I recently noticed that almost every newer car have that style of fenders, with a bit of flat surface around. Old cars don't have it. Why is that? For easier rust repair when the car gets older? Would manufacturers care for things like this? I can't unsee it on the road, now you can't too

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SlyClydesdale@reddit

It’s about aerodynamics and smoothing out air turbulence and air pressure differentials around the wheels and wheel wells.

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meshmunkey@reddit

It is not this. It's a design choice by the studio.

Source: have worked as an aerodynamicist tightly coupled with design studios across multiple OEMs.

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GiantScrotor@reddit

I’m surprised by how many people confidently commented that it had some actual purpose.

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Drzhivago138@reddit

Without any kind of verification from either commenter, I’m willing to believe both equally.

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Danielle_is_the_hole@reddit

It is better than some designs but there are other factors like cost to create and assemble along with style. All factors are given some weight for the final output decision.

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SlyClydesdale@reddit

I would imagine there’s a panel stiffening component to it as well.

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Enignum@reddit (OP)

Oooh, that might have sense, didn't think of that

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purekillforce1@reddit

Also makes the circle stronger with a flat lip on it.

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Max_delirious@reddit

Idk but I guarantee you that NOTHING on ANY car is made for convenience of future repairs

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With the rare exception of companies like BMW that churn out lease return sales, manufacturers really don’t need to worry about second and third owners- and you are talking about pretty deep in the ownership cycle- even in midwest- when rust starts to take toll. 15 years or so

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colinshark@reddit

Definitely just a stupid looking trend for Altimas and other cars aspiring to be Altimas.

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ScrapYard101@reddit

NOT for easier rust repair. Manufacturers DO NOT care about rust, and DO NOT care enough to make a car easy to repair. All they care about is making the car last through warranty. Thats it.

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pgcooldad@reddit

It adds strength to the arch of the fender. Modern automobiles use much thinner steel than their older counterparts. This area would be susceptible to be easily damaged, crimped, or bent without the flat surface design.

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CLAPtrapTHEMCHEEKS@reddit

There’s really only two option brother, it’s either more fuel efficient or easier to produce.

Probably a decent combination of both if all the manufacturers are doing it.

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Wafflars@reddit

What about the third option - prepared for but missing expensive car extras like the ”rugged”/”offroad” pack (plastic trim pieces all over including on the wheel archs)

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saustin66@reddit

I think it makes the body dies output need less correction.

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whodie522@reddit

If the flat is a stamping datum, yes

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Slideways@reddit

Old cars don't have it.

Some of them do.

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NuTrumpism@reddit

Mitsu Eclipse. What a great looking car.

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GrynaiTaip@reddit

I'm fairly sure that most of them have it.

The new trend is that the lip is plastic on newer cars.

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3_14159td@reddit

Yes, that helps reduce the cost of a minor scrape (say a pole or in your garage) moves panel fasteners to more convenient places for panel fab and assembly sometimes, and decreases hard edges that need to be painted/pass QC after painting.

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kokomokid46@reddit

It's a currently popular fashion statement.

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Gen-Y-ine-86@reddit

Some late 2000's Peugeot had the most horrific versions of this style. Like someone had simply cut the sides of a clay model to make it less wide.

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LevoiHook@reddit

It is to conceal the really high waist line cars nowadays have. Otherwise there would just be a whole lot of flat. At least, that is my suspicion.

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luismx5@reddit

its a design choice, it tricks the eye to make wheels look bigger.

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Ludwig_Vista2@reddit

Nobody repairs rust anymore.

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urbanek2525@reddit

We should have a contest about who can come up with the best bs explanation. I'll start.

The modern robots can better match the plastic fender liners to the steel if the steel has a wide flat band. There's less wastage from damaged parts because of the easier to sense flat arch.

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Bcoops@reddit

Cars have progressively gotten wider over time. However track width is limited for car and suv entries in order to meet regulations and classify as specific vehicle types. How do you make a car look wider and more aggressive if you can’t move the tires out? You widen the body as much as possible and compress the surface transitions in the hip and shoulder area above the wheels so it looks like the surface juts out with more acceleration over the wheels. It just adds drama

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Simoxs7@reddit

Along with the bumpers being seamlessly integrated into the car shape I think thats a thing the Audi TT is credited with popularizing / doing it first.

On the Audi it was to make the car look wider even though they were limited as they wanted to show what you could do with the Golf platform.

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mini4x@reddit

Looks at a 66 Toronado..

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Boatlover62@reddit

as a car painter here's my take, it's not for easier rust removal, they don't want that, it's not flat actually curved inwards so it won't be too easy to fix, my guess is basically just what's so called in the fashion for the automobile industry, everyone does it so everyone copies, kinda like touch screens as it's a dying trend atm

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runway31@reddit

I upvote Golf

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karankshah@reddit

They are called wheel arches. They’re a design feature that makes cars look sportier - inspired by racecar design where some racecars are widened versions of road cars.

In racecars, Putting the wheels further apart makes the car more stable in corners and can allow you to use bigger wider tires.

Car companies are using that design language to make people think “ooh, racecar” when they look at their designs, even if the cars will never be raced in its life.

Wheel arches are not aerodynamically efficient; they add drag because they increase the width of the car. Smoother wheel arches where the bodywork is gradually angled out is better than sharper, angled arches, but generally speaking a thinner profile is better than a wider one.

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Surfnazi77@reddit

Makes it stronger as well

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the_real_maquis@reddit

Aerodynamics/looks, these body panels are stamped in a die press so unless you’ve got a really wacky design price doesn’t really vary from the shape

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refrigerated_tomato@reddit

Volkswagen has been doing that on most of their models for the past 15 years, likely just a design choice

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Enignum@reddit (OP)

It's on all manufacturer's cars so I doubt its JUST design choice. First comment here makes more sense

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L44KSO@reddit

It's en vougue right now, makes the wheelwell look a bit bigger and the extra crease gives it some stability to use thinner material. Quite a few of the makers use plastic fenders or fairly thin steel, and that needs structural stability which come through the crease.

You can try it yourself, take a piece of paper and make a crease close to the edge and one further away and youll see the difference.

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