A lot of complaints have been aired about rather trivial facets of current car design.
Many people seem to enjoy criticising BMW for example, and a favorite past-time of mine is bad-mouthing the current hideous beasts Ferrari keep coming up with.
However, car design still runs on much the same formula as it has done for the last 30 or so years.
Engine, passenger compartment and luggage space segragated into three distinct compartments - everything else is largely cosmetic.
We are rapidly approaching a juncture that could completely revolutionise car design as we know it.
First of all there are new EU legislations coming into force soon, to do with Pedestrian safety, and the dreaded Head Impact Criteria (HIC).
I can't remember exactly when this is coming into force, but it isn't more than a generation (usu. 6 years) or two away.
This legislation basically requires the front of a car to conform to a certain number of regulations, e.g there must be 'X'mm between the bonnet of the car, and any hardpoints (such as the engine and ancillaries).
The first company to obviously make some steps towards compliance are PSA, with the Peugeot 407 and Citroen C4.
They have gone down the route of rather bulbous, rounded bonnet profiles, designed to cushion a wayward pedestrian, combined with huge front overhangs to increase space in front of the engine.
This has major implications for SUVs and sports cars in particular.
Exactly how slab fronted SUVs will get past this legislation is a tricky question, admitted by Landrover designer Andy Wheel.
It will be similarly difficult to make a low slung (front engined) sports car, with enough space above the engine.
One solution could be "active" safety measures, such as bonnet airbags etc, but how could they be configured to distinguish between a child hit at 25mph, and something smaller, such as a piece of debris, at a higher speed?
The other major factor that will change design is the increasing use of Hydrogen powered vehicles, the majority of which use fuel cells rather than a conventional engine package, aswell as other technological advances such as drive-by-wire, and new materials and construction processes.
Maybe the replacement of the traditional internal combustion engine package will negate the effects of the HIC legislation, maybe it won't.
I think that car design in its current form could well be consigned to history.
(And hopefully there will be more jobs than at present.)