Has anyone noticed the car design trend in the past 5-7 years of ever-increasing beltline & ever-shrinking windows?

What could the reason be? Surely it's not for safety reasons, because you cannot see out!

Cheers,
Wolfy

 

The reason, I think, is it's in vogue right now. Cars that resemble armored personell carriers are all the rage :-).

High beltlines, slab sides, slit windows. It's seen on many cars but the new generation Challenger and Camaro are ripe examples....the "bulked up" look I call it.

Add to the the tall "bustle" rear ends.....

Yuck! I'm afraid I can't warm up t it.

Cheers
DD

 

Yes, I for one like to cruise around with the windows down on a nice day and rest my arm on the top of the door. Haven't been able to do that with very many cars of the last 20 years. I really haven't cared much for automotive design since the 80s. I guess that's one of the things that drew me to the x308. Yes, its a bit old-fashioned, but precisely why I like it.

 

Exactly right, however there is one safety justification which is when you get T-Boned by an SUV whose driver is busy texting (which is to say most any SUV)... The steel mass of the door is more protective than a glass window.