Long-Term Road Tests

^"Contemporary aerodynamics"?1?! what is that?

No visibility problems in my current body style BMW 3 series. I guess contemporary aerodynamics and visibility are not mutually exclusive if you know what yer doin'

Green porn,
 
If you tailgate people (even when there is an open passing lane) and start flashing them, you are welcomed to smash into the rear of my car. Hope you don't have an airbag.

unfortunatley that seems to be a trend... even our family car has terrible rearward visability. I've gotten used to it, but I long for the visibility my old 2nd Gen Taurus ('94)had. Plus it had a low trunk lift over hieght too.

I wouldn't call that below average. Sadly that is the trend now. Greenhouse has become a 4-letter word in automotive design. I just wonder why they haven't decided to do away with windows and just install 360 degree camera coverage yet. Then I see old Civic hatchbacks and I realize that in some ways the auto industry has taken two steps forward, and in other ways (like this) have taken two steps back.

Look at the back of the new Vibe. Those are some huge C pillars and a very small rear window. The Toyota version though has little windows cut out and the back window seems to wrap around more. I noticed cause they were parked side by side at the mall. Both are pretty ugly cars.
 
I would rather have better visibility than rollover protection. Mainly cause I look out and back up my car everyday and I don't think I'll ever roll over.

Try driving an HHR. I had the misfortune of renting one of these, twice, (the second time I was left with no choice) and that thing has lousy visibility all-around. Team that with a reluctant-to-downshift powertrain and you're left with... the distinct feeling that even your Ford Focus is sporty.
 
I've noticed that trunk decks have gotten higher as well. It makes it seem as though cars are a lot closer than they actually are in traffic. Maybe "730" should remember that when he's slamming on his brakes to cause collisions.

You think if CUV sales decline the high beltlines might stop? I'd imagine using the same chassis for a car and a tall car has a lot to do with this.

I really don't think the auto companies are doing it to their advantage. It simply looks more aesthetically pleasing from the outside because sheet metal can have a lot more curves and sex appeal than a slab of rear glass. Also, the higher beltline is in part due to increasing the surface area for side impacts and to raise crash ratings of a car. This isn't always the case though, as Chrysler seemed to think it was cool to squish side windows and windshields to where you really can't even see the stop light above you.
 
Industrial designers and engineers are still in the transition phase as they try to create vehicles with the highest safety ratings, I'm sure once they perfect that, they will figure out a way to increase visibility along with that.

the STS has a similar design. As chavis said this is becoming common. Just look at the CLS.

Now that's a mighty large C-pillar! Dang. Trying to sit down in the back seat of the CTS ain't fun either. It seems C-pillars have been getting larger and larger in the last few years but maybe I'm wrong

Poor visibility does seem to be an alarming trend in new cars today. I guess it works for the car companies - more accidents, more replacement parts, more new cars....

Try backing up the Challenger. Yikes.

So what? This car is still hot! When you are driving a caddy, you ain't lookin' back! Bah!

This pillbox rearward view is becoming the rule, not the expection. Think Nissan Maxima and Lexus ES350. The rear windows of these cars are becoming tiny because of the high rear decks necessary for proper aerodynamics. This is a result of the taller beltlines installed in vehicles over the last few years so raising one directly affects the other. I do agree the view is tiny as I witnessed first hand but anyone who cannot parallel park a sedan without a rear view camera should lose their license.

And if you think the CTS Sedan is bad, have you seen the CTS Coupe? It looks more like a hatchback or wagon (or even a Prius!) than a coupe.
Image link: http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2008/03/x08cc_ca060.jpg