Lol, I knew you'd be furious, but I must speak my mind

They were maybe nice then, but with all the new tech we have these days it is much much simpler to make the body look nice, with all the plastic that can be curved into everything they want. That surely was unheard of 10 years ago. Totally impossible.
So, designers have pretty much everything available to them to make cars look like they have them in their dreams. Even the low budget cars can look good.

This is why small cars like the Totota Aygo, Renault Clio/new Twingo, Peugeot 207, Opel Corsa, etc, etc, etc all look more than decent these days

Who could ever imagine that this...



...one day would turn into this...



It just shows that with a lot of effort, care and a bit of passion, you can really turn a woodlouse into a butterfly.

I think Opel and Fiat are the most improved mainstream companies when it comes to design. The new Opel Corsa is quite a good-looking car and so is the Astra, Tigra and Vectra. Fiat also improved big time. The Grande Punto is one of my favorite economy cars right now and the new Fiat Bravo is simply gorgeous. Looks like a premium car rather than an economy car.

Toyota seems to be heading downhill with their new offerings in Europe in terms of design. The Auris for example looks like a sportier Yaris: still ugly as sin.

Nissan has also been letting out some ugly cars. And Honda too!

I'd never imagine that.

I agree with you totally!
What about this:

Tuening into this:


Or this:

into this:


Or this:

into this:


But in all, I think Opel has changed most!

I think that's the new Fiat Bravo you posted above, not a Grande Punto.

I agree with you on most parts, though did you mean to post a Grande Punto instead of a Bravo??!

The one car there I think hasn't moved on looks-wise and has in fact got uglier is the 207.

The thing about the 205 for me is that it's so simple, so elegant, yet with a few revisions you could almost sell it again today.

The 206 was where the rot started to set in. Yes it was pretty, but when you compare 205 vs 206, the 205 is a timeless Pinifarina (?) design, and the 206 almost looks a little cutesy and flowery gayness in comparison.

I think a few better pictures are needed really:







Now, though the 207 might be more modern in terms of 'styling', IMO it's not as good looking as either the 205 or 206, both of which are fabulous looking in comparison.

A couple of things that always bug me about the 207:

• The wing mirrors - they are unnecessarily huge, in the wrong place, and snag the eye as it follows the lines of the car, if you see what I mean.
• The front quarterlight, doesn't look out of place compared to the rest of the car but neither the 205 or 206 needed one - so why this?
• The frumpiness of it - nothing continually flows from front to rear, it's always interrupted by something

The gaping mouth annoys me aswell, though I like the ''lion's face'' overall.

(Apologies if that seemed like I was having a go at you, I'm not, it was just me going a bit OTT with the soapbox... )

Well, I have to tell you that I'm sold on the 207. The car is screaming "take me" everytime I walk by a black one here on the street. I just don't know what it is, but I love it. I like it A LOT more than the 206.

Moreover, I would like to mention more "cheap" or a long time ago "crappy" marks, that even though their low price, actually made some great looking cars lately:

Suzuki:


Kia:

To me, the front of the 207, 307 and 407 looks really hideous. What's that thing with those huge head lights and that big lower air intake?!