The headlights look silly. Out of place and awkward. They add nothing of value and draw the eyes away from the whole. Little details that outweigh the overall design are a trademark of Bad Design, and usually an attempt to "stand out." Like a bad tattoo or excessive facial piercings on a needy, self-esteem starved teenager. The problem with this mentality is that the "standing out" is being left to the little things, not the whole. It's lazy, and has a last-minute feel to it. Certainly a car as "upscale" as the Maxima has no need for such visual shouting, right? I'll leave my observations of the REST of the current Maxima's sins out of this one...they've been beaten pretty well to death elsewhere.
Well Nissan spread it to the rest of its lineup. The Z (where the tail lights kind of work but the headlights are still a mess). But it almost seems like they realized it was a bad idea, because the Sentra and Altima's versions are toned down quite a bit. Still boomerang-like, but more curved than "bestubbed."
Sadly, it's too late. The disease is spreading. And the latest victim? The new Suburban. GM has talked a lot about how they'd be more strongly differentiating the styling of the Tahoe, Suburban, and Yukon from their Silverado and Sierra origins. And they sure did that. The front end of the new Suburban looks like a crossover, not an SUV, with a sleeker, more rounded single-piece lower fascia and...oh dear. Those headlights...
I don't even know where to start. The worst part is definitely that horizontal seam between fender and bumper that carries right off the most deliberately eyecatching point of the truck. As though they're saying LOOK, LOOK, LOOK AT MY PANEL GAPS. But then there's the fact that, if you get rid of the little lower nubthingbitpartdealie, it looks EXACTLY LIKE THE NEW EXPLORER'S HEADLIGHT. Huh. So copy Ford, throw in a bit of French Nissan flamboyance, and call it a day? FAIL. Fortunately, a tiny bit of fender and/or bumper tweaking could get rid of the whole mess, so we can look forward to a second-year edition with headlights that don't look like the laziest attempt at "being different" I've ever seen in my life. The thing was only announced today, and the internets are already alive with hatred for them. So I guess they've served their purpose. GO OVERWEIGHT GOTH KID GO.
