Interesting take on tail lamps... .Mark Phelan in the Detroit Free Press....

[fbodfather]

A commentary by Mark Phelan in the Sunday Detroit Free Press --



Mark Phelan: 'Vette, Mustang, Cherokee fans, stop complaining already (Commentary)
By Mark Phelan
Aug. 25, 2013



As new versions of the Chevrolet Corvette, Ford Mustang and Jeep Cherokee draw near, I've got a request for the vehicles' purists:

Stop complaining that they're different from the old cars you revere.

Close your eyes, count to 10 and get back to me after they've been on the road for six months.

Your whining makes my head hurt, and it's not helping the cars you claim to love.

Honestly.


"If you're passionate about a car, you tend to see anything that's different as a retrograde step," said Jim Hall, managing director of 2953 Analytics. "Owners of the previous model will always prefer the one they know."

That explains why many 'Vette fans recoiled in horror when they saw the 2014 Corvette Stingray has - wait for it - square taillights! Never mind that the new 'Vette is faster, more fuel-efficient and more advanced - their Corvette has round taillights, the way God intended. Anything else is an abomination.

The same goes for the 2014 Jeep Cherokee. The mechanical specs suggest it could drive up the side of a building, using about half as much fuel as the old one and keeping its passengers safe when it fell off the other side of the building. All some fans can see is that it's sleek while the old one was boxy, though. They think that makes it a traitor to the brand.

I have no idea what the all-new 2015 Mustang will look like, but I am certain lots of people will despise it. The fact that it'll probably be lighter, nimbler and more technically sophisticated and fuel-efficient than any Mustang before it is irrelevant. It'll be different. That guarantees some folks will hate it.

People can't tell you they want something they've never seen before. It's a truism designers bemoan as they drink alone, late at night in fabulous bars decorated in white leather, chrome and black wood.

But nobody knew the world wanted 250 different paintings of water lilies until Claude Monet did it and changed art forever. That's why artists drink alone, late at night, in far cheaper and less fashionable dives.

Cars, like art, must evolve or die. The alternative is the Model T. The world's best-selling car, Ford barely changed it from 1908 to 1927. Other vehicles evolved and surpassed it. Ford lost the No. 1 spot and never regained it.

Porsche is the other side of that coin, Edmunds.com senior analyst Michelle Krebs said. "The purists loudly objected to the idea of Porsche building an SUV and a sedan, but Porsche wouldn't be around today if it hadn't built the Cayenne," the SUV that's its top seller, she said. The combination of the Cayenne and Panamera sedan - another departure that was anathema to brand purists - led Porsche to record sales.

The idea that people can't ask for what they can't imagine collides with the salesman's maxim of "Give the customer what he wants" at the intersection of art and commerce.

"The most important thing is to create a car that people see and immediately recognize as the new Corvette or Mustang or Jeep," Hall said.

That requires an understanding of the vehicle's core appeal and identity. Too often, the self-appointed guardians of brand heritage obsess over minutiae like round versus square taillights.

I'm looking at you, Corvette purists.

It's the automotive equivalent of medieval theological debates about how many angels could fit on the head of a pin. The correct answer, then and now, is: Drop dead, I have a life.

The new models may be great. They may stink. We'll know soon enough. I'll guarantee one thing, though. The deciding factor won't be the shape of a taillight lens.

[Apex Motorsports]

That is a good article.

[djcfuzz]

Good perspective, I am gonna sit back and enjoy the show...

[Arodr395]

Originally Posted by djcfuzz

Good perspective, I am gonna sit back and enjoy the show...

I'll join you .

[classicrockr]

I still don't like the tail lights....but I'd take a camaro over a mustang ANY DAY

[Rafael205]

Originally Posted by classicrockr

I still don't like the tail lights....but I'd take a camaro over a mustang ANY DAY

[Casperadub70]

Well we made it to the 4th post before someone had to say something about the tail lights
Screw them. I love everything you guys are doing. Making everything better. Thanks.
PS i love my 2014 1LE Camaro

[upstater]

Originally Posted by Casperadub70

Well we made it to the 4th post before someone had to say something about the tail lights
Screw them. I love everything you guys are doing. Making everything better. Thanks.
PS i love my 2014 1LE Camaro

I'm sure classicrocker loves your 1LE too. He would just like it more with the '13 tail lights.

[angryv6]

I guess I have to love the lights now.... Nope still don't but I love this car.

[Chevyman2]

Originally Posted by fbodfather

A commentary by Mark Phelan in the Sunday Detroit Free Press --



Mark Phelan: 'Vette, Mustang, Cherokee fans, stop complaining already (Commentary)
By Mark Phelan
Aug. 25, 2013



As new versions of the Chevrolet Corvette, Ford Mustang and Jeep Cherokee draw near, I've got a request for the vehicles' purists:

Stop complaining that they're different from the old cars you revere.

Close your eyes, count to 10 and get back to me after they've been on the road for six months.

Your whining makes my head hurt, and it's not helping the cars you claim to love.

Honestly.


"If you're passionate about a car, you tend to see anything that's different as a retrograde step," said Jim Hall, managing director of 2953 Analytics. "Owners of the previous model will always prefer the one they know."

That explains why many 'Vette fans recoiled in horror when they saw the 2014 Corvette Stingray has - wait for it - square taillights! Never mind that the new 'Vette is faster, more fuel-efficient and more advanced - their Corvette has round taillights, the way God intended. Anything else is an abomination.

The same goes for the 2014 Jeep Cherokee. The mechanical specs suggest it could drive up the side of a building, using about half as much fuel as the old one and keeping its passengers safe when it fell off the other side of the building. All some fans can see is that it's sleek while the old one was boxy, though. They think that makes it a traitor to the brand.

I have no idea what the all-new 2015 Mustang will look like, but I am certain lots of people will despise it. The fact that it'll probably be lighter, nimbler and more technically sophisticated and fuel-efficient than any Mustang before it is irrelevant. It'll be different. That guarantees some folks will hate it.

People can't tell you they want something they've never seen before. It's a truism designers bemoan as they drink alone, late at night in fabulous bars decorated in white leather, chrome and black wood.

But nobody knew the world wanted 250 different paintings of water lilies until Claude Monet did it and changed art forever. That's why artists drink alone, late at night, in far cheaper and less fashionable dives.

Cars, like art, must evolve or die. The alternative is the Model T. The world's best-selling car, Ford barely changed it from 1908 to 1927. Other vehicles evolved and surpassed it. Ford lost the No. 1 spot and never regained it.

Porsche is the other side of that coin, Edmunds.com senior analyst Michelle Krebs said. "The purists loudly objected to the idea of Porsche building an SUV and a sedan, but Porsche wouldn't be around today if it hadn't built the Cayenne," the SUV that's its top seller, she said. The combination of the Cayenne and Panamera sedan - another departure that was anathema to brand purists - led Porsche to record sales.

The idea that people can't ask for what they can't imagine collides with the salesman's maxim of "Give the customer what he wants" at the intersection of art and commerce.

"The most important thing is to create a car that people see and immediately recognize as the new Corvette or Mustang or Jeep," Hall said.

That requires an understanding of the vehicle's core appeal and identity. Too often, the self-appointed guardians of brand heritage obsess over minutiae like round versus square taillights.

I'm looking at you, Corvette purists.

It's the automotive equivalent of medieval theological debates about how many angels could fit on the head of a pin. The correct answer, then and now, is: Drop dead, I have a life.

The new models may be great. They may stink. We'll know soon enough. I'll guarantee one thing, though. The deciding factor won't be the shape of a taillight lens.

AMEN

[GroundPilot]

Anyone really get used to the Aztek or the Nissan Juke? NOT saying the '14 Camaro is either of those but the taillights are ugly, period.

As for the cars in this article, the new Jeep IS the freaking Aztek of the Jeep lineup now. That thing is HIDEOUS.

Who cars about performance, efficiency, and gadgets if you, the individual YOU as well the collective enthusiasts, do not find them soul stirring and heart pounding when just LOOKING at them?

[wadew2lt]

Originally Posted by Apex Chase

That is a good article.

DITTO!!!

[Glen e]

The simple fact hat someone had to write about this specific issue means to me that somebody has heard the lights are not being well received for many....

and I certainly would expect a Detriot reporter to be a "friend of the family" - I can see a scene right out of the Godfather - where Sonny says " We got still somebody on the paper don't we? Have him write about it"

J/K.... Scott...

[radz28]

That's a good article!