These Strange-Looking Cars Will Go Down In History As Some Of The Ugliest Vehicles Ever Made

Kiah Yancy | September 30, 2024 4:00 pm

It turns out that car manufacturers and designers don't always nail it with their designs. Sometimes, they make some pretty questionable choices when it comes to color or body style.

Read on through this list to check out some of the ugliest cars ever made. Just wait until you see the strange-looking Buick Electra...

Plymouth Prowler

The Plymouth Prowler is on display 07 January at t
ANDREW CUTRARO/AFP via Getty Images
ANDREW CUTRARO/AFP via Getty Images

The Prowler was based on a concept car of the same name from the 1990s. Completely unattractive, the car also didn’t perform well.

The price of the Prowler changed constantly without explanation.

ADVERTISEMENT

Renault Twingo

ADVERTISEMENT
The Making Of Renault 'Twingo' At Renault Plant Of Flins On September 27th, 1992
Gilles BASSIGNAC/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images
Gilles BASSIGNAC/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images
ADVERTISEMENT

The 1992 Renault Twingo is a bite-size four-passenger city car. The shape and size of the car make it impractical for larger people or big families.

ADVERTISEMENT

The Twingo also lacks in performance, with a horsepower of only 90 on all of its standard models.

ADVERTISEMENT

DeLorean DMC-12

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
The DeLorean
Birmingham Post and Mail Archive/Mirrorpix/Getty Image
Birmingham Post and Mail Archive/Mirrorpix/Getty Image
ADVERTISEMENT

This car is most famous for its appearance in Back to the Future, but the DeLorean DMC-12 is a big miss.

ADVERTISEMENT

The creator wanted to make a different and innovative car, but those differences caused the DeLorean to ultimately fail as a product.

ADVERTISEMENT

Trabant

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Trabant Car
Peter Turnley/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images
Peter Turnley/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images
ADVERTISEMENT

The Trabant was a peculiar and odd-looking car that marked the collapse of the East German Bloc.

ADVERTISEMENT

The car was made as cheaply as possible so that it could be mass-produced to accommodate a large percentage of the population. .

ADVERTISEMENT

Pontiac Fiero

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Denver Post Archives
Denver Post via Getty Images
Denver Post via Getty Images
ADVERTISEMENT

The Pontiac Fiero is not only unattractive, but its also dangerous. Aptly named the "Fiero" which means "fire," the car was prone to spontaneous combustion.

ADVERTISEMENT

When the car was released in 1983 it sold well until consumers saw growing numbers of reports that the cars were catching on fire.

ADVERTISEMENT

Chevrolet El Camino

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
1960 Chevrolet El Camino Pickup
Barrett-Jackson via Getty Images
Barrett-Jackson via Getty Images
ADVERTISEMENT

While the El Camino was an iconic car of the 1980s, it is ugly by today's standards. The El Camino was a hybrid of sorts, which took parts from a truck and parts from a coupe and combined them.

ADVERTISEMENT

Consumer uncertainty paired with the Camino’s boxy front end and overall boat-like shape is how the car managed to make this list.

ADVERTISEMENT

Cadillac Cimarron

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
SEP 21 1982, SEP 22 1982; Cadillac Cimarron sports new grille treatment, new fuel-injected 2.0-liter
Duane Howell/The Denver Post via Getty Images
Duane Howell/The Denver Post via Getty Images
ADVERTISEMENT

The Cadillac Cimarron was nothing special and had an out-of-date, boxy body that made buyers want to stay away.

ADVERTISEMENT

Before being released to the public, representatives from Cadillac confessed that they knew the car would be a commercial failure.

ADVERTISEMENT

Buick Electra

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Buick Electra
National Motor Museum/Heritage Images via Getty Images
National Motor Museum/Heritage Images via Getty Images
ADVERTISEMENT

A full-size vehicle first introduced by Buick in the late 1950s, the Electra looked like more like a metal surfboard with wheels than a respectable car.

ADVERTISEMENT

It was marketed and sold as a luxury vehicle though outside of its name, it had nothing to offer in the way of luxury or performance. If that wasn't enough, the car was hard to drive and park as it was 18 feet long from head to tail.

ADVERTISEMENT

Citroën BX

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Citroen_BX_Midi
Wikimedia Commons
Wikimedia Commons
ADVERTISEMENT

A car that was designed in the late 1980s, the Citroën BX was an ugly vehicle that was incredibly popular in Europe. The BX model replaced the Citroën GS which was more beloved than the BX.

ADVERTISEMENT

Designers of the BX got inspiration from other Volvo models and the engine was based on the Peugeot 405. If the looks weren’t bad enough, the car was lightweight and used a hydraulic suspension, making for a bumpy ride.

ADVERTISEMENT

Chevrolet Chevette

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Chevrolet Chevette
Andrew Stawicki/Toronto Star via Getty Images
Andrew Stawicki/Toronto Star via Getty Images
ADVERTISEMENT

The Chevrolet Chevette was a subcompact car that looked like a deer in headlights. It had the body of a station wagon and was otherwise ugly and unimpressive.

ADVERTISEMENT

It was sold in the 1970s and 1980s and reached the height of its popularity in 1979 and 1980, when it sold the most models. Holding the title as one of the smallest cars made by Chevrolet, it is also one of the ugliest as well.

ADVERTISEMENT

Oldsmobile Dynamic 88

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Oldsmobile Dynamic 88
Sebastian Willnow/picture alliance via Getty Images
Sebastian Willnow/picture alliance via Getty Images
ADVERTISEMENT

There is nothing dynamic about the Oldsmobile Dynamic 88 outside of how big and ugly its boxy shape was. The Dynamic, manufactured by Oldsmobile, was sold for over 50 years with a debut dating all the way back to 1949.

ADVERTISEMENT

Even with so much time, the Dynamic saw little change over the years and remained mostly stagnant and stale. With a lack of upgrades and an unimpressive car to look at, sales eventually plunged and the Dynamic was discontinued in 1999.

ADVERTISEMENT

Studebaker Convertible

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
1950 Studebaker Champion Regal. Creator: Unknown.
National Motor Museum/Heritage Images via Getty Images
National Motor Museum/Heritage Images via Getty Images
ADVERTISEMENT

It can be said that there are some things that should just be left alone and the Studebaker was one of them. The convertible's extra-long fenders make it look like it spaceship of sorts and compared to other 1950s models, it was an eyesore.

ADVERTISEMENT

The Studebaker Convertible was never mass-produced because its chassis wound up not making for a great convertible. Studebaker would go on to produce other better-looking models until the late 1960s when the company went bankrupt and closed shop.

ADVERTISEMENT

Pontiac Aztek

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
. -- New Pontiac Aztek SUV
JERRY HOLT/Star Tribune via Getty Images
JERRY HOLT/Star Tribune via Getty Images
ADVERTISEMENT

Manufactured alongside the Buick Rendezvous, the Pontiac Aztek was a crossover that should have never been. General Motors was pressed to come up with a new vehicle and instead of taking the time to create something truly unique, they decided to make a crossover vehicle instead.

ADVERTISEMENT

Buyers ended up having to give the Aztek back to General Motors within the first few months after it was released for a massive recall due to a faulty fuel delivery system.

ADVERTISEMENT

Chevrolet Malibu

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
malibu
Wikimedia Commons/Bull-Doser
Wikimedia Commons/Bull-Doser
ADVERTISEMENT

Named after a beach getaway, the Chevrolet Malibu of the 1990s was anything but a vacation. There wasn’t anything special or fascinating about the ride and it didn’t have any features to set it apart from the competition.

ADVERTISEMENT

The trunk of the Malibu looked like two hotdogs laying side by side and the front of the car was nearly identical to the Chevrolet Impala. Newer, more refined models of the Chevrolet Malibu have been sold since, but the 1990s models were just plain ugly.

ADVERTISEMENT

Chevrolet Impala

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Chevrolet_Impala_SS_(2440344574)
Wikimedia Commons
Wikimedia Commons
ADVERTISEMENT

In the wild, an impala is like a gazelle and is light and agile and majestic; the complete opposite of the 1990s Chevrolet Impala model.

ADVERTISEMENT

The ugliest feature of the Impala was its large square trunk which was practically the only thing that the Impala had to separate it from other similar Chevrolet models. Though named after a fast mammal, the Impala itself isn’t that fast at all and had only 180 horsepower.

ADVERTISEMENT

AMC Gremlin

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
GettyImages-1309129596 (1)
Transcendental Graphics/Getty Images
Transcendental Graphics/Getty Images
ADVERTISEMENT

For a car that looked like a hunched over troll, the AMC Gremlin's name was perfect for it.

ADVERTISEMENT

Like the water-hating creatures of the same name, drivers of this hunk of junk could also be found angry that they drove a car that looks like a baby carriage. The AMC Gremlin was sold by the American Motor Corporation from 1970-1978 and eventually went fully defunct eight years later in 1988.

ADVERTISEMENT

Dodge Aspen

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
GettyImages-837937566
Denver Post via Getty Images
Denver Post via Getty Images
ADVERTISEMENT

Before Dodge became popular for making muscle cars like the Charger and Challenger, Dodge had a history of missteps along the way and the Aspen was one of them.

ADVERTISEMENT

It was a boat-shaped compact car that was sold alongside the Plymouth Volaré which was its two-door counterpart. Dodge ended up discontinuing the Aspen and the Durango Hybrid in 2008 because of a factory closure so thankfully none of these will be rebuilt anytime soon.

ADVERTISEMENT

Ford Mustang II

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
GettyImages-832576012
PA Images via Getty Images
PA Images via Getty Images
ADVERTISEMENT

The Ford Mustang has gone through a lot of body styles but the Ford Mustang second generation that ran from 1973 to 1978 was by far one of the ugliest models. Its headlights were too large for the car which made it look like a tin bug on wheels.

ADVERTISEMENT

Its front fenders were disproportionate to the rest of the car and looked out of place. Ford eventually made the changes it needed to for the Mustang to come together but the Mustang II is a sore reminder of what it used to be.

Do you agree with our picks? Comment and let us know!

ADVERTISEMENT

Aston Martin Lagonda

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
The Aston Martin Lagonda Was An Ugly Catastrophe
National Motor Museum/Heritage Images/Getty Images
National Motor Museum/Heritage Images/Getty Images
ADVERTISEMENT

The Aston Martin Lagonda was designed to be futuristic, but it still hasn't reached a time period where its design is attractive.

ADVERTISEMENT

The body of the Lagonda overall is flat and wide. These cars took 2,200 man-hours to build, and only 25 were sold.

ADVERTISEMENT

Ford Flex

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
A 2010 Ford Flex with EcoBoost during a
STAN HONDA/AFP via Getty Images
STAN HONDA/AFP via Getty Images
ADVERTISEMENT

The Flex was designed to replace Ford's Freestyle minivan. It was classified as a CUV and had components from both SUVs and minivans.

ADVERTISEMENT

The Flex was long, square, and very unattractive despite its innovation.

ADVERTISEMENT

Mercury Capri

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Denver Post Archives
Denver Post via Getty Images
Denver Post via Getty Images
ADVERTISEMENT

You can easily see why the Mercury Capri made this list of ugly cars.

ADVERTISEMENT

The Mercury Capri was marketed as a pony car but looked more like a station wagon. Initially, the car was only sold in Australia, and wasn't shipped overseas until years later.

ADVERTISEMENT

Nissan Juke

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Moscow International Automobile Salon 2014
Sefa Karacan/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
Sefa Karacan/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
ADVERTISEMENT

The Nissan Juke is an SUV that sort of resembles a frog. It was intended to be fun to drive, but its appearance turned buyers away.

ADVERTISEMENT

In 2017, Nissan pulled the plug on the Juke in the U.S. and replaced it with the Nissan Kicks.