Why are Fords so ugly nowadays

Associate
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What has happened to the styling of Fords recently, they are fugly and put me off wanting one for a next car.

I used to like the styling of Fords in the Mid 2000s,

Fiesta ST 2004

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Ford Mondeo ST220

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Ford SportKA 2003

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Ford Focus RS MK2 2009

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Now the new, the overly curved parts just seem to be stuck in everywhere.

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Ford KA 2008

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Ford Mercedes Mondeo?

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Ford Focus - I think its the front bumpers on the new ones that put me off

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Associate
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I’m not a fan of the MK4 Focus or the Ka. The Mondeo I quite like, I’ve got to agree though, the styling has changed for the worse in recent years.

I’ve not seen the interior of the MK4 Focus, I wasn’t a fan of the MK3 interior but could tolerate it. Could some of the styling in recent years be down to safety regulations? I’m just thinking of how hilariously in the original design of the Austin Allegro it actually looked really good, then due to safety requirements from across the globe it was changed to accommodate and ended up looking terrible (IMHO).
 
Soldato
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The seem to have picked up some of the ugly lines from BWM :/

Pedestrian safety is part of it I think, but there are still good looking cars around so not the whole reason.
 
Soldato
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Nothing wrong with the Fiesta, well ST line upwards, as I don't like any car that has loads of chrome effect, which anything below the St-line does I believe.

I'm not particularly keen on the new shape Focus either, too many curves and the front end looks ugly.
 
Man of Honour
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Have to say I'm not a fan of the way car design in general is going with the overdone curves, accentuated angles, etc. give me a nice subtle design where the effectiveness/detail is apparent at a closer look any day.
 
Soldato
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All of the above are ugly beasts.

Most new cars have the same shape, but with a few tweaks, different wheels, interior and a badge.
 
Soldato
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It seems that car design trends go in cycles with whatever new manufacturing techniques become available/affordable. It seems to alternate between crisp swage lines and then smoother curves - for example the W212 to W213 E class, and also the Focuses above.
 
Soldato
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I think the new focus is a great car to look at. The ST220 above is a nice car but it’s pretty dated now. I cycled past an old Granada in beautiful looking condition the other day. Couldn’t tell you which engine as only had a front view. It’s all about the late 80’s for Ford.
 
Soldato
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I'm no fan of the recent SUV trend but I think the new Ford Puma is possibly the best looking compact SUV on sale just now.

My biggest compliant about recent Ford's is that the designs are rather bland in the main.

When they came out the original Ford focus and Ford Ka looked cutting edge and like nothing else on the market. The new ones are very derivative.
 
Soldato
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I don't personally think they've ever made something that's really good looking, with most just being pretty meh. Although at the moment, it seems every major carmaker is making their stuff look as ugly as possible.
 
Soldato
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The classic Mustang and the GT40 still look good. The Capri wasn't bad either :)

People seem to like buying bland cars now, look how many Audis and VWs there are on the road.
 
Soldato
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Mustang anyone?

Even that's heading downhill again in my opinion, previous generation looked better than this one.

It's not just Ford though, most modern cars look bland nowadays almost like random curves and shapes are just splattered allover the place then it's been in the oven for a bit & started to melt.
 
Associate
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I still think they look great personally. Some such as the ecosport are questionable, but there's still nice looking regular Fords:
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