Prepare to Get Scared: Top Ten Ugliest Cars in American History
It’s amazing what vehicles pass for “pretty” nowadays. Still, there are some great looking machines out there. Aston Martin and Alfa Romeo seem to know how to design heart-stopping modern beauties. I wish other carmakers could follow their example.
Below are 10 of American History’s Ugliest Cars (in no particular order):
1974 AMC Matador X Coupe – Some say it has character. I say the '74 AMC Matador Coupe better have a hell of a personality, for the looks will drive dates away in hordes. This car was so screwy to look at that it made an ideal car for James Bond bad-guy, Francisco Scaramanga (The Man with the Golden Gun). I’ve driven one … unfortunately it looks better than it drives.
2001 Pontiac Aztek – Man, this was ugly. Aimed at Generation X, it missed the mark by one long mile. In 2002, I sat looking at one I rented for about an hour, all the while trying to find a single line that was attractive with no success. It looked like a trash truck got drunk and had an affair with an AMC Pacer (number 5 on our list)! Even the wheels were ugly on the 1st generation. I hope those responsible for its design were forced to own one.
1985 YUGO GV – This car was so un-cool that it’s now almost cool to have one (if you can find a running example). It was a joke the minute it came to our shores and missed the design mark of acceptability by a wide margin. Giorgetto Giugiaro rarely messes up – but this time. It’s not just the poor reliability, poor performance and cramped interior; the YUGO was never nice to look at – period! Industrial and appliance-like, its only character being the many rust spots it was prone to develop. Yuck!
1958 (Ford) Edsel Citation – The Edsel brand was to be a step above Ford and a step under Mercury. Given its design, it became an instant joke for good reason. Look one up and have a gander at the giant, bass-like mouth and the up-and-out placement of the headlights. I honestly think the designers wanted to find the ugliest design language of the day and sell it through a respectable parent company.
1971 AMC Pacer – My mother owned a red one of these … Oy! These things were based on a good idea, but the designers must have taken some hallucination-inspiring substances before putting pen to paper. Aside from it’s squat rounded shape and droopy overhangs, check out its HUGE glass. Man, it looked like a turtle (not the thing you want associated with a car!). The concave shape of the rear glass magnified the sun! It drove like garbage too, given its generous Jeep-sourced engine that was over restricted for smog compliance.
2003 Subaru Baja – Yes, this is one ugly duckling. Still, this is one of the only vehicles on this list I would consider owning. The Subaru Baja was “supposed” to be funky looking and different. Uh, okay – I give the designers that. As far as many were concerned, it looked like an 8-year-old had his way with a saws-all and a ton of old Pontiac Aztek cladding to finish the design. As I said, I would consider one – if it had room for 3 in the back and if it didn’t trigger my gag reflex when looking at it.
1980 Chevrolet Citation – The Chevrolet Citation was America’s 1st front-wheel drive compact car. Now, I have no problem with the size of the car, as it was a roomy compact car; I just have a huge problem with the ungainly looks of the Citation. It was a fat car with skinny wheels, kind of like a hippo with zebra legs. The interior was ugly too; General Motors flipped the radio on its side to make room on the dashboard. I know how teenagers respond negatively to this car because I was forced to drive one (after my father caught me racing my Mustang).
2000 Toyota Echo Coupe – Look people, I am not here to dispute how well a car is made. The Toyota Echo was an extremely well made vehicle with some cars surpassing 200K (or more) miles before any work was needed. That’s Toyota quality for you! But just LOOK at it! It looks like a clown car, bulbous and inflated as if someone shaped it using a balloon as a starting point. Thank god the fairly handsome Yaris replaced it!
1981 AMC Eagle Wagon – Yes, I pick on AMC a lot. After looking at the hideous AMC Eagle line, is it no wonder why? Sometimes pioneering ideas may be a wee bit awkward. In the case of the Eagle line, AMC thought it would be a good idea to lump car bodies upon Jeep underpinnings. You might argue that it was the 1st attempt at a crossover; I say it was a successful attempt at ugly.
1981 Dodge Aries (and most other “K” cars) – Perhaps there is beauty in the fact that the “K” car platform pulled Chrysler out from the edge of the abyss. Still, how can you look at a Dodge Aries and say, “Oh my, what a nice looking machine, I would love to park that in my driveway”? I know there was little to choose from, but come on! This thing was so boring to look at (and drive) that I am truly surprised that we made it out of the 80s.
You know me, I find dumb stuff and post it. Thought this was kind of neat as you read through it. Seems kind of dated to me.
Vehix.com
Top 10 Ugliest Cars, what do you think?
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