The Ugliest Cars

By Kirk (originally 10/22/04, updated 2/4/05)

I originally posted this because I thought someone needed to speak out about ugly cars.

But the guys from Car Talk, Tom and Ray Magliozzi, have started a poll of the ugliest cars and I am encouraged to see that their early nominations are very closely matching mine.

Here are mine:

The Current Champion!

The Pontiac Aztek – I think that the stupid back end has some function (it turns into a tent or a big sscreen TV or something), but that is no excuse for this blunt-rumped travesty. And "Aztek"? What is wrong with spelling words right?

The New Challenger!

The Dodge Magnum - A desperate attempt to lure the "hemi" crowd into buying a station wagon. Part low-rider, part cigar, part hearse. I worry about the psychology of someone who drives one of these.

Three AMC's From the 70's !

	The Pacer - A classic of bad taste. It was round and space-age looking, they thought. Now, it looks as dated as avacado shag.
	The Gremlin – Sporty, and utilitarian with a hatchback! Uugh!
	The Eagle –One of the first cars that had four-wheel drive. So they made it ugly to make up for the fact that it was useful.

New Mistakes !

	The Honda Element - I've been withholding my judgement on this bread-truck inspired thingy. But look at that color! That's one that comes standard! I think we can all agree that different is not always better.
	The Toyota Scion XB - Toyota apparently got a look at the Element and thought, "what a beautiful car! If only it were shorter!" Which proves that there must be some emissions problems in the Toyota R&D department. It was so bad, that Toyota has disassotiated itself with "Scion". Have you noticed that it's a different company now? What happened? (For the record, Darren likes this car).

A True Classic

The Buick Riviera - This is the ugliest car I have ever personally driven. My grandfather bought one and it got handed down to my family. The wedge that slopes down the back window is one of the weirdest, and ugliest, design elements ever.

One I Changed My Mind About

The Toyota Scion XA - When I first posted this, I lumped this one in with the XB. I don't think that this is a beautiful car, but I realize now that I was convicting it just by its association.