I'm thinking about a more realistic material reflection like it is used in other games like Forza, Wreckfest etc. I know that the aim is actually not to improve the look of the game (at least at the moment). But if there is a possibility to include this so called Fresnel-effect in the game engine of BeamNG in car-materials it would enhance graphics and performance a lot! (especially 11:58) This is actually explained for blender, but of course you can transfer it to BeamNG... The main message is, that the angle to the camera actually decides how strong the reflection actually is. Compairson: Hope it helps!
I think you can blame torque3d for that. either that or the current reflections are just a placeholder until a future "Graphics Update" where they make the game look nicer, better reflections nd stuff like that.
When one simply looks at the history and especially the funding scheme of Torque3D, it all becomes crystal clear. She ain't bad considering. Fresnel has been talked about and would be really cool to achieve with low overhead in T3D. I imagine this feature will be an incredible amount of raw brain power and lots of human capital to get done.