Lately as I’ve been driving it’s occurred to me that most vehicles on the road today are indistinguishable from one another. This is particularly true in the “sport utility vehicle” (SUV) class. If this were a super-popular blog site, I suspect many would accuse me of either posting “click bait,” or of having lost my sense of taste, if not my mind.

But honestly, I have noticed in traffic the outline of a vehicle and thought to myself, “I wonder what make that is?” I suppose the need often influences the design, so when a multi-passenger vehicle with lots of storage room is needed, things like lift gates and such are automatic. Yet, it seems to me that often the only distinguishing feature on a vehicle is its grill or front-end look.

Some brands have iconic grills. BMW, for example, has the “double-kidney” grill.

Mercedes-Benz is recognizable by its three-pointed star, which sometimes makes it to the grill, but is almost always present on the hood of the car.

But the rest of the automotive world is an ever-changing jumble of looks and frills, most of which are forgettable the moment they’re introduced.

Some makers provoke in me a “what were they thinking?” response. Audi, for example, went the way of what I’ve referred to as an “Ox Collar” look.

In personal disclaimer mode, I will confess that nearly every car I’ve purchased has had some type of “distinctive” look to it. My two present cars straddle that line a bit. My yellow smart fortwo electric drive is easy to pick out in any parking lot. My Mercedes-Benz coupe not so much.

Sure, it’s opinionated. But this is my blog, where the subtitle is, “Everybody’s entitled to my opinion!” 🙂