Quirks in Car Design: What makes a car eccentric?

You might be like "Oh, keyless entry request sensor, sweet! But, as a French car it has to be weird and abnormal. You see, it is not a grab handle, it is just a button you click to open the door.

BHPian chiekennugget recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Quirks in car design

I have come across quite a few "quirks" in car designs recently. It might be something small like the placement of a feature or radical change like the entire shape of a regular object changing. This made me curious to see if there are any other oddities like that.

I don't know how to categorise some of them, so decided to lump all of them into one thread. 

Citroen C6

The C6 is an executive car from Citroen. It was supposed to take on cars like the BMW 5-Series, Mercedes E-class, Audi A6. But, at last it failed. Selling only

23,287 cars in its 7 year run. It had an incredibly quirky design and the rear windshield had a concave curve to it.

Renault Twingo

The first gen Renault Twingo was launched in 1992 and it stood for twist, swing and tango. It has an incredibly quirky design and looks quite adorable. The antenna in the car is placed on the side mirror for cost cutting and it has a smile on its face. The car was incredibly successful and Renault sold 2.6 million units of the twingo.

1989 Autech Stelvio AZ1

Mirror mounted on the bonnet of the car isn't very unique. If I had a rupee for all the Fortuner's I have seen with the tiny mirror on the bonnet, I would be able to afford my own Fortuner.

This car takes it one step further by creating an entire enclosure around the mirror. The wheels are flat with a weird opening for the tyre vent spews/valve. According to a video I watched, it serves no aerodynamic purpose.

Citroen CX

The CX also has its fair share of quirks. There is a button on the grab handle on the door. You might be like "Oh, keyless entry request sensor, sweet! But, as a French car it has to be weird and abnormal. You see, it is not a grab handle, it is just a button you click to open the door. Maybe semi keyless entry at best.

The steering wheel is a single spoke design, due to which all of the controls (that would usually rest on the stalks) are placed on the side of the steering side. I un-ironically love it.

MG Gloster

The side mirror on the MG Gloster is placed on the door. Usually, they are placed in front of the window. Instead of a mirror stem, there is a tiny window in its place. I don't know why they did it (comparison with a ''normal'' placement)

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