.

Reply to
Tony P.

Marketing 101: low tier product must look crappy next to high tier product. If low teir product looked too good, people would be less likely to buy the other stuff and pay more.

As far as engineering goes, engineers have no say in the matter of styling for the most part. Only the earliest of a product type is styled by engineers if any. The result is generally functional, easy to make, and performs well. Most people don't think of these products as stylish, but there are occasional expections. Styling is determined by industrial design's dreams trumped by marketing's demands. Engineers have their own concerns, but generally those follow from manufacturing limitations. Good industrial designers and engineers can work together to produce the styling as close to desired form in a manufacturable product.

Reply to
Brent P

The engineers don't make a car either more or less attractive. The stylists do that part, and far too often with far too much interference from bean counters who at heart, hate cars.

Reply to
L0nD0t.$t0we11

L0nD0t.$t0we11 wrote in rec.autos.tech

And they both interfere with the engineers who have to actually make the designs work, ending up with motors shoved against firewalls so you can't get to the plugs, or forcing you to remove a front wheel to perform fairly normal maintanance.

Reply to
Dick C

I have to disagree that it's the infamous "bean counters". That usually refers to the accountants, and they never, ever have anything to say about anything having to do with production in any company.

It goes more like this:

Senior Management: "How can we cut production costs for that car to sell more of them at an increased profit so I can get an extra $1m bonus this year ?"

Second Tier Mgmt: "We could use an (substitute part) from another division/car/line in there".

SM: "Will it fit ?"

ST: "We'll have to have the engineers check".

Days later, the engineers report back: "It will go in, but it doesn't really fit and will cause untold problems for consumers and mechanics".

ST reporting to management: "It will fit but they'll need to carefully engineer it".

SM reporting to the board: "It will fit without any problems and we'll save the company $20m next year".

Reply to
-Bob-

-Bob- wrote in rec.autos.tech

Sometimes it is the bean counters, and sometimes the bean counters are the Senior Management, and sometimes the bean counters take over the senior management. In the example below the S.M.'s are being bean counters.

Reply to
Dick C

I'll agree to your distinction... although the American Heritage Dictionary says " A financial executive, especially an accountant:"

Usually SM is just "a bunch of cheap ba$tards that ask the bean counters to figure how many dollars they will save by screwing the employees or public whilst holding on to their multi-million $ bonus"

Reply to
-Bob-

-Bob- wrote in rec.autos.tech

Oh yeah, been on the wrong end of that a few times.

Reply to
Dick C

Me too.

SM :"Here's your attaboy for working 24 ours a day an bringing that project in early. If you need me I'll be in the Caribbean on vacation enjoying the interest on my bonus. If you need me after that, I'll be at my new home that I bought with the bonus itself".

Reply to
-Bob-

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.