[Alberta's Child]

Another reason why cars all look the same today is that most of their parts are the same. I seem to remember reading an article last year that said 60% of the parts in a compact car are common to all manufacturers and models.

[Joe 6-pack]

Cars today take on a generally similar shape because, oddly enough, the wind tunnel the BMW designers use, performs almost exactly like the wind tunnel used at Honda, Ford, etc. When you go for peak aerodynamic efficiency, and shape your vehicles accordingly, the end results will invariably be similar.

[SkyPilot]

I seem to remember reading an article last year that said 60% of the parts in a compact car are common to all manufacturers and models.

The percentage differs per car, but you are pretty much dead on.