The five ugliest cars to ever roam the world’s roads

The TimesLIVE motoring team compiles a tongue-in-cheek shortlist of the planet’s most repellent rides

16 August 2022 - 06:00 By TimesLIVE
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Edsel Bermuda.
Edsel Bermuda.
Image: 55allegro

Looks are subjective and one person’s dream car might send others running away in fright.

In a world with so many generic-looking vehicles designed to please the masses but thrill no-one, we salute car designers who are willing to stick their necks out. Like Audi did when it introduced its single-frame grille a few years ago; it was initially controversial but the design has settled comfortably into the modern zeitgeist.

The jury is still out on whether the oversized nostrils on some new BMWs are beautiful or butt-ugly, but kudos to the Germans for trying something different.

That said, there have been some historical styling flops that leave no room for ambiguity and should never have progressed beyond the deranged sketches of overzealous designers. Here’s our shortlist of cars severely beaten with the ugly stick:

 

1958 Edsel Bermuda

Edsel was a short-lived Ford sub-brand in the 1950s that lasted just three years. Styling was one of the reasons for its demise and one need look no further than the Bermuda station wagon to understand why. It was an overdesigned monstrosity with large wings, a vagina-like grille and hideous wooden panels.

Ford Scorpio.
Ford Scorpio.
Image: Kieran White

1994 Ford Scorpio

The Scorpio was an executive car produced by Ford Europe from 1985 to 1998, replacing the Granada that was well known to South Africans.

The second-generation Scorpio launched in 1994 had many improvements over its predecessor, but styling wasn’t one of them. The unfortunate sedan was variously described as “bug eyed”, “gargoyle ugly” and the “ugliest car in Britain”.

Despite the jibes, the Scorpio lasted on the market for four years and one was even used by the Dutch royal family.

AMC Pacer
AMC Pacer
Image: Christopher Ziemnowicz

1975 AMC Pacer

This styling flop was a two-door hatch produced in the US by the American Motors Corporation between 1975 and 1980.

It was pitched as a fuel-efficient compact car, but is best remembered for its hideous design, which awkwardly blended aerodynamic “jelly bean” curves with driver and passenger doors of different lengths.

It gained fame when it was driven by the lead characters of Wayne’s World, Wayne and Garth.

Ssangyong Stavic
Ssangyong Stavic
Image: Charles01

2004 Ssangyong Stavic

Turning to more modern cars, Korean brand Ssangyong has been responsible for a number of design fails and top of the list is the 2004 Stavic.

This multi-seat MPV impolitely plagiarised a Mercedes grille on the front, but causing even worse offence is the rear end. With that ungainly C-pillar dissecting the roofline, the vehicle didn’t know if it was a regular MPV or a coupe.

Pontiac Aztek
Pontiac Aztek
Image: Netcarshow

2003 Pontiak Aztek

Best known as the ride used by Bryan Cranston’s character in Breaking Bad, the 2003 Aztek was an unsightly pot-pourri of discordant design themes. The incoherent styling was seemingly designed by several separate teams with no interaction with each other, including at least two teams for that double-stacked headlamp/grille assembly.

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