What objectively ugly car design do you secretly like, and why?
8d 35m ago by lemmy.world/u/RightHandOfIkaros in cars
It doesn't have to be a real production car, it can also be a concept.
For me, it has to be the 1997 Dodge Copperhead. This ugly chungus just speaks to me and I don't know why. It is hideous, Pontiac Aztek levels of ugly, but I kinda wish Dodge actually sold it. It wasn't going to be gutless, sharing much with the Viper, but it also wasn't going to have the same price of the Viper (Viper at the time was ~$75k, this baby would have been ~$30k). For the price, a little ugly isn't that big of a deal for a similar powertrain. Surely a facelift kit could help it out some.
Just thought a discussion like this could be fun. What cars are the same for you?
Pontiac Trans Sport (1990)
The dust buster van. Them things used to be EVERYWHERE, I don't remember the last time I've seen one in person. Did they all get cash for klunkered?
I think they may have all exploded or just rusted down to the tires. I rode in one as a kid because my friends parents had one. Compared to my family car it was so cool. That front angle, it was like a space ship. I was very jealous of my friend. It seems sill now.
They just fell apart. The plastic body meant no rust (I think the roof was steel though)!
Seriously, everything inside just started falling apart after 10 years. Dash, seat belt winders, door panels fell off, radio buttons just caved in, etc. and ours lived a fairly pampered life.
I spent a good deal of my childhood in one. The 3.1L V6 was a dog and the 3 speed transmission meant kicking down was an event and the mileage was terrible. Dad always wished he held out for the 3.8L and 4 speed in '92.
We had two different Lumina vans. Both with the 3.1. It wasn't fast but it did ok. The first was traded for the second which was the later snub nose version. It didn't hold well. Torque converter died, mom paid too much to have it replaced. The inside was pretty rattly and then the power steering died, ate the serpentine belt and the local shop said it was probably not worth fixing since the AC was also dead. RIP u-body. It was good while it lasted but it was of modest quality. I miss wierd cars.
And people wonder when I say GM never made good cars...
I new an engineer working for GM as a co op student and even before they started selling it they were called the Lemona.
The line was entirely designed by accountants.
They were garbage and rotted out before they were paid off.
Condolences
it has so many cool design features that it's amazing how shitty it looks when you see one irl.
Friend in high school had one of these. We referred to it as "The Shuttlecraft"
Happy pride month!
This was the Dustbuster collaboration.
Walk me through this one. Why do you secretly like it? Does it have good features or price? Or does it just speaks to you on an unknowable level?
No, it’s an absolute piece of junk. There’s just something about that intensely 80s design. Looks like a vacuum cleaner. If I needed a minivan and something just like that… But hopefully good quality… Came out, I would absolutely buy that today (new)
It's like pile of rotting shit. Every month something breaks, and replacement parts costed a fortune (in Europe)
My dad got one he got for cheap, and found out why it's so cheap very quickly. Very cool looking and feeling car otherwise
lol I had a coworker that drove one of these for years.
I always liked the AMC Gremlin, my friend had one in high school and it was fun-ugly.
Love those little guys. Also love that it was called a gremlin. I want a motorcycle called a goblin now and an SUV called a troll.
Isuzu vehicross. It's got stretched proportions in all the wrong places, and yet, I dig the weirdness.
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Looks like an inflatable!
Right? It looks like when you make a custom RPG character and just min max all the facial feature sliders for funny effect.
Looks like it'd be right at home home in Rocket League!
i absolutely LOVE these.
You know, I kinda like it too.
The Snoot Droops
I remember when these things came out! Man, that was a weird moment... The hilarious part is that it's literally just a Rodeo under the skin; the mechanicals are identical.
It looks so bouncy lol, I love it.
The Kalashnikov CV-1. I would have bought one of those in a heartbeat if it hadn't been a concept car.
They were just playing with Moskvich Kombi design, and wow those rims are ugly
I learned to drive on that fucker
Kinda reminds me of the cars from that 90s Romeo and Juliet movie:
I mean, I won't lie, Nemo's car from League of Extraordinary Gentlemen has potential:
what the fuck
Like GTA IRL
Knowing Russian car quality this thing would've probably developed rust holes on the way from the factory to the dealership.
That's not objectively ugly at all, it's very nice.
i actually really like the look of the original ford ka with the plasnic bumpers. especially the cabriolet version:
the fiat multipla is of course the classic contender:
and then there's the REVAi, better known as the G-Wiz:
it looks like a real-life choro-Q car!
and a personal favourite, which i don't think is even a bit ugly, it's just a marvel of design: the europe-only version of the 2006 honda civic.
literally no bad angles.
The Multipla justifiably gets a lot of hate, but it had great visibility, and seats six (three front seats rather than two).
It really is fugly though.
The Multipla is the one I immediately pictured but I did not know the name
Ok, now I have to know your dream girls (or guys).
wait hang on what
To see if your specific tastes transfers over to humans.
i do like when the top comes off...
The Multipla was the most practical vehicle ever made. Two rows of three. Huge inside, yet easy on gas and easy to drive and park.
yeah that's my takeaway as well. function over form.
I've never even heard of the Dodge Copperhead, but I'm with you.
It is hideous, Pontiac Aztek levels of ugly
It's definitely something of a "butter face" for sure.
Much better! 😆
I do think the Aztek is ugly as sin but I did think they looked kind of cool/cyberpunk.
Yeah, that back looks much closer to the Pontiac Solstice, which I always thought was a good looking car. I knew a retired guy with one who’d lied about his age during WWII and wound up ferrying aircraft. He was a firecracker when you’d get to talking with him and it seemed like a fun car.
Back when they were new, I saw a GXP at a dealership tried to get in and managed to shut the door but the steering wheel was wedged between my knees. As I was crawling out, a salesman asked if I'd like a test drive. Uhhh that wouldn't be safe for either of us lol. But I fit in my MX-5 just fine!
I drove a rented Aztek on vacation once, and it was just fine. Rear visibility sucked, but it was a perfectly cromulent vehicle.
I dunno, I still don't like that "dimple" behind the front wheels.
I love the Isuzu Mysterious Utility Wizard.
First off, amazing name, who the fuck named this? Secondly, the design is amazing. So so compact. It looks stupidly goofy and I love it. Just like someone took the design of a regular pickup truck, opened it in blender and scaled one axis. Marvellous. I also have no idea what the use case of it would be since its small which makes it even better ❤️
This car is amazing.
It's like a rodeo front with a jeep back. Lol I love it.
Dodge Caliber
The looks aren't as bad as the fact that it's a dodge.
Some folks think the Subaru Brat is ugly but I kinda dig it
I grew up with a Brat! It was beat to hell and we took it everywhere. We went on tank trails and through shallow rivers and places we had no right being. I loved that thing so much. Would love to get one and fix it up.
Have I got the video for you:
YES! Love that Pastrana was insistent on the Brat for this Gymkhana.
RIP Ken Block. I think Pastrana is a worthy successor to him for the gymkhana series.
If you look at the history of Australian Utes you will find this design direction was quite popular locally with Ford & Holden utes.
Daihatsu Midget II.
A Japanese kei-truck. It's ugly but oh-so-functional. I like function over form.
I love that!
That is definitely small... it has only got one seat! Functional, but with only one seat I would question its practicality.
Practical depends on who you are, right? :)
Imagine you work as a saké distributor in Tokyo, living out of a little shop right on the streetfront with your home as an apartment above.
Your morning is spent shuttling bottles between your shop and little mom-and-pop restaurants in the surrounding neighbourhoods.
You have to carry heavy loads while navigating narrow streets full of pedestrians and bicycles, and park for 10 minutes at a time in places where there is nowhere proper to park - all while not blocking the street.
When you get home in the afternoon the only place you can put your truck is the alleyway between your shop and the neighbour Ryousuke's place, who runs the florist next door. The alleyway is only 6 feet wide, but that's no problem because your truck is only 4-foot-three.
Of course, back in the '70s you used to do all this with a little Honda Super-Cub motorbike! You laugh to yourself remembering how comically high you stacked those crates of bottles lashed together with rope on your pannier rack. But you're not as young as you used to be, and after that accident in '98 your wife made you swear never to get on a bike again. You don't argue with your wife, because she's always right.
Anyway - just as well you have your trusty Daihatsu Midget II, the most practical truck you could imagine.
This has strong ugly ink vibes
What is that? :)
I searched but only found stuff about various tattoo studios
Ah :)
He does a lot of art work and stories focusing on average Kiwis and generally present everyones positively, it's like a breath of fresh air on the internet
It's practical for us hermits, lol
Count how many vehicles are on roads with only one driver on board.
Range Rover Evoque Convertible. It was so pointless but I still found it fun. Almost got one used but there was another car I wanted for the same price and I couldn’t justify it.
Having worked as a Heavy Line tech for Land Rover on these things, you made a good call.
What was the biggest problem in your opinion?
They just weren't very reliable, and repairs are expensive. Like, a single bolt (I dont remember exactly what it was for specifically) cost the dealer parts department like $200 USD just to buy it, and thats cost only.
While being the Heavy Line guy meant I only ever got assigned cars that needed engines/transmissions/other big jobs, I saw the Evoque for needing an engine replacement the most. I saw the standard V8 equipped Range Rover second most for the same issue. Most often, they would have an overheat condition, usually caused by a cracked coolant pipe pissing all the coolant out. It would warp the heads and the block would seize. Crazy way to fail.
Also, Land Rover loves their torque-to-yield bolts. Nearly every bolt on the car needs to be replaced with a new one if it gets removed.
And I’m glad I didn’t buy one. My biggest issue was that it had the same crappy JLR infotainment system that I had on my Jaguar around the same timeframe. It was just stupidly sluggish.
This is pretty cursed. Looks kinda similar to the VW T-ROC Cabriolet.
I like the box/toaster cars (Kia Soul, Honda Element, etc.). Vertical trunk space is underrated. What’s the point of a deep trunk when the hatch door slants so low.
I drove a Kia Soul for a number of years. I'm 6'2 and I was always impressed how comfortable I was in it. I once took three coworkers to lunch, one of whom was 6'7", and while I won't claim everyone had room to spare, it was still a way better experience than much larger cars I've driven. They made fun of me for driving a hamster mobile, but it was always the first choice for lunch because I could park that thing anywhere.
I bought a 2012 Kia Soul brand new off the lot in 2012. I loved that weird little car, and 100% owned the hamster memes and LMFAO songs. Ended up selling my Soul for a minivan two years later though (lel).
Fast forward to 2022, I flew to Dallas for a business trip and was ecstatic to find out that my rental was a 2021 Kia Soul. It was a good business trip.
Subaru XT (Alcyone or Vortex in some markets).
I owned one of these. The aerodynamics were great for a 1980s car. It even had purely mechanical flush door handles, which modern car designers could learn from.
I love that one, that's so cool! Man I'd love to get one of those.
Look, fuck Nazis and Elon but I repeat myself. And there is a lot wrong with the vehicle overall. But I really don't hate the cybertruck's aesthetic.
It's ok to be wrong sometimes
It definitely is... Unique... I can give it that. Personally I prefer my unpainted stainless vehicles to look a little more DMC than Tesla, but I cannot deny it has a brutalist-esque aesthetic that catches the eye.
Have you ever seen one in person? It's like it was put together by a three year old.
I laugh every time I see one. There were a lot around here and I see far, far less now than I did even 6 months ago
I have to work very hard not to screw up my face when the customer comes to pick up things with one and ask, "are you sure it can handle all that?"
never bought one but I always liked the Plymouth pt cruiser's look.
also Chevy HHR got a lot of hate but I thought it was neato.
Edit.. well I meant the SSR from Chevy, but misremembered as the pt cruiser wannabe HHR, my bad
I was tempted to get an HHR back in the day, but they didn't offer manual transmission.
Ended up getting a similarly divisive Subaru Baja.
For a while (and still now tbh) I wanted the SS model of the HHR. Thought it would be cool to do it black on black and call it the hearse.
I didn't know the pt cruiser was a question that needed an answer... Chevy did their ..
ohh
HHR.
damn my initial comment I was thinking SSR and cross wired with they wayyy less good HHR. my bad I hadn't thought of any of these in like 15-20 yrs.
Everyone just got whiplash from your change in style from the 2 different vehicles. Was a fun ride you took us on with. Are you even allowed to say that abbreviation of HHR though, by your peer group?
The Plymouth Prowler was stupid, fugly, but kinda awesome.
I see a sidewinder in the background too. That was always my favorite of their concepts in that era.
I think the Lamborghini LM002 might be the bad looking darling of my childhood.
Or the Bizzarini BZ-2001 concept. I had a poster on my wall.
See, I think that the Sidewinder genuinely looked good, for the time. Make it a bit more square and the front end could easily fit into modern designs aesthetics.
The LM-002 has always been my favorite offroad truck. It was designed as a military vehicle, and I feel it looks better in a camo livery than painted for the road. I feel the same about H1 Hummers too.
That Bizzarini is something nasty though. Probably one of their uglier designs, but I think the Bizzarrini Kjara takes the cake for ugliest in their catalog:
I always liked the first gen Nissan Juke. The styling was the right kind of odd for me, and I thought it was kinda cool that you could get it with a maunal on the front wheel drive models. They did the split headlight thing better than the Pontiac Aztek imo. (tho that car did have a minifridge in it, which the Juke did not lmao). Idk if they were any good to own long term tho. Apparently there are 3 Juke-R's out there in the wild somewhere, where Nissan crammed the GT-R engine into it lmao
Jukes are in general absolute dogshit in terms of reliability, one of the worst cars in the last 20 years IMO.
Objectively ugly is almost an oxymoron, but, the multipla comes as close as it gets by violating damn near every design principle I ever learned lol.
And I like it because it defies conventional design paradigms in favor of practicality and ended up being iconic in its own way. If they were to be available here in the states, as a hybrid or electric, and didn't engage in the fuckery with transmitting everything you do, I'd actually prefer one over many prettier options.
Citron Cactus. I have such bad tastes in cars that I now won't own one knowing what I buy with be a dog
Citron = 🍋
Citroën 🌵:
I don't hate the look of it. I think they took a bold risk with the style, making the car stand out. The point, I think, was to make the door scratch and bump resistant. I think many are turned off by the plastic-y, cheapo look.
True. My admission is that I loved the pluriel and kind of had a thing for the Picasso.
I followed this car's development closely, cause they initially said it'll have a front bench seat in the automatic version.
But than they half-assed it and made it useless by pushing the center console all the way back to it.
BMW Isetta, the car that saved BMW. It is a weird little car with only one door that opens to the front. As I child, I actually had the great fortune of sitting in one of those for a few minutes. I think the design is from Italy and BMW licensed it to quickly be able to produce a cheap car after WW2.
Italian engineers figured out how to make cheap transportation from old war airplane parts. That's how the Vespa and Lambretta scooters were born.
I like minivans soooooo....
Minivans are nice, I actually think the 2021 and 2027 facelifted Chrysler Pacifica and Gen4 2020+ Toyota Sienna doesn't look too bad. I mean, the Chrysler is a Chrysler (Fiat), so that's already starting at a big downside, but the visual design isn't too bad in the right metallic paint color. The Pacifica has a deep blue that I think looks pretty sharp on it.
Is there a particularly ugly one you are partial to?
problem is they ruined the grand caravan with the pacifica. way more expensive and the seats are less comfortable and they made one of the nice features, the little vent windows in back, unopenable. they also had been activvely trying to kill the grand caravan before the pacifica even came out taking out basic things like a car compass and decent amount of gauge feedback. So yeah the old grand caravan was my thing. Great at doing everything that does not require high road clearance but ugly.
2021 and 2027 facelifted Chrysler Pacifica
For what it's worth, the Pacifica is absolute hot garbage. I owned a 2013 Grand Caravan for some years (it was acceptable, but the trans was starting to get problematic....I know, shocker), but once the new Pacifica dropped, the forums got filled up pretty quick with problem after problem. At least most of the issues with the 5th gen Caravan had fixes or workarounds... But like every other Chrysler product, the quality was just not there.
My ex took the Caravan in the divorce (we agreed on it, I don't miss either one of them), it only had ~90k on the clock at that time. I ended up buying a 2008 Sienna to replace it; 230k on the clock, the black paint was - and still is - ratty with rattlecan patchwork, and it only has a 5-speed vs the Caravan's 6-speed; yet to this day, I still feel like I upgraded 😂😂
Oh definitely, I just think the exterior styling isn't bad looking. It is still a Chrysler afterall. Well I guess its a Fiat now, which is worse, honestly.
Well I guess its a Fiat now, which is worse, honestly.
Even worse - it's Stellantis
(talk to your dr to see if Stellantis is right for you)
I like shooting brakes myself. I've been tempted to get the mod hatch for my C7 Corvette a few times. My son threatens to murder me in my sleep if I do.
Shooting brakes and Sporty wagons are awesome. Practicality meets performance, all with a low profile; what’s more to ask for?
I couldn't agree more! I loved the idea of the Dodge Caliber for example. Not the execution or lack of quality mind you.
Looks like a car out of a bugs bunny cartoon.
I've heard people call the Farrari F50 ugly but it's my favourite car from Need for Speed 2 and I've always liked the looks of it
I mean, compared to the F40 its not really a fair competition, I can see where people are coming from calling it ugly, but I think its still a good looking car. I prefer other Ferarris, but its not the ugliest one. I think its at least above average, even among the Ferarri catalog.
I'm gonna get so much hate for this but it's the answer sooo here goes....
Cyber truck. I never once said it looks good. But it's got style I like. But I like the back to the future/ bladerunner style of it. I've always loved the DeLorean and that's almost entirely the same thing.
And it makes me sick sometimes that I don't hate it as much as I should because of them. And I live somewhere where I see a lot of them causally around just like anything other vehicles in spite of how bad they are productionally, if that's even a word
Edited. Not sure why I felt like I needed to change what I wrote, probably the weed
The rear end is just so fucking ugly and... wrong.
The design is certainly eye-catching. I see a massive amount of them in my local area and they're kinda like a train wreck: such an ugly design, yet hard to look away.
I've seen a bunch with wraps and graphics and they lok worse than plain steel
There's one with a mirror-finish midnight blue wrap near me that makes me nostalgic in a heavily-modded old GTA way, and I think "I sorta get it" when I see it. The brand wraps look comically bad though, like the owners got Punk'd levels of bad.
Type 2 VW Jetta. Boxy, angular, but so quintessentially Germanic in design. Much like their language, it is like an engineered concrete retaining block of undeniably overwhelming presence dropped onto your head from a great height. And I love it. Especially the 1995/1996 Carat, which came with all the bells and whistles including AC and power windows.
I love the original Scion xB. It looks like a toaster oven on wheels, but also gets 40+ MPG, defying the laws of physics and God himself. It should have the aerodynamics of a brick, but yet can still pull this off somehow.
Citroen SM
I like so many of the ugly and oddball cars. I'm not talking like "ugly sedan" stuff, like anything that's just strange, odd or one-off, or kooky models, or things that tanked or nearly tanked a company. Big flops and divisive designs. I love the look of so many vehicles like that. I also realize why many of them don't work out so my enjoyment of bad taste is at least a cognizant thing.
that car reminds me of Harry Melling
350Z Roadster. People say it looks like a clown shoe, but I think it's beautiful:
It's shaped like a bar of used soap. But they are fun cars!