Toyota Corolla: Fixing a Detail

Now for something pretty subtle.  It has to do with the aft part of the side window profile of the previous and current generations of the North American version of the Toyota Corolla.

It's just a small detail, but I am bothered by it almost every time I see a previous-generation Corolla.  At least current Corollas lack that problem, whether by the accident of a redesign or conscious effort to make the correction.

For a discussion of the flaw, let's go to some images: previous-generation Corolla images alternate with photos of current Corollas.

Gallery

Previous-generation Corolla.  Note the pointed aft end of the side window profile.  From this and similar viewpoints, it seems to simply intrude on the C-pillar.  An intrusion for no apparent reason.

Current Corollas are better styled in general, with a strong shoulder-level character line that extends almost all the way to the rear of the car.  The window profile is essentially self-contained with no sharp points seemingly floating noplace in particular.

In this side view we see that the sharp point is actually related to the C-pillar fold atop the trunk.  In theory, this is proper automobile styling practice -- relating features at a distance to help visually tie a design together.  But Corolla's problem is that the fold is weak.  It needed to be a little bolder so that the relationship to the point was more obvious.

The shoulder character fold on current Corollas serves to tie the design together, leaving the C-pillar to be simply a C-pillar and not a canvas for a visual linkage.

Even when seen from the rear, the visual link is weak.  As just stated, the sculpting need to be at least a little bolder.

No such problem on the current Corolla.