# 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:** 7
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2022, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugliest-car/963052/121 "2022-04-21T06:18:19Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > I liked the PT Cruiser too. I’m still driving my 2002 PT Cruiser. Best car I ever owned. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2022, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugliest-car/963052/122 "2022-04-21T14:14:51Z")
See my post a bit up. I nominated several Nissans including the Cube. > [@lobotomyboy63](#): > > But then, I loved my Honda Element. I think Honda did the boxy car style correctly with the Element. Nissan Cube and Scion xB…nope! ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2022, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugliest-car/963052/123 "2022-04-21T14:34:27Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > I kinda liked the look of the Cube. It was weird in a cute way, and that wrap-around rear window looked as if it gave you an excellent field of view. It’s a fake! The window opening isn’t actually as big as the glass. Fun fact: In parts of the world that are right hand drive, the asymmetry is flipped. ---
**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 21, 2022, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugliest-car/963052/124 "2022-04-21T15:02:28Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > It’s a fake! The window opening isn’t actually as big as the glass. As long as you can see through all of the glass, you’ve got a good field of view, though, right? ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2022, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugliest-car/963052/125 "2022-04-21T15:23:56Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > As long as you can see through all of the glass, you’ve got a good field of view, though, right? What I mean is, here is the outside of a Cube, showing the back: [https://images.cdn.circlesix.co/image/2/1200/630/5/uploads/posts/2022/01/9215c1b3a2b3a0c3f4a1a00ef1363471.jpeg](https://images.cdn.circlesix.co/image/2/1200/630/5/uploads/posts/2022/01/9215c1b3a2b3a0c3f4a1a00ef1363471.jpeg) It looks like one big window wrapping around. Here is the opposite side: [![](https://img.pistonheads.com/Fullsize/nissan/cube/cubic/nissan-cube-cubic-840213044-3.jpg) ](https://img.pistonheads.com/Fullsize/nissan/cube/cubic/nissan-cube-cubic-840213044-3.jpg) I was meaning that the back window doesn’t go all the way to the edge, and that pillars are about the same on both sides. Though there is a small window on one side, which is why the RHD backs are reversed. So the visibility is almost the same as if the back didn’t have the asymmetrical styling, but not as big as it “pretends” to have. But I still think they are more cool than ugly. 🙂 ---
**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 21, 2022, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugliest-car/963052/126 "2022-04-21T15:36:04Z")
Well, dang. I thought that was a single window with no obstructions, which would be damned useful. Thanks for the clarification. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2022, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugliest-car/963052/127 "2022-04-21T15:40:11Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > Well, dang. I thought that was a single window with no obstructions, which would be damned useful. There’s always a balance to be struck between visibility (obstruction of view) and safety. Rollover crashes can pancake cars that don’t have enough integrity from the various **[pillars](https://www.cars.com/articles/what-are-a-b-c-and-d-pillars-in-a-car-443033/)** in each vehicle’s design. Pancaked cars have a tendency to be inhospitable to the car’s occupants 😉 ---
**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 21, 2022, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugliest-car/963052/128 "2022-04-21T15:41:45Z")
> [@DavidNRockies](#): > > Pancaked cars have a tendency to be inhospitable to the car’s occupants 😉 But do they go well with butter and maple syrup? Yeah, I can understand that. It’s still a bit disappointing. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2022, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugliest-car/963052/129 "2022-04-21T15:44:18Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > Yeah, I can understand that. It’s still a bit disappointing. I know what you mean. One day I got a chance to look in the windows close up. I don’t know if it was at a car show, or in the supermarket parking lot! 😮 I felt cheated somehow that it wasn’t one big window. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2022, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugliest-car/963052/130 "2022-04-21T21:01:00Z")
I, for one, appreciate car pillars. > [@Lucky Wreck](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lucky-wreck/848027/30): > > [Here are some pictures](http://imgur.com/a/59MUW5U). ---
**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 21, 2022, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugliest-car/963052/131 "2022-04-21T21:51:16Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > I want to enter as a duo the first attempts by Toyota and Nissan to build minivans in the 1980s. IIRC the Toyota and Nissan vans were basically just Japanese delivery vans with seats in them. They were basically a stopgap until they could design a “real” minivan for the American market. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2022, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugliest-car/963052/132 "2022-04-21T22:39:10Z")
That’s because you don’t drive around the Japanese countryside, visiting onsen and solving mysteries. Yoinks! ---
**Author:** ![Galactus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galactus/32/3581_2.png) [@Galactus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Galactus)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2022, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugliest-car/963052/133 "2022-04-21T23:16:40Z")
I always thought the Corvair was a bit ugly. [![](https://24hoursoflemons.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Top3.jpg) ](https://24hoursoflemons.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Top3.jpg) ---
**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 22, 2022, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugliest-car/963052/134 "2022-04-22T00:52:15Z")
Compared to its competitors, like the Plymouth Valiant, the Corvair was downright graceful. [![](https://www.valiant.org/images/valiant-1960.jpg) ](https://www.valiant.org/images/valiant-1960.jpg) ---
**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 22, 2022, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugliest-car/963052/135 "2022-04-22T00:57:56Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > LOL! Reminds me of my favourite humourist, Dave Barry. His father was a Presbyterian minister who drove a Nash Metropolitan. Ever see the prototype for a Nash Wagon? Or a Gremlin/Jeep pickup? No idea what those AMC guys were smoking but… > **[The Strange and Cool AMC Rambler](http://www.arcticboy.com/Pages/arcticboysstrange2.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 > [@wguy123](#): > > I think Honda did the boxy car style correctly with the Element. > [@garygnu](#): > > I, for one, appreciate car pillars. The A pillars on the Element caused me to learn to look twice. I’ll suppose they were needed for structural support. Sitting in the driver’s seat, you had to lean forward and look up to see the stoplight sometimes, so I got a little fresnel lens to place at the top of the windshield. Interestingly (?) enough, the backseat passengers could look over the shoulders of the front seat. It was like stadium seating. Most of the time I left out the back seats and I could really haul quite a bit. Here’s some guy who uses it to haul his motorcycle. [https://www.reddit.com/r/motorcycles/comments/o9cvm/this\_is\_how\_i\_haul\_my\_bikes\_honda\_element/](https://www.reddit.com/r/motorcycles/comments/o9cvm/this_is_how_i_haul_my_bikes_honda_element/) > [@Galactus](#): > > I always thought the Corvair was a bit ugly. Wikipedia says > The name “Corvair” originated as a [portmanteau](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portmanteau) of [Corvette](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Corvette) and [Bel Air](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Bel_Air),[[1]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Corvair#cite_note-1) a name first applied in 1954 to a Corvette-based concept with a hardtop fastback-styled roof, part of the [Motorama](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors_Motorama) traveling exhibition.[[2]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Corvair#cite_note-2) How did two good-looking parents generate a child like that? ---
**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 22, 2022, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugliest-car/963052/136 "2022-04-22T01:06:24Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > Compared to its competitors, like the Plymouth Valiant, the Corvair was downright graceful. Chrysler did produce some ugly monstrosities. But in later years, the Valiant became a perfectly ordinary, if boring, car. My older brother had one for a while and IIRC, it was the car in which I learned to drive (and was probably the car in which I took – and passed – my driver’s test). So, a bit of nostalgic love here for the Valiant. > **[Vehicle](https://buffalonews.com/ads/vehicle/)** ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2022, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugliest-car/963052/137 "2022-04-22T15:02:12Z")
Before the HR-V in that wreck, we had an Element. It was great. I could haul a full-size range, and that was just with the back seats flipped up on the sides (great feature). Great for having dogs, too. My Element was all gloss black. It looked fine. The ones that had those gigantic plastic panels were ugly. ---
**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 22, 2022, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugliest-car/963052/138 "2022-04-22T16:38:02Z")
I had thought about nominating some early 1960s Chrysler product, but I guess I just didn’t get around to it. They did indeed go through a period from about 1960-62 where they had some really strange designs. And even the famed Lincoln Continental went through an ugly period from 1958-60, with those strange canted headlights. [![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/23/1960_Lincoln_Continental_--_10-02-2009.jpg) ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/23/1960_Lincoln_Continental_--_10-02-2009.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Mallard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Mallard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mallard)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2022, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugliest-car/963052/139 "2022-04-22T17:10:27Z")
1948 studebaker convertible. Man that is one fugly car! ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2022, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugliest-car/963052/140 "2022-04-22T19:19:18Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > the Valiant became a perfectly ordinary, if boring, car. That’s from the era where Chrysler’s styling was “put a small box on top of a bigger box.” Other than the Cuda/Challenger, I think everything from 1968 to about 1971 was that way. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugliest-car/963052.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugliest-car/963052.md?page=8)