Quoting:
You mean the Honda Crapament?  It's like an oversized Lego.  
End Quote

Yes exactly.  It looks like a box on wheels.  It actually makes me cringe when I see one on the road. :P

Quoting:

Hyundai (any)
End Quote

Actually the Elantra and Tburon are pretty nice looking to me.

Ugly cars:
04 Mitsubishi Galant
BWW 7 Series
BMW 5 Series
Honda Element
Scion XB
Pontiac Aztek
00+ Chevy Monte Carlo
04 Nissan Maxima
Mitsubishi Outalander


The newer Land Rovers I don't like.

Quoting:
I am really surprised no one said the PT Cruiser (or "gansta car")  But, actually, just about any SUV.



Cat
End Quote

That's cuz I haven't been here yet. ;)

For me it is a 3 way tie between the Element, the PT Cruiser and the Mini Cooper. :-X

Quoting:
Well its not a pretty sight and maybe after the 19-21 year olds has bought their ugly SUV (i.e. Honda Element or Chevy Avalanche) will we get back to designs that don't make you want to toss your cookies on the highway..
End Quote

Wow, blanket statement.  Most 19-21 year olds I know (myself included) have nowhere near the money to afford an SUV, nor would we want one even if we had the money.

Quoting:


Wow, blanket statement.  Most 19-21 year olds I know (myself included) have nowhere near the money to afford an SUV, nor would we want one even if we had the money.
End Quote

Sorry I didn't clarify the statement the Scion (Toyota new line) Xb & Xa, the Element, Subaru Baja, etc. are/were specificly desiged and marketed towards 19-25 year olds. Not saying you want one, but these cars/SUV's have starting prices at or around $12k, not dirt cheap but cheap enough for a new automobile & within the range of a new/young buyer.
Seprately from that, there are lots of 17 & up here in southern Cali with brand new cars & SUV's, even if they can't afford them, their parents can...Scion's  marketing plan is betting on the parents that are buying their childern their first car.

Quoting:
An AMC Pacer :P
End Quote

Are they still on the road?  ;)



Cat

Quoting:
The Escorts of the 80s were hideous too, and I should know since I used to own a used '83 model. They've improved somewhat since. :-/
End Quote

Yeah, but you could drive them forever.  I had one with 75000 miles on it when it got totaled.  My best friend's had over 200K.

Quoting:
The Toyota RAV4

The Pontiac Aztek

The Honda Element

the Hummer(i think those who have one just wanna show people that they're RICH enough to afford it!)

the Chevy Tracker

all KIA's
End Quote

I like the RAV 4(the 01-03 model.) Don't like the way they refreshed it for 04.

Yeah what's the thing with the Hummer? I saw a 90 day survey that JD Power & Associates had and people complained about gas mileadge with the Hummer. They should know gas mileadge on a car like that isn't going to very good at the point of purchasing a Hummer not after purchasing it. There is a window sticker with big numbers on every car stating what the fuel mileadge is. If you can't see it something is wrong with you.

Kia-The Sportage and Sedona are alright looking but bland. Everything else is ugly in that line-up.

Quoting:
What do you think the ugliest vehicles on the road are?   (I'm referring to recent models).
End Quote

It will be a domestic, that's for sure.  :P

Quoting:
I am really surprised no one said the PT Cruiser (or "gansta car")  But, actually, just about any SUV.



Cat
End Quote

AMEN to that! Those cars are hideous. Oh yeah and I'll throw my two cents in on the Honda Element, matchbox reject.

Quoting:
Why do people think the Chevy Monte Carlo is ugly? Personally I like the Dale Earnhardt Signature Monte Carlo,it's cool!
End Quote

Actually I think the current model looks really good.  It was one of 3 kinds of cars I considered getting this year.

Quoting:
Why do people think the Chevy Monte Carlo is ugly? Personally I like the Dale Earnhardt Signature Monte Carlo,it's cool!
End Quote

I would take the mid to late 90's Monte Carlo over the current one. The newer one the body style tries to go back to the 1980's Monte Carlo something I really don't like but if you like you like it.

Quoting:
An AMC Pacer :P
End Quote

Oh yea, the "Fish Bowl"!!!!!

I had a buddy in high school that had one of those...  trust me, they got miserably hot in the summer in LA, with all that glass.

Anybody else remember that Pacer that Garth drove in Wayne's World?  How about that Pacer Limo from Wayne's World 2???

http://pacer.members.easyspace.com/Limo.jpg

Myself, I have to agree that the Pontiac Aztec was the UGLIEST car I had ever seen.  I picture the ancient Aztec warriors wanting to cut out the hearts of the design team, who made such an ugly car and named it after such a fierce nation of warriors.  :P

Quoting:
the NEWER Dodge NEON! I used to like NEON's but DaimlerChrysler took away the cute factor when they changed the front"smile"grille and headlights! I've ridden in the early NEON, and I'm quite surprised how comfy the interior is. I would like to own a 90's NEON someday-a RED one!
End Quote

another ugly SUV is the Lincoln Navigator. Rich folks don't go off-roading,why do they need 4WD for?

Quoting:

the Hummer(i think those who have one just wanna show people that they're RICH enough to afford it!)

End Quote

I agree.  I think the Hummer is nothing but a status symbol to most of the people who drive them.

Quoting:


I agree.  I think the Hummer is nothing but a status symbol to most of the people who drive them.
End Quote

Yeah, like LeBron... :P

Quoting:
The newest vehicle that I think looks horrible is the new Durango.  It looks like a minivan gone terribly wrong.  For older ones, the minivans that looked like "hippie" vans.  I think it's the VW Vanagon???  Oh, add the Chrysler Pacifica to the list.
End Quote

I agree, I saw a newer Durango and was very dissapointed. :(  I thought they were pretty good when they 1st came out, now they look more like an SUV pimp-mobile.

Quoting:

I agree, I saw a newer Durango and was very dissapointed. :(  I thought they were pretty good when they 1st came out, now they look more like an SUV pimp-mobile.
End Quote

I do not like Chrysler's current styling direction. Its very hit or miss. I don't like 300C. I don't like the current Caravan either. The current Durango thats another one. Its too aggresive looking. Mercedes has put influence into Chrysler's styling or something. Mercedes cars are usually styled conservative so the exterior design ages well but putting Mercedes elements in Chrysler's design I don't agree with at all. Chrysler's parent company Mitsubishi the same thing is happeaning too with their styling. I don't like Mercedes telling Chrysler what to do. Ford finally let Mazda do their own thing over the last few years. Mercedes should follow suit and let Chrysler do their own thing.

Quoting:

I do not like Chrysler's current styling direction. Its very hit or miss. I don't like 300C. I don't like the current Caravan either. The current Durango thats another one. Its too aggresive looking. Mercedes has put influence into Chrysler's styling or something. Mercedes cars are usually styled conservative so the exterior design ages well but putting Mercedes elements in Chrysler's design I don't agree with at all. Chrysler's parent company Mitsubishi the same thing is happeaning too with their styling. I don't like Mercedes telling Chrysler what to do. Ford finally let Mazda do their own thing over the last few years. Mercedes should follow suit and let Chrysler do their own thing.
End Quote

I don't know, I like it myself, the old designs were boring IMO.  The old Dodge Ram was pretty dull, the new ones are more aggressive and do look better. I was wondering when they'd finally redesign the Durango and they did and it looks good I think.  I've yet to see one in person but I like it, the old design looked very dated and boring.  The new minivans look good too, they don't really look like vans all square and boxy anymore but an aggressively shaped egg I guess lol.  I like the second generation design Neons, the new ones have too much of an edgy front end like you said.

Quoting:


I don't know, I like it myself, the old designs were boring IMO.  The old Dodge Ram was pretty dull, the new ones are more aggressive and do look better. I was wondering when they'd finally redesign the Durango and they did and it looks good I think.  I've yet to see one in person but I like it, the old design looked very dated and boring.  The new minivans look good too, they don't really look like vans all square and boxy anymore but an aggressively shaped egg I guess lol.  I like the second generation design Neons, the new ones have too much of an edgy front end like you said.
End Quote

The Ram I can live with that. The old Durango was cleaner looking to me than the new one. Different strokes for Different folks.

Quoting:

The Ram I can live with that. The old Durango was cleaner looking to me than the new one. Different strokes for Different folks.
End Quote

You have to actually SEE a new Durango to see how funny looking it is.  I didn't mind it in pictures, but I saw one on the road and they are UGLY (I definitely wouldn't use "aggressive" to describe it)!!!  My brother works for a Chrysler/Dodge dealer and he said they have had so many negative comments about it, it's not even funny.

Quoting:


My brother works for a Chrysler/Dodge dealer and he said they have had so many negative comments about it, it's not even funny.
End Quote

It is selling ok though. I just got my issue of Car and Driver. I haven't read it yet. The Durango did win in the comparo though from what I saw. The interior in the Durango isn't half bad. The exterior ooks I just don't like. Another car I don't like is the 03 Honda Accord. Usually Honda is pretty good at styling cars but this one they dropped the ball. The new Acura TL looks good but the Accord I don't know what happened.

Quoting:
I fit Chrysler in the same place as Ford.  All of their fleet looks basically the same.  Their designers seem to be stuck on a certain style, and seem to have ran out of ideas.


End Quote

Chrysler the same as Ford? I am a Japanese Car Fan but Chrysler had some good looking cars in the mid to late 90's like the Sebring, 300M, Concorde, Viper, and The Ram. What did Ford have then that was so good looking? The only element that looks the same nowadays on Chrysler's cars are those agressive looking grille's.

Ford well the Focus and F-150 have been good hits for them. The late 90's they had nothing but the Explorer.

Quoting:
It's sad that none of the big auto makers have imaginative designs anymore. Harley Earl,a former GM designer and ONE OF THE MOST INNOVATIVE FOR HIS TIME,must be turning in his grave!! No one seems to create cool cars like the Ford Mustang or Chevy Camaro anymore! Cars have become so plain-jane,no wonder custom auto shops get lotsa business!!
End Quote

Tony: I think the diminish in design is because people want big SUv's. Thats the big problem I feel. SUv's while some of them are nice looking they are just a big box. I'm tired of SUV's. The coupe market is gone basically.

I think another thing is aerodynamics.

If you think cars are bad looking now I don't think cars in the 70's looked that great either. The early to mid 80's were not that good either with that box/square trend going on. I want the coupe market back of the late 80's/early 90's with the Mitsubishi Staion/Eclipse, and Mazda MX-6. The american Car Fans can have their Camaro and Firebirds back as well and we all can be happy. The Nissan 240SX was slick then. I feel bad those cars went away. At least we have the Mazda RX-8, and Nissan 350Z though. On the bright side you still got the Mustang. I doubt Mitsubishi will bring the 3000gt back. Toyota might bring the Supra back.  I wish Chrysler would bring the Charger back in some form or another. Mercedes wouldn't let them do that probably. Pontiac is bringing back the GTO very shortly though.

Todays sports cars are now souped up compact cars like the Ford Focus SVT, Mitsu EVO, Subaru WRX, and Dodge Neon SR-T but there's no sleekness in exterior design in those cars.

Quoting:
It's sad that none of the big auto makers have imaginative designs anymore. Harley Earl,a former GM designer and ONE OF THE MOST INNOVATIVE FOR HIS TIME,must be turning in his grave!!
End Quote

Whoa, there, hold it... lets make it clear about Harley Earl,  WAS NOT A CAR DESIGNER! !!
The assumptions that this man had actually created anything on his own by design is a falsehood, the Buick commercials suggesting this drive me crazy!
The original Ford Mustang (& wonderful car designs like it) would have never come to be if Mr. Earl was around at its conception.

Its a running joke to most car design students when speaking of Harley Earl...I'll say this with a little background knowledge and training as a Transportation Design student (studied at Center for Creative Studies in Detroit, MI 90-92).

Harley Earl was a very talented custom body man in the 30's, he did custom auto body work for famous people and Hollywood stars. GM was in need of some "razzle dazzle" in their looks dept, and approached him to head their new Design and Colour dept, and had a hit with the Cadillac LaSalle.

But Harley Earl couldn't draw a straight line to save his life, and he would tell you that! He wasn't an artist of any kind (car designers go to art school to study industrial design, and it ain't easy brother, let me tell you).
His influence was that he was able to get the best designers around him to interpret his ideas to paper.

Anyone studying the history of GM and 50's car design in general knew as Harley Earl as sort of a bull in a china shop, who wore sharp suits & threw his weight around a lot, but couldn't draw a lick. He'd have meetings with other designers of what he'd want, & wait for ideation sketches to come back and say more or less of this or that what he wanted, and admit tingly he did seem to know what was good & bad, for a while...
The best thing to be said about his "designs" was that he gave a direction for US postwar designs to go with the Y-job show car in the 40's. Thereafter, wraparound windshields, chrome, and fins were the norm. Even this is hard to see as visionary, anyone looking at fighter planes of WWII could see where the imagery for styling of 50's American cars was coming from, and Mr. Earl admitted to as much...

Any of the real designers that had to suffer under Earl, like Bill Mitchell (designer of the '63 Stingray & '63 Buick Rivera) would tell you how unimaginative and heavy handed Earl's "designs" were. Earl pretty much ran out of ideas by 55-56 and was just laying on the chrome with a shovel. Seriously most cars of the era were ungainly at best. The best designs by GM were by chance the cleanest ones that "got by" Mr. Earl's supervision. The '57 Corvette, Chevy Bel Air wouldn't of been as handsome if Mr. Earl had gotten his way...
By '58-'59 the fins and chrome thing was a big joke and the cars looked it...
Notice how cars started to look slimmer and lost the fins and all the chrome after 60-61? Why? Harley Earl stepped down as Pres of Design and Bill Mitchell took over...

If you don't believe me check out a book called The Art Of the American Car Designer by C. Edson Armi. It includes interviews & quotes from designers from Harley Earl’s era. Believe me; I'm being kind so far of Mr. Earls persona and design skills compared to some of the stories they tell.

Please don't give Mr. Earl the credit of being an innovator of car design, it wasn't him designing anything in the true since, and insults the real creative people around him that did the actual work.

Sorry about the rant, this is personal pet peeve of mine and had to try and make the facts clear...

Quoting:
No one seems to create cool cars like the Ford Mustang or Chevy Camaro anymore! Cars have become so plain-jane,no wonder custom auto shops get lotsa business!!
End Quote

I looooove the new Mustang, though.  The fastback looks pretty cool.  As far as the custom cars, who in their right mind thinks one of those HUGE "fins" looks good on a tiny Celica or any other tiny car.  It makes them look like they're about to take off ::) :P

mod to add:  or the little matchbox wheels on a truck ::)

Quoting:

Ford well the Focus and F-150 have been good hits for them. The late 90's they had nothing but the Explorer.
End Quote

Did you get the Ford Puma, Cougar or Probe in the US/Canada? The former 2 were pretty good looking, the Probe pretty dubious, but the Ford with the most widely-reviled appearance has to be the Ka, anyone know what they look like (clue- Fiesta baseplate with 'futuristic' jelly-mould body shell)?

Quoting:


I agree.  I think the Hummer is nothing but a status symbol to most of the people who drive them.
End Quote

The Hummer is my choice, too.  Never mind its obnoxious size or 4 mpg economy, the thing is just butt ugly!  Basically, what you've got is a military vehicle, and they ain't supposed to be aesthetic, they're supposed to get the job done.  However, it's absurd when the job is picking the kids up at soccer practice.
That Subaru Baja, or whatever it's called, that Kenny posted is hideous, but no more hideous than its ancestor, the Subaru Brat!
What is a Chevy SSR? A Chevy Soviet Socialist Republic?
There's another car that makes me cringe, I can't remember the make and model, but it looks like a miniature sized car of the late '30s.  It looks like a small minivan crossed with a small SUV.
All Kia models are dumb looking*.  The Tracker (by Mazda?) is not only ugly, but dangerous.  It tips over easily.  It's like driving a cigarette carton on wheels.
The SUVs tend to look plain and boxy, though some models have an aesthetic sense.
Overall, though, the fleet has fewer ugly models today than it did in the '70s and '80s.
*KIA also stands for Killed In Action, and it doesn't help that the company is Korean!

Quoting:

The Tracker (by Mazda?) is not only ugly, but dangerous.  It tips over easily.  It's like driving a cigarette carton on wheels.
The SUVs tend to look plain and boxy, though some models have an aesthetic sense.
End Quote

The Tracker was a GEO not a Mazda. GEO was GM's youth company. GEO's were sold alongside Chevy's at Chevy Dealerships in the late 80's-mid 90's period like Scion(Toyota's youth line)is sold currently.

Quoting:

Did you get the Ford Puma, Cougar or Probe in the US/Canada? The former 2 were pretty good looking, the Probe pretty dubious, but the Ford with the most widely-reviled appearance has to be the Ka, anyone know what they look like (clue- Fiesta baseplate with 'futuristic' jelly-mould body shell)?
End Quote

I live in the Us but I forgot about the Probe. The Probe was cool looking although I did like its brother the Mazda MX-6(1993-1997, second generation MX-6)better because I am a big Mazda fan. The 99-02 Mercury Cougar I did not like the way that car looked.

Quoting:
I did a test drive of the Honda Element and I have to confess I liked it.  It's an engeneering masterpiece for what it is.  1st off, the doors open and you have a HUGE loading area to fill it up, the floor is flat, plastic, and can be hosed out, freakin' brilliant for parents of small ones.  The back seats fold up so you can get a buch of stuff in if needed.  It's basic transportation and storage at its mose efficiant.  We got a lot of comments on it, people may thought it was ugly or strange but they wanted to know what it was.
That Pontiac Aztec, that is damn ugly.
End Quote

I also recently test drove an Element and I am considering buying one. I agree with Race's take on the vehicle, with the addition that I thought that it handled great and that once I got settled in behind the wheel, it had this cool kind of 70's stoner-van feel to it. I researched it on automotive websites and in magazines, and every source I looked at gave it great reviews.  It seems like a good value for the money. When I first saw it I too thought it looked odd (it reminds me of a bread truck) but it's grown on me.
Ugly cars:
Pontiac Aztek--The Edsel of the new millenium.
Chevrolet Avalanche--Ugly with the plastic side-cladding, not so bad without. I also think that the new Chevrolet Colorado pickup is hideous. Pretty much everything Chevy builds these days (with the exception of the Vette) is pretty lame, which bums me out because I grew up liking Chevys and I keep hoping and praying that someday Chevy's stylists will pull their heads out of their behinds and start designing some cool-looking vehicles again.

Quoting:

Whoa, there, hold it... lets make it clear about Harley Earl,  WAS NOT A CAR DESIGNER! !!
The assumptions that this man had actually created anything on his own by design is a falsehood, the Buick commercials suggesting this drive me crazy!
The original Ford Mustang (& wonderful car designs like it) would have never come to be if Mr. Earl was around at its conception.

Its a running joke to most car design students when speaking of Harley Earl...I'll say this with a little background knowledge and training as a Transportation Design student (studied at Center for Creative Studies in Detroit, MI 90-92).

Harley Earl was a very talented custom body man in the 30's, he did custom auto body work for famous people and Hollywood stars. GM was in need of some "razzle dazzle" in their looks dept, and approached him to head their new Design and Colour dept, and had a hit with the Cadillac LaSalle.

But Harley Earl couldn't draw a straight line to save his life, and he would tell you that! He wasn't an artist of any kind (car designers go to art school to study industrial design, and it ain't easy brother, let me tell you).
His influence was that he was able to get the best designers around him to interpret his ideas to paper.

Anyone studying the history of GM and 50's car design in general knew as Harley Earl as sort of a bull in a china shop, who wore sharp suits & threw his weight around a lot, but couldn't draw a lick. He'd have meetings with other designers of what he'd want, & wait for ideation sketches to come back and say more or less of this or that what he wanted, and admit tingly he did seem to know what was good & bad, for a while...
The best thing to be said about his "designs" was that he gave a direction for US postwar designs to go with the Y-job show car in the 40's. Thereafter, wraparound windshields, chrome, and fins were the norm. Even this is hard to see as visionary, anyone looking at fighter planes of WWII could see where the imagery for styling of 50's American cars was coming from, and Mr. Earl admitted to as much...

Any of the real designers that had to suffer under Earl, like Bill Mitchell (designer of the '63 Stingray & '63 Buick Rivera) would tell you how unimaginative and heavy handed Earl's "designs" were. Earl pretty much ran out of ideas by 55-56 and was just laying on the chrome with a shovel. Seriously most cars of the era were ungainly at best. The best designs by GM were by chance the cleanest ones that "got by" Mr. Earl's supervision. The '57 Corvette, Chevy Bel Air wouldn't of been as handsome if Mr. Earl had gotten his way...
By '58-'59 the fins and chrome thing was a big joke and the cars looked it...
Notice how cars started to look slimmer and lost the fins and all the chrome after 60-61? Why? Harley Earl stepped down as Pres of Design and Bill Mitchell took over...

If you don't believe me check out a book called The Art Of the American Car Designer by C. Edson Armi. It includes interviews & quotes from designers from Harley Earl’s era. Believe me; I'm being kind so far of Mr. Earls persona and design skills compared to some of the stories they tell.

Please don't give Mr. Earl the credit of being an innovator of car design, it wasn't him designing anything in the true since, and insults the real creative people around him that did the actual work.

Sorry about the rant, this is personal pet peeve of mine and had to try and make the facts clear...

End Quote

Sorry,maybe I spoke too soon. I admit to sticking my foot in my mouth....I never knew about this!

Quoting:

I live in the Us but I forgot about the Probe. The Probe was cool looking although I did like its brother the Mazda MX-6(1993-1997, second generation MX-6)better because I am a big Mazda fan. The 99-02 Mercury Cougar I did not like the way that car looked.
End Quote

probes are crap, and for a "sporty" car they sure are slow. i can beat a v6 probe gt in my 4 cylinder nissan truck.............