I can see why you would recognize older ones, can put myself in your shoes, and know that I would readily be able to tell them apart if I grew with them. Perhaps you're getting set in your ways, simply not giving younger people a little credit. About 10 years ago I was sitting around camp fire chatting with a bunch of guys a lot younger than me. I told them how all imports looked the same to me, and they laughed then schooled me real quick about how they weren't, talked about all the differences, etc. I started paying more attention then to more autos other than just Ford trucks.

Auto design is still the human hand with a pen. Only it's on a digital pad instead of paper. CAD is not designing the car. After they have the design is when CAD comes into play to turn it into parts. My experience is computers can enhance creativity, removing limits they had decades ago. Practically any shape you can think of can be made, unlike the past. Print them in 3D, and do in hours or days what used to take months or years (or couldn't be done at all). My 3D printer is one of my most creative toys, and it's just a cheap low end unit.