Ugliest Car?

In My Humble Opinion
41

I read a story a while back about the Taurus. Lee Iacocca was bragging about how Chrysler had conducted a focus group in which participants were asked to rate the Dodge Dynasty (a boxy K Car derivative) and the upcoming Ford Taurus. The Dynasty had received an average rating of 7, while the Taurus got an average rating of 5, and Iacocca predicted the Taurus was going to flop. What he didn’t realize was that those scores were averages, and they didn’t tell the whole story.

Pretty much everyone rated the Dodge around 7. When people give something a 7 out of 10, they’re basically saying “Meh. I don’t hate it, but it probably wouldn’t be my first choice.” The Taurus, on the other hand, was highly polarizing. Some people thought it was too radical and gave it 1s and 2s. Others loved it and gave it 9s and 10s. Those scores averaged out to 5, but that group of people who loved it were the ones who drove Taurus sales and made it a success.

I was 5 when the Taurus came out. At the time, it looked so futuristic compared to everything else on the road (Although some have pointed out that the shape was actually pretty similar to the 1984 Audi, but those weren’t very common in the US at the time).

The Taurus was a highly influential design. Every round jellybean shaped 1990s car was trying to copy the Taurus. And yes, the 1986 Taurus looks generic to modern eyes precisely because everyone else copied it.

42

My opinion may be worthless. I drive this:

dodge colt vista - Bing images

43

1986 Taurus

It’s an archived article from Car and Driver for the Taurus. Fun read. I had a 1994 and that thing was a sleeper but had great performance.

44

Was it, by chance, an SHO version ?

45

I was only 16. The SHO was what I dreamed of. Ended up with a 1996 Pontiac Bonneville SE and that thing was pretty bad ass as well.

46

Wow – I subscribed to C&D back then and I remember that review. Those guys were not easy to please and were especially hard on American iron, so they must have truly been impressed,

47

Heck, that was nothing. Meet the K Cars’ little brother, the Dodg Omni/Plymouth Horizon.

48

Yep. The 80s were just an awful decade for car design.

49

Horizon was also a terrible car. Loads of problems. So ugly and poorly built and designed.

50

Aaaand, another '80s car for consideration…the Yugo…

51

To be fair, that is the same body style as one of the Fiats. What made the Yugo special was it was not only boring and somewhat ugly but also one of the worst built cars ever. They were mostly lemons.

The Fiat 127

52

Which gives rise to the age-old question: if you make an ugly car fast enough, does it cease to be ugly ?

DODGE OMNI GLH

53

The Yugo, at least, had the decency to self-destruct within a couple months/miles/trips :wink:

54

No, it does not.

55

A lot of these examples are hatch-backs. Are there any hatch-backs on the market these days? And for that matter, louvers (remember those)?

56

Right off the bat you have the Prius and Corolla Hatchback. There is a Civic and VW Golf. Many of the cheaper electrics like the Leaf and Spark.

57

Ahh! Right - good examples.

58

Indeed – the hatchback still lives on in non-US vehicles, but other than Chevy, with the Spark, other U.S. automakers have abandoned hatchbacks, as well as just generally abandoning traditional sedans and coupes in favor of SUVs and trucks.

59

Nothing posted here so far can really compete with the Fiat Multipla.

60

Holy crap, you win the thread.