# Ugliest Car? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 19, 2022, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugliest-car/963052 "2022-04-19T14:18:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2022, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugliest-car/963052/101 "2022-04-20T21:47:48Z")
When we bought our Honda Element in 2005 we used to say we had the ugliest car in any parking lot…unless there was also a Toyota Scion. We still have the Element but there are a lot more uglier cars now. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2022, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugliest-car/963052/102 "2022-04-20T22:06:38Z")
I was going to say that Mr. Bean had a car like that, but actually his car was something like an Austin Mini. The three-wheeled car in some of the episodes was someone else’s, someone that Mr. Bean kept running into, often toppling it over. It was similar to the one in the pic, but was actually a Reliant Regal. ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2022, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugliest-car/963052/103 "2022-04-20T22:13:46Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > They were outdone by Nissan. Those are so nerdy they’re cool. But then, I loved my Honda Element. Which would you not mind driving etc., dopers? _Poll ([view on site](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugliest-car/963052/103))_ Citroen H van anyone? > **[Citroën H Van](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citro%C3%ABn_H_Van)** > > The Citroën H-Type vans (but mostly Citroën HY), are a series of panel vans and light trucks, produced by French automaker Citroën for 34 years (from 1947 through 1981), that are memorable for their Industrial design, using many corrugated metal outer body panels, to save material, weight, and costs. Early models of the uniquely styled trucks were just named Type H, but soon they were differentiated by a second letter, using the last four letters in the alphabet – except for the type HP for ( Th... PS Oops, looks like you can only pick one… ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2022, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugliest-car/963052/104 "2022-04-20T22:14:17Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > I kinda liked the look of the Cube. It was weird in a cute way… I feel that way about most of the cars mentioned in this thread. They’re not ugly, really, they just have unique styling that might no be to everyone’s taste. And I for one like quirky cars. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2022, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugliest-car/963052/105 "2022-04-20T22:17:35Z")
> [@lobotomyboy63](#): > > PS Oops, looks like you can only pick one… If you meant for it to be multiple choice, you can fix that by editing your post, and then changing the code for the poll to change “type=regular” to “type=multiple”. ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2022, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugliest-car/963052/106 "2022-04-20T22:27:58Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > If you meant for it to be multiple choice, you can fix that by editing your post, and then changing the code for the poll to change “type=regular” to “type=multiple”. The window says 5 minutes has already passed so no dice…but next time! ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2022, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugliest-car/963052/107 "2022-04-20T22:33:32Z")
The irony of the rock-bottom cheap Citroen 2CV (and the craptastically ugly H Van) is that the remarkable Citroen DS (introduced in 1955) came not only from the same company, but the same designer. The DS was incredibly advanced for its time, including innovations like a fully hydraulic self-leveling suspension: [![](https://therake.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/citroen_ds23ie_1-1.jpg?ixlib=js-3.2.1&w=996&h=711&fit=crop&auto=format&s=a4ba1e078dc6bda9a10b18349edfc11a) ](https://therake.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/citroen_ds23ie_1-1.jpg?ixlib=js-3.2.1&w=996&h=711&fit=crop&auto=format&s=a4ba1e078dc6bda9a10b18349edfc11a) Jay Leno couldn’t say enough good things about it. He’s wrong about the designer, though; Flaminio Bertoni, who worked at Citroen for many years and was behind the 2CV, the H Van, and many others, was also the main guy behind the DS. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/kzW_ERSgFRY/maxresdefault.jpg "1971 Citroën DS - Jay Leno's Garage") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzW_ERSgFRY) ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2022, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugliest-car/963052/108 "2022-04-20T22:34:23Z")
I liked the PT Cruiser too. I’m trying to remember the other car I thought was just as ugly as the Aztek. I think it even came out the same year, but darned if I can find it. All I remember is I thought it was ugly and it was made by a major manufacturer. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2022, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugliest-car/963052/109 "2022-04-20T22:53:13Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > I’m trying to remember the other car I thought was just as ugly as the Aztek. I think it even came out the same year, but darned if I can find it. All I remember is I thought it was ugly and it was made by a major manufacturer. Buick Rendezvous (Aztek’s fancier cousin)?.. [![](https://photos.carspecs.us/2ba426ca9419ff901935473c6542625b60e98068-2000.jpg) ](https://photos.carspecs.us/2ba426ca9419ff901935473c6542625b60e98068-2000.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Lamoral](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lamoral/32/16078_2.png) [@Lamoral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamoral)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2022, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugliest-car/963052/110 "2022-04-20T22:58:33Z")
I worked for a classic car dealership from 2018 to 2020, photographing their inventory and promoting it online. Mustangs were perhaps 75% of the 200-odd vehicles I scrutinized and catalogued during those years, with the bulk of them being first-gen Mustangs, everything from Shelby GT500s to three-speed inline-6 pigs, and every kind of restomod in between. What I eventually decided - and I can only speak for myself here - is that the Mustang just does not look good as a convertible. The design of the soft top prioritizes function over form, and they do function well - the majority of the factory power tops worked perfectly and are very simple to place up or down. But whether the top is up or down, it doesn’t LOOK good. The soft top folded up in back always seems to look shabby, even with the boot that can be snapped into place to cover it, and with the top down, it looks like there’s just something missing from the lines of the Mustang’s body. And when the top is up, the roof line looks wonky as hell. It’s a great experience to actually DRIVE a classic Mustang convertible, but I think the hardtop ALWAYS looks better, whether it’s a coupe or a fastback. This is really just an aside, as no Mustang (not even the Fox Bodies) would qualify as the “ugliest” car to me. Even the infamous Mustang II isn’t so much ugly as lame. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2022, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugliest-car/963052/111 "2022-04-20T23:03:49Z")
> [@lobotomyboy63](#): > > Which would you not mind driving etc., dopers? The VW Thing would be my choice from the lot. NOT as a daily driver, and done up in as authentic Wehrmacht colors as possible. No markings, just the color scheme. Preferably the one used in North Africa, since I live in a desert. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2022, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugliest-car/963052/112 "2022-04-20T23:31:46Z")
I have to nominate the mid-1970s AMC Matador sedan, with its strange protruding “nose”. [![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/41/1975_AMC_Matador_sedan_blue_base_model_at_2015_AMO_show_1of6.jpg/1024px-1975_AMC_Matador_sedan_blue_base_model_at_2015_AMO_show_1of6.jpg) ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/41/1975_AMC_Matador_sedan_blue_base_model_at_2015_AMO_show_1of6.jpg/1024px-1975_AMC_Matador_sedan_blue_base_model_at_2015_AMO_show_1of6.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2022, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugliest-car/963052/113 "2022-04-20T23:49:02Z")
That may have been to distinguish the Matador from the Fairmont. 😀 ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2022, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugliest-car/963052/114 "2022-04-21T00:01:36Z")
It’s really something when you can barely tell the front of the car from the back, even with headlights. I didn’t find the Dodge Omni ugly, but its tendency to break down made it gruesome. That Toyota Rhombus from the car show is kind of cute, but I agree it seems to lack aerodynamic qualities. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2022, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugliest-car/963052/115 "2022-04-21T00:46:23Z")
I want to enter as a duo the first attempts by Toyota and Nissan to build minivans in the 1980s. Toyota [![](https://www.toyoland.com/photos/starlet/1986-van.jpg?ezimgfmt=rs:720x403/rscb21/ng:webp/ngcb21) ](https://www.toyoland.com/photos/starlet/1986-van.jpg?ezimgfmt=rs:720x403/rscb21/ng:webp/ngcb21) Nissan [![](https://img.hmn.com/fit-in/900x506/filters:upscale()/stories/2020/09/21151106/Vanette.jpg) ](https://img.hmn.com/fit-in/900x506/filters:upscale()/stories/2020/09/21151106/Vanette.jpg) And the VW Vanagon wasn’t much better. [![](https://i1.wp.com/www.vanagononline.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/1980Vanagon-1.jpeg?resize=825%2C510&ssl=1) ](https://i1.wp.com/www.vanagononline.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/1980Vanagon-1.jpeg?resize=825%2C510&ssl=1) ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2022, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugliest-car/963052/116 "2022-04-21T00:58:47Z")
They may have been crappy vehicles, but honestly, the styling was contemporary for the 80s. Really not too bad for a first-generation minivan, unless you favour a greater expanse of hood, like the first-gen Dodge Caravan: [![](https://www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/CC-63-042-801.jpg) ](https://www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/CC-63-042-801.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Lamoral](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lamoral/32/16078_2.png) [@Lamoral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamoral)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2022, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugliest-car/963052/117 "2022-04-21T01:01:43Z")
On the contrary, I think the import vans of that era aged far better than the Big Three’s domestic offerings. ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2022, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugliest-car/963052/118 "2022-04-21T01:05:41Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > I have to nominate the mid-1970s AMC Matador sedan, with its strange protruding “nose”. I considered nominating that as well (my sister owned one), but compared to the Pacer it was downright normal. This guy used to have more pictures up. Anyway he’s a real AMC aficionado. > **[Welcome Arcticboy's American Motors Site](http://www.arcticboy.com/)** > > Here is some of my extensive collection American Motors (AMC), and Rambler Literature. I also have free American Motors wallpaper, screensavers, Icons, Sounds, and more.\> AMC toys for sale. He actually goes back to the [Nash Metropolitan.](http://www.arcticboy.com/Pages/arcticboysmet.html) Here’s the first page on Gremlins…there are 8. > **[ArcticBoy's Gremlin Grembin](http://www.arcticboy.com/Pages/arcticboysgremlin.html)** > > Welcome to ArcticBoy's AMC Gremlin Page. This page features tons of vintage ads from the 1970-1978 American Motors Gremlin. The Gremlin is America's first compact car. Scroll down for a look at a Pacer police car. > **[ArcticBoys Pacer Page 2](http://www.arcticboy.com/Pages/arcticboyspacer2.html)** > > AMC, amc, American Motors, Rambler, Nash, Metropolitan, AMX, Javelin, Gremlin, Pacer, Eagle, Hornet, rambler, vintage car graphics, AMC Goodies, american, AMC on TV, AMC toys, models Lots of crazy stuff in these pages. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2022, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugliest-car/963052/119 "2022-04-21T01:31:43Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > And I like the Pacer. The Mirthmobile! I always assumed the Pacer was the result of a warp bubble experiment that accidentally trapped an alternate-universe car of the future from the 60’s. to cover it up they put into production. Jay Leno has the original. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2022, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugliest-car/963052/120 "2022-04-21T01:36:27Z")
> [@lobotomyboy63](#): > > He actually goes back to the [Nash Metropolitan.](http://www.arcticboy.com/Pages/arcticboysmet.html) LOL! Reminds me of my favourite humourist, Dave Barry. His father was a Presbyterian minister who drove a Nash Metropolitan. Dave claimed it ruined his childhood. Maybe that’s why he over-reacted by picking up his own son at school in the Oscar Mayer Weinermobile: 😄 [![](https://www.miamiherald.com/living/liv-columns-blogs/dave-barry/nwka7g/picture24970333/alternates/FREE_1140/Dave-Barry-son-weinermobile) ](https://www.miamiherald.com/living/liv-columns-blogs/dave-barry/nwka7g/picture24970333/alternates/FREE_1140/Dave-Barry-son-weinermobile) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugliest-car/963052.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugliest-car/963052.md?page=7)