No seriously, who are they? Cause they’re making some head-ass shit and I think I’m about it.

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For over a decade (or post 9/11 if you like) cars, particularly those with publicity, clout etc... i.e. the fancy ones, increasingly adopted what I would dub a “militarized” aesthetic. “Murdered out” in all black, the scintillating combination of luxury meets prepper meets Bond villain produced designs that looked hostile, oppressive and mean. You could almost say, for instance, that this sentiment was tied up in a nice little bow with Mr. Musk’s ill-fated Cyber Truck (may it go the way of the Dodo, and also Twitter? yikes).

So, surveying the landscape of the newest crop of EVs I am pleasantly surprised. I would almost call it democratic design, but that requires setting aside the lower-upper-class price tags that come with many of today’s EVs, emblematic of decidedly undemocratic economic undercurrents.

However, this does mean that these cars are luxury and I think wield outsized influence on the future of car aesthetics. And what aesthetics they are…

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Obviously, there are some misses like the Lexus LM (wtf is that grill tho?!?), but that said, the aesthetics of a Rivian are refreshingly gentle (and colors!). VW’s EVs are pretty futuristic, heck, the vibes were so good they brought the fackin vanagon back-ish as an EV but you'll never be able to buy one, sad. Hyundai's Ioniq 5 is practically 8-bit platformer themed with its pixelated headlights. When was the last time you saw a car with that kind of personality?!

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This is all to say that I like how the *dawn of the EV age* has given car designers license to shake things up a bit. Throw out the grill, toss the tailpipe and while you’re at it make the whole thing look like a 60’s concept sketch for flying cars. If it’s already completely different under the hood, why not make the hood different while you’re at it? Just don’t forget to leave your Soylent Green in the frunk or it’ll smell kinda… different?