zzdcar
Home
/
Reviews
/
Culture
/
What's Your Least Favorite Automotive Redesign Or Refresh?
What's Your Least Favorite Automotive Redesign Or Refresh?-October 2024
2024-02-19 EST 22:12:31

Image for article titled What's Your Least Favorite Automotive Redesign Or Refresh?

There comes a point in every car’s life when the manufacturer decides it needs to spruce things up. The result is the routine “mid-cycle refresh” — a nip-and-tuck that puts a new face on an old design the car wasn’t proportionally built to have in the first place. Few redesigns in this vein turn out well.

Today we want to know which cars you think are the worst offenders.

Redesigns happen for a number of reasons. Sometimes, automakers attempt to modernize desperately aging vehicles, bringing older cars visually in line with newer members of the roster. A good example of this is the refreshed Ford Focus that emerged in 2008 — a car mechanically similar to the original and timeless New Edge-styled model, only festooned with incongruous ridges and that Gillette razor grille the Blue Oval was infatuated with in the late aughts. This was also the impetus behind that godawful Mazda guppy mouth that ruined the NC Miata and RX-8 late in those cars’ lives.

Personally, though, the redesigns that offend me the most are those that neuter daring, controversial statements. While it’s not necessarily the worst example of this phenomenon, here I’m reminded of the latest Jeep Cherokee refresh, which opted for a after the original design split the headlight assembly into upper LEDs and lower projectors. I don’t know if that look was aesthetically superior to the post-facelift mug, but hey — at least it was weird and you noticed it, which is more than can be said about most crossovers.

All this is leading up to what, in my opinion, is one of the most egregious examples of an automaker cowardly snuffing out the pulse of its design department. The Chris Bangle era of BMW design , and the recipient of the bulk of it — the E65 7 Series — was a valiant effort to thrust the luxury marque into the future and reject any temptation to rest on its earlier design successes. The E65's unique scalloped headlights and contentious decklid treatment were absolutely eviscerated by old heads though, and so the post-refresh version is depressing by virtue of its utter gutlessness.

I expect to get some flak for dying on the Bangle hill; while that happens, why not share your candidate for worst automotive redesign or refresh?

Which freshening or redesign represents the worst bungle by an automaker?

Comments
Welcome to zzdcar comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Culture
Tesla Claims Record Deliveries and Production in Q2, but Revenue Below Projections
Tesla Claims Record Deliveries and Production in Q2, but Revenue Below Projections
Earlier this month, Tesla announced when it came to how many cars it delivered to customers. But today, the company that it lost $408 million while doing it. This so-so news piggybacks on a disappointing first quarter of the year, when Tesla lost $702 million. Naturally, investors didn’t react...
Oct 21, 2026
Citroën Sabotaged Wartime Nazi Truck Production in a Simple and Brilliant Way
Citroën Sabotaged Wartime Nazi Truck Production in a Simple and Brilliant Way
In case you forgot to change the batteries in your calendar, you may not be aware that this year is the 100th anniversary of Citroën. We’ve been shooting a Jason Drives special mini-series for this centenary, and while doing some research I happened to stumble upon a fascinating bit...
Oct 21, 2026
What's the Best State for a Gearhead?
What's the Best State for a Gearhead?
I am West Coast born, and that means I’m California raised. My nostalgia for the streetparked cars of my hometown will never fade, remembering ‘70s Corollas still used for commuting to rust-free Volvo 142s sitting with $500 for sale signs on them. But since moving East, I’ve fallen a...
Oct 21, 2026
What Year Is This, 2008?
What Year Is This, 2008?
The is a rotary-powered sports car that was produced from 2003 to 2012. It is now past 2012, which makes me wonder why Mazda is testing an RX-8 on the Nürburgring like it’s 2008. The RX-8 you see in YouTuber ’s video is the refreshed version of the car...
Oct 21, 2026
Harley-Davidson Rises After Dodging Trade War
Harley-Davidson Rises After Dodging Trade War
Harley-Davidson slides past Trump’s trade war, Nissan blames Carlos Ghosn for a massive profit drop, people still want to know if Tesla can make money, and much more for of Wednesday, July 24, 2019. After many delays in the process, Harley-Davidson can sigh in relief that it dodged the...
Oct 21, 2026
The Nissan Rogue Hybrid Is Dead
The Nissan Rogue Hybrid Is Dead
You’ll be forgiven for not knowing Nissan sold a Rogue Hybrid. It came and went without much fanfare. Nissan doesn’t even have a photograph of the Rogue Hybrid available on its press site. The picture included above is actually a non-hybrid Rogue SL. You didn’t even notice, did you?...
Oct 21, 2026
Copyright 2023-2026 - www.zzdcar.com All Rights Reserved