25 Ugliest Cars
Welcome to a peculiar journey that takes us down the winding roads of automotive design. Brace yourselves, dear readers, for we are about to embark on an exploration of wonderfully grotesque contraptions, the kind that make you question the sanity of the designers who birthed them. In this article, we shall delve into the realm of the peculiar, the unconventional, and dare we say, the downright hideous. Be prepared to feast your eyes upon a parade of automotive monstrosities, for these are the 25 ugliest cars ever to grace our roads. From peculiar proportions to ghastly grilles, we shall leave no cringe-worthy detail untouched. Sit back, buckle up, and let us navigate the treacherous territory of automotive aesthetics, where beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, but the unfortunate creations we shall encounter today truly test the limits of our perceptions.
For most of these cars, we didn’t choose a year, because every year is uniformly awful. In some cases, a manufacturer learned its lesson early on and made drastic changes after they realized what a mistake they’d made, so we single out one or two years in particular.
These are in no order of heinousness, so we’d love to hear what tops your list.
Jeep Compass: Pick any year you like. Every Compass is a paean to parsimony, the kind of vehicle you end up with for no other reason than it’s the cheapest one on the lot. Direct to Rental Fleet.
Subaru Tribeca: Subaru’s first attempt at a larger SUV was a sad trombone of unenthusiasm. The weird winged grille was “meant to convey parent-company Fuji Heavy Industries’ glorious history in aviation,” and looked as much of a glued-up mess as that sounds.
AMC Matador: The Pacer and Gremlin always get tagged in these lists, but they’re so uncool they’re hip now. The bloated, bug-eyed Matador—pimped by designer Oleg Cassini—is Fat Elvis in a white jumpsuit.
Nissan Juke: Amazingly, people buy these. The Juke is the automobile’s answer to Sloth from the movie Goonies.
1986 Mercury Sable: The 1986 Ford Taurus and Mercury Sable did, in fact, save the Ford Motor Company during one of its many, many lean periods. That doesn’t save the Sable from being one of the most contemptible automotive designs of the 1980s. It was supposed to look like an Audi 5000. It looked like one if you asked a six-year-old to draw it.
1992 Buick Skylark: Neophytes will single out some of the “Greatest Hits” as the ugliest cars in history, but for my money, the 1992 Buick Skylark is it. Hawk-nosed, waterfall grilled nostalgia tacked onto soulless GM Corporate-Mobile.
1978 Oldsmobile Cutlass Salon: Even people who like the A/G-Body Cutlass hate this Cutlass. It was the era of the hatchback, so rather than actually make one, some GM designer just scribed a straight line from the rear window to the bumper on a late Friday afternoon aaaand DONE! What time does the bar open?
Datsun B-210 Hatchback: Whenever people like to tell you how terrific Japanese cars were in the 1970s, show them a picture of the B-210. Yeah, the 240Z and the 510 were amazing. This thing looked like a craven appeal to Americans who didn’t understand minimalism, because THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT IT WAS.
Cadillac Cimarron: Not only ugly on the outside, ugly straight to its rotten core. A pusillanimous attempt to make a Chevrolet Cavalier wear a Cadillac badge, simultaneously trying to pass itself off as a European sports sedan. Get. Out.
1961 Plymouth Valiant: Virgil Exner at Chrysler was capable of outlandish greatness, but not when his talents were applied to cheapskate cars with dog dish hubcaps. A googly-eyed, flop-fendered monument to 1960s excess.
Suzuki X90: If Shaq’s shoe were a car.
1970 Buick Riviera: The 1965 Riviera was one of the greatest American car designs of all time. The 1971 Riviera was a controversial, yet still amazingly attractive take on personal luxury cars. The 1970 Riviera was an end-of-the-line, we’re-out-of-ideas, for-the-love-of-God-make-it-stop attempt to squeeze one more dollar out of the car-buying public.
1985 Pontiac Grand Am: A cheap car wading in a plastic kiddie pool.
Citroen Ami 6: The French are just as apt to make the world’s most beautiful car as they are to make the Ami 6. It’s hard not to love this rolling piece of performance art, but it’s definitely possible.
Reliant Robin: It’s hard enough to make a three-wheeled car look good, but put the wheel in the front and you’re sunk from the get-go. Hang a lanyard off the back and it looks like a referee’s whistle.
2001 Chevrolet Avalanche: If you hated the Grand Am’s plastic cladding, wait until you see the Avalanche! It won Motor Trend’s Truck of the Year in 2002. If you ever want to make anybody from that magazine angry, remind them of that.
Fiat 500L: Italians are known for building some of the most stunning cars in history. This is not one of them. An attempt to build a charming Italian vehicle on a Jeep platform. Arrivederci.
Tatra 603: A cross between a Tucker 48 and Homer Simpson’s design, “The Homer.” Supposedly amazing to drive, the Chechoslovakian Tatra 603 is a distended shambles of a car.
Lamborghini Veneneo: I was onced asked by some sculpted hair bro, fogged in Axe body spray, what I thought of the Veneneo. “It looks like you if you were a car,” I said. He walked away smiling.
Range Rover Evoque Convertible: Part 1 of 2 on why you should never design a convertible crossover. Even my ten-year-old son pointed and laughed. It’s a disaster. If you bought one, shame on you.
Nissan Murano Crosscabriolet: Part 2 of 2 on why you should never design a convertible crossover. Hey, I’m looking for a vehicle with flaccid handling, terrible visibility, and a back seat too small for infants. Nissan has you covered.
Pontiac Aztec: Yeah, yeah, everybody hates it. And with good reason. It should’ve been cool, but those tightwads at GM jammed it onto a minivan platform. The beginning of the end for Pontiac.
Volkswagen Routan: Come on, man. Volkswagen made some amazing vans, and still does, but for the dopey American market, they slapped a VW badge on a Dodge Caravan. Odious.
Fiat Multipla: Like a toad riding another toad.
Renault Avantime: Most ugly cars are hideous from the front, but they tend to improve as you move to the back of the vehicle. The Renault Avantime is loathsome from every angle, with a butt that might be even more inglorious than its contemptible nose.
1. Bizarre Beauties: Exploring the Notoriously Ugly Cars That Defy Convention
Step into the world of automotive design gone wild as we unveil a collection of extraordinarily unique vehicles that challenge the boundaries of conventional beauty. In this journey, we’ll dive into the realm of automotive oddities, where boldness and eccentricity reign supreme.
Prepare to be amazed as we introduce you to some of the most surprisingly ugly cars that have emerged throughout history. These unconventional masterpieces, though often overlooked, deserve appreciation for their audacious designs and the statements they make.
Get ready to meet the rolling symphony of weirdness, the Pontiac Aztek. This strikingly unconventional vehicle dares to defy all expectations of aesthetic appeal. With its clashing geometric lines, unconventional proportions, and a front grille that raises eyebrows, the Aztek beacons to its admirers rare beauty that lies in the eye of the beholder.
Journey on as we unravel the mysteriously appealing quirkiness of the Fiat Multipla. Though it may be an acquired taste, the Multipla’s bold stance and unconventional shape grab attention wherever it roams. A true hero of versatility, this multipurpose vehicle embraces all who appreciate its daringly boxy exterior, cleverly optimized interior space, and the courage it takes to
2. Aesthetically Challenged: Unveiling the 25 Cars That Push the Boundaries of Good Taste
Car designers take into account speed, safety, cost, style, and comfort when creating their ideas. They are also influenced by current fashion and trends such as the space age, art movements such as Art Deco, environmental impact, and the needs of those living in cities or rural environments. They are only limited by their imagination. (These are 35 amazing looking cars from bygone times.) Sometimes, they make decisions that simply do not withstand the test of time.
To compile a list of incredibly ugly cars, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed lists of unsightly automobiles from outlets like Cheapism, Motortrend, HotCars.com, and more. The vehicles listed are widely considered to be the ugliest of all time.
All of the cars on the list made it through a design process, focus groups, and executive review before reaching showrooms — just as any new car does. But these creations have not resonated well with the car-buying public. Though some of these designs might have seemed brilliant in concept, they became some of the auto industry’s biggest busts.
While the Bugatti Veyron, Aston Martin DB5, or the Ferrari 250 GTO might represent the pinnacle in automobile design, the industry has had to suffer the indignity of the Ford Edsel – the company spent millions on its development; the Pontiac Aztek – it made Edmunds.com’s list of the “100 Worst Cars of All Time”; and the Yugo GV – cheaply made, tiny, and odd.
Besides a brief lifespan for many of these vehicles, some of these blunders helped doom the brands that produced them. Such was the case with the 1995 Oldsmobile Aurora, a desperate attempt to revitalize the Oldsmobile nameplate. It was technologically innovative, but its squinty front end was visually unappealing. The public balked at buying it, and when the Aurora tanked, it was the death knell for Oldsmobile, which folded in 2004. (On the other hand, this is America’s oldest car brand.)
