Modern Trend - Plastic Wheel Arch Molding

[Erik Smith]

PSA to automakers: giant pieces of plastic attached around a wheel well do not look good. 
 

Mazda really disappoints me here - ruining the otherwise nice lines of the Mazda 3 on the CX-30. And the new Outback? Thank you 8 year old kid who designed that. 

[wrenchr]

That and the front of about every car looks like Bane from the Batman movie.....

 

 

[Erik Smith]

8 minutes ago, wrenchr said:

That and the front of about every car looks like Bane from the Batman movie.....

 

 

Whoever designed this should have been fired, along with the people who agreed it looked good:

Edited March 13, 2022 by Erik Smith

[Plowboy]

That and the Mitsubishi Outlander with diamond tuck interior. Sorry Mitsubishi. But, not even playing AC/DC in your commercials can make up for that. 

[Oldcarfan27]

Plastic cladding isn't a new thing, I've seen it added to vehicles since the 90s. 

Never looked good on them either.

Edited March 13, 2022 by Oldcarfan27

[Ace-Garageguy]

Funny thing about the plastic cladding bits...it's often marketed as "damage resistant" on "sporty" or "adventure" vehicles, but in reality there's no way to repair the textured surfaces of most of them, so once it's scuffed the only way to get a like-new look again is to REPLACE it.

[espo]

Pros: While it will show most scrapes but just not as bad as a glossy painted surface. There are many products on the market to try and maintain its as new appearance. The manufactures focus groups show this is a desirable design element.      Cons: They still show any scrapes, and especially if one of these vehicles venture beyond the parking lot at the kid's soccer field. You will get to use products to restore the OEM appearance on a monthly basis and more often if the vehicles are driven in inclement weather. Excellent way to trap moisture between the cladding and the body, this will usually lead to premature body rust in most humid environments. Should one of these Sport Utility vehicles actually go into the woods it is not uncommon to see a few either whole or in parts of the plastic body parts long the narrow trails. As for the manufacturers focus groups. Turns out most of them wouldn't or couldn't buy one anyway. 

[Smoke Wagon]

At least with the Avalanche and Aztek, one could option one without the cladding after the first model year or so (not that it helped curb the ugliness emanating from the Aztek). 

As for plastic cladding on bumpers and around the wheel wells, we’d better get used to it. The people who are in the market for crossovers and lifted wagons (Outbacks) usually don’t care if the car’s uglier than a duck’s rear end as long as the salesman calls it sporty and active. If some plastic cladding slapped on your car makes Jennifer feel like a mountain climber, then she’s going to use it as an escapism for her suburban life and kids.

[Ace-Garageguy]

2 minutes ago, espo said:

... As for the manufacturers focus groups. Turns out most of them wouldn't or couldn't buy one anyway. 

I've always questioned the wisdom of asking people who know zilch about much of anything how to design cars.

Worked well for the Edsel, eh?

But it tends to shield a certain type of weak management from having to take full responsibility for stupid decisions.

[Rob Hall]

Nothing new.  My old Jeep had gray plastic bumpers, rocker and lower door trim.  My newer Jeep has black wheel arch trim, not as noticeable on a black vehicle. 

Edited March 13, 2022 by Rob Hall

[sfhess]

Gives that butchy off-roader look??.

Aside from scratches or scrapes, has anyone had any luck getting polish or wax residue out of the textured black plastic?

[Joe Handley]

28 minutes ago, sfhess said:

Gives that butchy off-roader look??.

Aside from scratches or scrapes, has anyone had any luck getting polish or wax residue out of the textured black plastic?

I’ve heard of lightly, and I mean LIGHTLY, hitting them with a propane torch to get back that matte black finish as it oxydizes, but I think when it comes to wax, the truck is to not get it on there in the first place. 

[Rob Hall]

Yeah, the gray plastic on my Jeep bumpers and side trim was faded after years in sunny Arizona. 

[Erik Smith]

3 hours ago, Rob Hall said:

Nothing new.

Agree, cladding is nothing new. The Outback was probably one the first to bring that rocker panel cladding around.

But…simply adding a stupid (the new Outback) black piece of plastic to the wheel well…? And Mazda CX-30 just looks like it has a body being lifted off of another body or something. 
 

Really, what got me started  was seeing one of those new Subarus in person and thinking “well that’s a useless add on akin to something a 55 year old man would do who has no ability to add actual performance parts to his car…” no offense to all you 55 year old men. Maybe I’ll be doing something like in 5 years. 

[Erik Smith]

1 minute ago, Erik Smith said:

 

Edited March 13, 2022 by Erik Smith

[Erik Smith]

3 hours ago, Rob Hall said:

My newer Jeep has black wheel arch trim, not as noticeable

I think a small amount of trim actually looks ok-good. It’s the over the top style…

[martinfan5]

2 hours ago, Joe Handley said:

I’ve heard of lightly, and I mean LIGHTLY, hitting them with a propane torch to get back that matte black finish as it oxydizes, but I think when it comes to wax, the truck is to not get it on there in the first place. 

Interesting,  plastic trim restore only works/last for a very short time, my "work truck"  is a Avalanche and all the plastic is now a very light shade of grey.

[Lunajammer]

I agree that it looks okay on some vehicles. I've been looking at the Hyundai Kona but I fear that nothing dates a car's look more than black plastic. Partly, as mentioned, it ages poorly, but also it usually means that later generations will have that part body color, which really makes the black plastic look even more dated.

[Joe Handley]

4 hours ago, Erik Smith said:

Agree, cladding is nothing new. The Outback was probably one the first to bring that rocker panel cladding around.

But…simply adding a stupid (the new Outback) black piece of plastic to the wheel well…? And Mazda CX-30 just looks like it has a body being lifted off of another body or something. 
 

Really, what got me started  was seeing one of those new Subarus in person and thinking “well that’s a useless add on akin to something a 55 year old man would do who has no ability to add actual performance parts to his car…” no offense to all you 55 year old men. Maybe I’ll be doing something like in 5 years. 

I think the rocker cladding started with the Jeep Grand Cherokee with the ZJ body style, though the CJs, YJ Wranglers, and MJ Comanche and XJ Cherokee had them at times, usually on the cheaper models.

[Erik Smith]

16 minutes ago, Joe Handley said:

I think the rocker cladding started with the Jeep Grand Cherokee with the ZJ body style, though the CJs, YJ Wranglers, and MJ Comanche and XJ Cherokee had them at times, usually on the cheaper models.

Probably - I had a 95 ZJ and parents had a 93 - outbacks started 95 (it was completely cosmetic the first Gen). 

[Erik Smith]

1 hour ago, Lunajammer said:

I agree that it looks okay on some vehicles. I've been looking at the Hyundai Kona but I fear that nothing dates a car's look more than black plastic. Partly, as mentioned, it ages poorly, but also it usually means that later generations will have that part body color, which really makes the black plastic look even more dated.

Now see - I think the Kona has some decent lines and design going - but that whole front fender/fog light black plastic piece just looks weird. 

[Oldcarfan27]

On 3/13/2022 at 10:57 AM, Smoke Wagon said:

At least with the Avalanche and Aztek, one could option one without the cladding after the first model year or so (not that it helped curb the ugliness emanating from the Aztek). 

These are not trim delete options, they are the newer versions of the cars I posted. The 02-03 Avalanche came with "ugly" as a standard feature. Same with the Aztek, but there the ugly goes to the bone!

[Brian Austin]

 Tires sticking out a couple of inches from plain wheelwells looks pretty stupid as well.  ?

I've seen 4x4 pickups with these and wonder how they get away without fender flares.  (I thought there were laws governing this.)

 

Face it, trends come and go.  Oldtimers grumbled about tailfins and chrome in decades past.

[Mark]

Those plastic parts probably stiffen the thinner sheet metal being used for body panels.

[iamsuperdan]

It's just what's popular right now. People are into the whole off-road, outdoorsy-vibe, so the manufacturers are designing accordingly.

Personally, I don't mind the black trim. I like that look on most vehicles. 

 

As for maintenance, I started using a Wurth plastic dye on my wife's Volvo when it started fading, and it lasts quite a while. I have to reapply every now and then, but it's fine. Just part of the spring deep clean I do every year. 

 

And this black trim fad is no different than carts in the past having chrome on everything; wheel arch trim, fender vents, body contour lines, rear fins, bumpers, windshield wipers, rocker panels, interior parts, etc.

 

 

And I dislike chrome trim immensely. I usually end up de-chroming my own vehicles. Replacing grilles, bumpers, removing arch moldings and emblems, etc.