Why do only new cars look new?

C

Cheetah

New member
I've been wondering about this lately. 99% of the time my car is the nicest one in any parking lot. It's as clean as can be, virtually no swirls, smooth clayed paint, glaze, upp, nb doing their thing, AW finishing it off, wheels, trim and windows waxed. prime stuff. And occasionally I see other cars that are benefiting from similar attention. However, I can always tell when someone has a new car, say less than 6 months old. It has a 'new car' look. Personally I like the look of autopian like cars better but still a new car has a certain look.

So what is it? Is it the untouched, thicker clear coat combined with the lack of muting waxes on the paint? Even a 2 year old garage queen that was personally taken care of by Paul Dalton once a week and hardly driven will still look different than a new car. I'm talking about the paint mainly here. Can someone enlighten me?
 
I think I notice this, too. New cars just seem to look like new cars somehow. I think maybe the autopian detail gives a car "over detailed" look. It's too shiney or the trims too black to look naturally new.. It's more show than new. Maybe you need to step down the show-ness to give it more natural kind of new-ness.
 
i know what you mean, new cars seem to have a crispness about em, but i think it is more mental than anyhting IMO......cuz my truck is in much better condition than any new truck out there.....and the paint looks a ton better
 
No, I'm fine with the look of my car the way it is. It gets compliments all the time as I sure all of you get too. I was just wondering why only new cars look new. If you looked at a new car and the same model that was a year older but impeccably kept I would bet you could still tell which one was new. I'm not saying I like the 'new look' any better or worse just making an observation.
 
I was just trying to see if someone knew the exact technical reason as to why this so.



Another observation, Mustang's have really reflective paint. A well taken care of mustang looks great.
 
i dont know dude... before i got all the rock chips and such in the tC's paintjob, i kept it in a like-new condition. granted lately i have slacked off a bit, but it still looks better than 95% of the cars out there. I feel with work, the inside and outside of a car can be kept looking almost brand new.



the only part of the car that i have issues with keeping "factory fresh" is the engine bay. regardless of the cleaners and dressings i use, i cant seem to make the engine bay look brand new.
 
I think I got the engine, and I have natural looking trim and tires. :( my car has hundreds of rock chips and some door dings.



:( Also the fact that Honda made the 06+ rear lights look different. I think my gen7 is getting old.
 
I have noticed this too. I have always thought it's just in my head but obviously I'm not the only one who has noticed this.
 
Yeah how come?!? It's good to know I'm not the only one that thinks new cars have this certain "crispiness" to them that cannot be copied. Even if you put a brand new dirty car next to a super detailed older model, I can immediately tell the difference. What is it? I can't figure it out and can never duplicate it.... stuff that makes you go :hm
 
Guessing it's just that everything has new look to it from paint, black plastics, and wheels.



Also I have noticed this with the paint, I guess even if you can maintain it well can't seem to get that perfect clean look new car paint has.



But every car starts out like this so it doesn't bug me cos after few years you notice which car has kept that look and which have been neglected.
 
IMHO a lot of it is that it's a new design more than it is the condition of the car vs Autopian standards. Most any car has something or another updated about the appearance every year.
 
velobard said:
IMHO a lot of it is that it's a new design more than it is the condition of the car vs Autopian standards. Most any car has something or another updated about the appearance every year.
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So true. You get used to seeing certain cars and pick up on certain aspects of the cars. Tail lights for instance might retain the shape but they change the colors of the plastics or the location of the turn signals, running lights, brake lights, etc. You know the car is new because it is different then what you are used to seeing. All these little changes end up making a big difference in the overall appearance of a car.



Think about just adding some simple mods to a car. Perhaps you get wheels, tinted windows, and some clear markers to replace the amber ones. Suddenly your car stands out, it looks different then all the others. It should, hopefully, look better than before. All these subtle changes can really make a big difference in the overall appearance.



Now if your just taking two identical cars bought at the same time and one is stored for 2 years and the other driven for 2 years then the difference is all the road debris blasting away at the front end. It destroys the front end of cars and really ages them, like wrinkles on a supermodel. :wall



Don't forget paint color changes as well. New models tend to have different available paint colors which can make a car seem newer because your not used to the color.
 
No matter how hard you try, you cannot stop aging. In automobile world, this is now refered to as aquiring patina.



Personally, I think patina is a good thing given what car collectors are paying for original untouched cars.



These two real 289 Shelby Cobra belong to the president of the Cobra Owner's Club of America:



This one has been restored.



WSIR-DSC-0684.jpg




Other than being repainted by the original owner soon after picking it up from the dealer, the Cobra below is original. You can read about it in the current Motor Trend.



I'll bet this one's worth tons more than the restored one. Just think of all the money you'd save on detailing products if you owned it!



wsir-csx2000-0261.jpg
 
^^beat me to it... it's all about design IMO... if you go to europe, considering you're american and have never been there... take a look at an unknown make like renault or peugeot that is 2-4 years old and has been detailed by a good detailer then look at another unknown make but a new car... you won't be able to tell the difference since you don't know what style of those makes is new and which is older... I'll be you'll notice they're the same



This is of course considering that every aspect of the older car, such as tires, wheel wells, all plastics/trim, etc..., have been treated properly and look as good as new...



cliff notes... it's the design of cars that makes new cars look newer than older cars, not paint condition
 
Cheetah said:
No, I'm fine with the look of my car the way it is. It gets compliments all the time as I sure all of you get too. I was just wondering why only new cars look new. If you looked at a new car and the same model that was a year older but impeccably kept I would bet you could still tell which one was new. I'm not saying I like the 'new look' any better or worse just making an observation.
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It's been my experience that although brand new cars do not have bird crap etching or stone chips, they have a very flat and matte look about the interior and especially the paint

Sure some high end dark coloured cars don't but in the aussie falcon and commodore scene, all bar the SS holdens and GT falcons look crap.

Exterior trims are grey almost, paint has not got it's true colour showing and they are all the same



However a well detailed one has medium to high gloss non sticky exterior trims, invisible glass, the true colour glowing brightly and not a swirl mark or marring to be seen.

Every thing is alive and kicking.



Although my 98 AU XR falcon has a few unremovable scratches, some stone chips (got air brushed but seemed to be too soft), baby swirls in some places and slight orange peel in a couple places, another one or even new BA and BF's can only beat it by being bird crap free. it's been detailed so extensively that paul daltons most complex detail is like a wash and wax in comparison.Its been machine polished twice with menzerna IP and FP, then improved a year later with prima swirl, menzerna RD, clearkote VM and RMG, jeffs prime and my own mixes. Probably 400 hours spent on it last year alone (not including washing) and has approx 20 coats of sealant on it and that includes jeffs, driven, fireglaze DS and aquawax. it looks fifty times better than an uncared for car of the same model and has more depth, wetness, DOI and image clarity than some show cars that I see on street machine cruises.

I do all my R & D work on it and now can machine enhance it as much as I want without stripping sealant or taking any paint off. It really is nuts. Even the orange peel's hidden away in all but three places.

Even the custom painted cars have swirls, hologramming and medium marring.



What proved it to me the most though was doing a friend's two year old BA XR6 turbo ute that had nothing on it and not quite autopian quality washed and after a going over with prima swirl, menzerna RD, Clearkote VM, Prime and 3 x jett, it was totally markless in even sodium vapour lights and looked better than any brand new one of the same colour. It was like comparing sunny day sky coloured blue to dark blue.



When he sold it and purchased a BF model of the same colour, it was chalk and cheese.

There's something about letting the paint weather for a while and being totally naked that when worked on with a buffer, enhances it's finish better than if it was polished the day it was brought home.
 
STG said:
No matter how hard you try, you cannot stop aging. In automobile world, this is now refered to as aquiring patina.



Personally, I think patina is a good thing given what car collectors are paying for original untouched cars.
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Now I am no paint life expert but if very well maintained, only a small amount of colour loss should occur over the years.

my ride is nine years old and the paint is only getting better as the years go.

The right combo of products is really helping

I'm not polishing it, just building up the coats of sealant and using the best spray I've come across by machine (no polish in it) to brighten and enrichen the colour to it's maximum potential. I spent 40 minutes brightening a half foot long painted section of the rear wings alone with this spray. I think the aquawax, quick shot, showroom glaze spray and lackfinish used as a final rinse with every wash and then as I blot dry is the main reason for it. the car gets at least three coats each wash. The wash itself has gloss enhancing conditioners and sealant in it

In fact no galaxy blue AU series 2 from 2000 that I've seen that's well cared for by a pro can match the paint of mine or any of them that I work on.



Aging of mechanical components is one thing but paint and interior should remain like new unless the car is a daily driver with kids in it alot and not looked after properly
 
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