On first seeing the Element and Cube when they came out, it reminded me of the cars you would see in Cold War spy movies when behind the Iron Curtain.
Well, I cannot argue with the Pontiac Aztek....however, there are many high end rounded-rear SUVs of the upscale variety in the last decade of what a good friend of mine thought looked like “a little dog hunched over taking a dump.” Instantly, I agreed and thought “why didn’t I think of that.”
The AMC Pacer will always be a top pick for ugly car.The Pontiac Aztek is also astoundingly ugly.A friend had one in bright yellow,we called it the short bus.
The Chevy Malibu hatchback (the MAXX?). They just started making the old Citations again. I wonder why they went bankrupt?
Kinda looks to me like a 1960's toaster on wheels. Can't even believe there's a "panel" version of this (without the rear windows).
The larger number of cars have angry-looking headlights which contribute to more stress on the road. All front end lighting should be shaped like a continuous smile, or at least neutral position. Drivers care not a whit for the person behind the wheel in the other car. It’s a machine that’s either too slow or too fast that needs to go away. Put angry headlights on it and marvel at how the social contract thus far has not seen higher, more serious incidents of road rage.
I disagree about the PT Cruiser. I thought it had a fun look. Then I had to drive one as a loaner while my Mitsubishi Eclipse was recovering from a run in with Bambi, and I didn’t care for the way it drove.
The author seems to believe that the Subaru Baja only comes in yellow with silver cladding. They were available in solid color and looked much better that way. The plastic cladding was popular on a number of vehicles, Pontiac most notably got carried away with it. A Baja is a very practical and unique vehicle that remains in demand. It’s just a little nerdy with all the doodads intended to make it look more off-roadish.
Man that Aztec makes the list every year. I think I’ve seen one actually on the road.
The scientific name of the Element this cars title refers to is butt-uglium.
The baja is not ugly.
Excellent call on the original Scion. My son describes it as a ‘rectangle with wheels’.
One of our friends retired from the CIA, he, his wife and 3 crabby teenagers moved to N California. His wife immediately got a job where she had to commute to work and left home before 8 am in their Ford Vickie.
Our friend picked the AMC Gremlin because it was so ugly and out of style for his vehicle. The teen agers never drove it and would only ride in it to school, if it was raining, and they made their dad drop them off about a block away from school so no one could see them in the car with their dad. When the last kid left home, he bought the big Mercury and kept the Gremlin if the kids came home and needed a car.
I was a young kid at the time, but I thought the Trans Sport was futuristic and cool compared to all of the box bans out then.
Mercedes-Benz R-Class
Branded under a different name ... like maybe Chrysler... it never would have sold.