Cars have been designed, prototyped, and redesigned since the automobile was first presented to consumers. The goal for automakers, of course, has always been to one-up the competition, providing new models every year. They've done this by improving everything from gas mileage to comfort to driveability. And, of course, the look of the car has always been met with fierce competition and drive, no pun intended.
However, when it came to the aesthetics not all updates were improvements. Whether it's original styling or retro styling, sometimes the automotive design just doesn't wow the audience as intended.
And while beauty is subjective, sometimes, ugly cars are just that ugly.
We've looked at some old cars, and some models from the newest generation to compile a list of the ugliest cars ever made. Some makers corrected their mistakes quickly, but others kept their ugliest cars in production for years.
Let’s explore the ugliest of the ugliest cars. At the end of our list, we’ll discuss how you can find the best car insurance for even the ugliest cars.
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Pretty in Pink Oldsmobile Fiesta Station Wagon with Matching Trailer
Even at a glance, there's way too much going on. The bright highlighter-pink, which is sure to track dirt as soon as the car leaves the lot, is almost as harsh on the eyes as the car's stocky, disjointed body shape.
The headlights jut out, both on the car and the matching trailer, and the awkward cuts of glass around the top, from the windshield to the rear window, surely made any replacement costly.
The matching trailer, which one would think should boost the appearance of a car, only extends the mess that is the Fiesta Station Wagon.
Now, there are some benefits to the car:
- Massive cargo space
- A trailer that, despite its physical flaws, allows a family to bring enough gear to take a weekend away without hassle
- The powerful V8 engine, allowing it to haul big loads
Still, the car's appearance is borderline hard to accept, especially given the sleek, minimalist aesthetic we're used to today. That is why it made our list of the ugliest cars ever made.
The Fiesta Station Wagon was certainly a step toward the cars we have today and looks pretty decent in some other colors, but in pink, with a trailer attached, this is a car best left in the 1960s.
Fiat Multipla
Regardless of color, the Fiat Multipla looks disjointed. Nobody is sure what the design department was going for, but the end result is that the bottom half and top half of the car look as though they belong to different models. And yet the car was produced for more than a decade, between the years 1998 and 2010.
Despite its flaws, the Multipla receives reasonably consistent and solid reviews. It was awarded Top Gear's car of the year in 2000 and Top Gear's award for the ugliest car in that same year.
The Mutipla has three seats in the front, and three seats in the back, meaning it can fit six people rather than the standard five. Compared to other six-seaters, the Multipla is a fairly subcompact car, which can be partly attributed to the disjointed look of the car.
The Multipla was never sold in the United States, so many haven't heard of it. But for a time, it was quite popular in Europe.
It's much rarer to see them on the road nowadays, and it's likely to stay that way because it's considered one of the ugliest cars.
Chrysler PT Cruiser
The PT Cruiser falls into a different category of the ugliest cars than the two cars above. Where the Fiesta and the Multipla stand out on the road due to their strange builds, the Chrysler PT Cruiser is just kind of bland. It's unnoticeable until you notice it, and then you realize how awkward it is.
The PT Cruiser launched late in 1999, and production continued until 2010. The car had front-wheel drive and was classified as a truck. There was a convertible version of the PT cruiser as well, which looks equally as awkward. Like the Multipla, the PT Cruiser was often bought by families. The car is a good size and can carry quite a bit given its classification as a truck.
That said, the PT Cruiser looks like a bathtub on wheels.
While it has great cargo space, driving one may not be worth that extra room. All of its edges are rounded, and the car's shape makes it difficult to tell whether it is from the 1930s or the 2000s. Some of that difficulty was intentional. The PT Cruiser was originally designed to appeal to retro car lovers.
When the PT Cruiser first came out, it was actually a fairly popular car. At its peak, it sold around 1.3 million units. It fell off quickly, though, with most of its sales coming in during the first three to five years of production.
PT Cruisers are few and far between nowadays, but you may still be able to buy one used.
Quick takeaway? Compared to some of the automobiles on this list, the PT Cruiser seems average. Yet, when compared to most cars on the road, its clunky exterior car design comes off as outdated.
Tesla Cybertruck
The Tesla Cybertruck is one of those cars you either love or hate. Those who love it enjoy the minimalist SUV styling or car design, bordered by hard edges. Those who don't think it looks like a Tesla model of a lego car and consider it one of the ugliest cars ever made.
The Cybertruck's specs are certainly worth noting. It can tow upwards of 14,000 pounds and can go from 0-60 mph in less than three seconds. The exterior of the vehicle is made with tough materials, meaning this American car can certainly handle rough patches.
But the car just looks a bit too futuristic.
The car's name “Cybertruck” pays homage to a science fiction subgenre called “cyberpunk,” where the conflicts revolve around technology-based mechanisms, such as artificial intelligence. The Cybertruck certainly looks like something which came out of science fiction, but on the road next to countless other cars, the truck almost looks like an animation that hasn't been rendered properly.
It suffers from the opposite problem the PT Cruiser has. Where the PT Cruiser looks terrible because it seems like an object from the past, the Cybertruck looks like an object from an unlikely future, wherein everything is gunmetal grey with hard edges.
Tesla is a car manufacturer that offers its own car insurance product. Tesla owners are able to get Tesla Insurance products to cover their vehicles.
Mitsubishi I MiEV
The first electric car on our list of the ugliest cars ever made, the Mitsubishi I MiEV, looks like a cross between a smart electric vehicle and the Fiat Multipla. Electric motor vehicles are a quickly growing market, expected to be close to 20% of vehicle stock by the year 2030.
A fast-growing market means a lot of experimentation, which is where the MiEV fits in.
Like the PT Cruiser, the MiEV isn't offensively ugly. It's a small car with standard colors, including grey, black, and white. The MiEV is one of the more affordable electric vehicles, and MiEV drivers may be eligible for the Federal Tax Credits of up to $7,500 given to green car drivers.
Just like the regrettable Citroen Ami and Tata's Nano, the MiEV fits firmly in the aesthetic adopted by most hybrid and electric vehicles; it's small with rounded edges and little trunk space. But at one point, the EPA named the city car the most efficient electric car on the market. Eventually, its efficiency was surpassed by the Honda Fit, a small car with similar design features.
Like most of the cars on our list, the MiEV is discontinued.
It was one of the first reliable electric cars on the market and a pioneer in the proliferation of electric vehicles.
And yet, this modern car is still considered the ugliest car ever by a lot of people.
Pontiac Aztek
Breaking Bad fans know the Pontiac Aztek as the iconic car driven by Walter White. Some love the look of the car and love that it houses a V-6 engine and ample room.
To those with an eye for aesthetics, however, the car looks clunky.
Writer of Time Magazine, Dan Neil, describes the issues with the Aztek in his list of the worst 50 cars ever made. He finds that the Aztek “violated one of the principal rules of car design: we like cars that look like us.”
From Neil’s perspective, the Aztek looks like a monster with multiple eyes and a jumbled mouth.
Find Car Insurance for Even the Ugliest Car
Regardless if you happen to have the ugliest car ever, whether it has bizarre styling or odd features, it still needs to be insured. We can help you compare rates easily and accurately, even for the ugliest car.
Our primary goal is to connect insurance shoppers with the right rates for them. Because we know how difficult it can be to set up any kind of insurance, we've developed a tool that allows you to find and assess the best ways to save money on car insurance rates.
All you need to do is select a type of insurance and type in your ZIP code to use our free car insurance comparison tool.
Affordable car insurance? Now that’s truly beautiful. When it comes to how to buy car insurance, we've got you covered.
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References:
- https://arstechnica.com/cars/2021/01/the-rise-and-fall-and-rise-again-of-retro-car-design/
- https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/taxevb.shtml
- http://content.time.com/time/specials/2007/completelist/0,,1658545,00.html