I completely forgot about the Taunus, or as the Germans referred to it, "Die Badewanne", (the bathtub). That was my grandfather on my mother's side's first car. He was so proud of that thing, he had saved for years and was finally able to own his first car; used, - he had arrived, - at age 49. As far as cars went, there was nothing wrong with the Ford 17M; - it was quite an adequate car. It just looked somewhat lost in the European translation of perceived American styling influences. The Citroen SM of the early 70s was a pretty advanced car; - the problem was to try and keep it running. It didn't even look half-bad either. Another outfit that tried to stay ahead of the curve was NSU with their Ro-80; it had the first production Wankel engine. It looked futuristic and probably set a lot of the styling cues for the early 80s cars; - ten years before in 1970. Too bad the engine killed the car and the company, they sold the design to Mazda and the rest is history. But back to the American cars; - the Edsel. Yeah, it was ugly. Any car that had a urinal bolted to the front of it probably wouldn't be a great seller. Sure, the FE block that spawned some lovely engines originated in the Edsel. Was it any more or less reliable? I don't know; - when 7 of the first 13 cars released to dealerships arrived at their destinations behind tow trucks as opposed to being driven, that kind of sets the stage, and it's tough act to beat, considering that these cars were issued to the motoring press to try out and review in local papers. Some other candidates for ugly; - the 1940-50 Studebaker, particularly the "wrong-way stude", 2 dr. hdtop that had a huge backlight, the early Ford Falcons, the late 60s Dodge Darts, the late-seventies Caddie Bairritz with it's funny chopped off a$$, any late 50's Ramblers, Nashes, the last Packard of 1958 ...just to name a few.
That really is ugly, It's like a skull stricken with hydrocephalus with wheels added. Putrid. I also hate the Aztek. The Honda Insight (at least the older ones) are an absolute eyesore.
My wife had one for 10 years and put over 120k miles on it. Even with a 3 cylinder engine and backup electric motor I had it up over 100 several times. Her best tank of gas was good for 70.2 mpg. I'm 6 foot and 200+ pounds and there was plenty of leg room for me plus it would hold $300 worth of groceries in the back. It had a 5 speed manual and was a lot of fun to drive. The thing I didn't like about it was if you got into an accident with it every other car on the road was bigger and heavier so she could have been seriously hurt. I agree that it wasn't the best looking car on the road but if it's fun to drive and gets great mileage who cares? :TU:
$300?!? So who cares about one sack of groceries? Hey, it had to be said. I bought my Skylark after I had been rear-ended by a Ford Bronco in my Chevy Celebrity wagon. My car was a foot shorter, and I wore a neck brace for months. His truck bumper was bent maybe 1/8th inch. I resolved to buy a bigger car, based on an accident I saw after the fact between a Mercedes and what I recall was a '68 Skylark. The Skylark was driven away, but the Mercedes had to be towed. I know now that the Buick survived because the Mercedes crumpled, but 15 years ago, that was my justification- that, and having a muscle car again.
Who cares what car will be driven away? A car's purpose in an accident is to protect you, not maintain its integrity. I'd take a Mercedes any day over a Skylark for safety. Anyway, I thought this thread was about ugly cars? Apparently, some on this site think I feel a 1968-69 Skylark is ugly. :Brow:
This is a fun read.... Too many ugly cars to list them all as far as I'm concerned but then I'm very prejudiced on what is attractive in a car. So many did not make the list I feel are too ugly to own or drive. (I'm sure my age and the era I drew up in has something to do with it too.) Good looks alone does not a "CAR" make in my eyes. I've owned some cool looking cars that were slower than molasses and handled like ice cream in the summer sun (they tried to be everywhere at once). Slow and ill mannered are ugly in my eyes. But this is about cars so drive what "YOU" like and laugh at what other's think is cool when they really have no clue. Mikey
My Dad had one of these when we lived in NYC. It was a foot and a half shorter than a VW bug and they managed to put 4 doors on it. It was unibody and when Dad would take a left turn the right rear door would pop open and if he made a right turn the left rear door would pop open. Aligning the headlights was done by bending the front sheet metal - a daily task due to tight on street parking in Manhattan.
I'm with you, I think this is the best looking vette ever. I will say you do have to see one in person to truly appreciate it. Pictures don't do it justice.
the big Edsels, Lincoln and Mercury used the MEL engines the small Edsels and Ford used the FE engines
