Ever look at a car and wonder why

[E92inNC]

Originally Posted by tranquility

Now I dunno anything about this car, it just looks like an avg car, not like a real in-your-face ugly monstrosity like the Pontiac Aztek, for example


Some ppl simply don't know better and/or dunno how to or can't shop around. Why else do we have ppl still paying crazy $$$$$$$ for ISP services when other providers offer the same service at only a fraction of the price?

This is the first thing that comes to mind when I think of the all time ugliest wtf car. From the first moment I saw it I've thought "how can a human being with functional brain cells and eyesight look at this and then be willing to spend thousands of their own dollars on this?"

[shoei]

Originally Posted by sygazelle

I was going to bring that up but I didn't want to derail the thread.


I get why people buy cars that are ugly ( or weird/different/non-conforming/unusual), but I cannot understand how some cars get past the draft design stage.

Some cars don't sell very well because they look ugly to many people. The few that buy them are just being themselves, but the car companies are in it to sell units and make money. How can these ugly cars get designed in the first place? Why doesn't someone on the design team say, "That's ugly, let's start over!"? And even if the design team is drinking their own Kook Aid, how does that ugly design get approved and then built?

You mentioned the Avenger in the OP. The Avenger is a perfectly fine appliance to me. It's not beautiful but I don't think its ugly either.

Agreed. I'd never purchase one but from a pure visual standpoint? You wouldn't need to put a brown bag over the Avenger to fuck it. Nissan Juke or the Cube or the vert Infiniti / Lexus / Range? Brown bag, black out curtains and leaving all the lights off.

[sygazelle]

Originally Posted by wtwo3

Someone needs to infiltrate these design teams and see what goes on over there. BMW would be the best place to start with the designs they've been churning out recently.

As for the Avenger, I agree it's not ugly. That's centered more around it being the odd choice compared to other cars in the class which (IMO) are probably superior. What I'm really curious about is the thought process where money isn't the concern. Is it because they associated it with a Dodge Charger which it kinda sorta resembles? If so that's a case study in halo cars and their influence downstream in the product line.

I like BMW's current designs. My wife has a G05 and I love the way it looks. The only design that is really "out there" to me is the big a$$ grille. And even that is getting more acceptable to me as time goes by. Seeing cars in person helped. Also, when I look at other cars on the road, many of them have big-a$$ grilles that rival or even top the BMW offering. I'd say most of the BMW offerings are nice, evolutionary designs. But then I again, I'm a fanboy who has been driving BMWs for over 30 years!

[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by sygazelle

I like BMW's current designs. My wife has a G05 and I love the way it looks. The only design that is really "out there" to me is the big a$$ grille. And even that is getting more acceptable to me as time goes by. Seeing cars in person helped. Also, when I look at other cars on the road, many of them have big-a$$ grilles that rival or even top the BMW offering. I'd say most of the BMW offerings are nice, evolutionary designs. But then I again, I'm a fanboy who has been driving BMWs for over 30 years!

For me specifically it's the iX and XM concept that are head scratchers.

I don't really mind the G22/G80 grills, and in the case of the G80 I think it looks really aggressive in person.

[rwheels]

Originally Posted by E92inPHX

This is the first thing that comes to mind when I think of the all time ugliest wtf car. From the first moment I saw it I've thought "how can a human being with functional brain cells and eyesight look at this and then be willing to spend thousands of their own dollars on this?"

The French Multipla would like to have a word.

[bucketfoot]

Originally Posted by wtwo3

See it's hard for me to think this represents the "majority" of car buyers. If it were the case, a the Rav4 wouldn't be the #1 selling crossover. It would be something more like a Subaru Forester or something cheaper in that class. So obviously there's a thought process beyond just "give me the cheapest thing I can get that'll suit my needs".

Now with the Rav4 you can attribute it to Toyota's reputation for reliability as one of the big factors behind why it sells as well as it does.

I'm not saying that the best price for many people doesn't includes more than just the purchase price. Reliability, retention of value, etc. can all factor into this.

There is definitely a reason why the last two times we bought a vehicle that was primarily meant for my wife that it was a Toyota and a Honda.

[MalibuM3]

Definitely this is an interesting thread.

I would like to share with you my thoughts from a European perspective. Here in Germany, there are still a lot of sections of the Autobahn without speed limits, which I personally appreciate. Despite this advantage over the strict speed limits in neighboring countries, e.g. in Switzerland, The Netherlands or France, a lot of Germans are complaining and demanding for a overall speed limit on the German highways.

This will be somehow reflected too, when you stop at the red lights here in Germany and see a lot of boring econoboxes e.g. with 3-cylinder lawn mower engines around you. A lot of people here really don't care about their car or the brand itself. They only appreciate a good lease deal no matter which brand. A lot of decline in client loyalty took place here. I know a lot of car enthusiasts who drove BMWs or Audis back in the 1980s/1990s. Over the years due to a changed purchase behavior a lot of people moved away from their car habits and ended up driving boring and zero percent fun cars.

[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by MalibuM3

Definitely this is an interesting thread.

I would like to share with you my thoughts from a European perspective. Here in Germany, there are still a lot of sections of the Autobahn without speed limits, which I personally appreciate. Despite this advantage over the strict speed limits in neighboring countries, e.g. in Switzerland, The Netherlands or France, a lot of Germans are complaining and demanding for a overall speed limit on the German highways.

This will be somehow reflected too, when you stop at the red lights here in Germany and see a lot of boring econoboxes e.g. with 3-cylinder lawn mower engines around you. A lot of people here really don't care about their car or the brand itself. They only appreciate a good lease deal no matter which brand. A lot of decline in client loyalty took place here. I know a lot of car enthusiasts who drove BMWs or Audis back in the 1980s/1990s. Over the years due to a changed purchase behavior a lot of people moved away from their car habits and ended up driving boring and zero percent fun cars.

Very similar case here as well. I think I remember there being an article/study once about how getting a driver's license was once a thing of pride and excitement, something to celebrate and look forward to as a form of freedom. And now kids are getting their licenses later and later, more of a "well I guess I have to" as opposed to "I can't wait!". Part of it was attributed to the emergence of online social media. Kids no longer feel as compelled to go to a friend's place since so much happens online. But naturally, as this progresses, there's less and less interest in cars in general, and more so now than ever they're seen as an appliance as needed rather than a want.

[HighlandPete]

Originally Posted by wtwo3

Very similar case here as well. I think I remember there being an article/study once about how getting a driver's license was once a thing of pride and excitement, something to celebrate and look forward to as a form of freedom. And now kids are getting their licenses later and later, more of a "well I guess I have to" as opposed to "I can't wait!". Part of it was attributed to the emergence of online social media. Kids no longer feel as compelled to go to a friend's place since so much happens online. But naturally, as this progresses, there's less and less interest in cars in general, and more so now than ever they're seen as an appliance as needed rather than a want.

Plus the idea of the "open road" doesn't apply now, in the same way it did years ago.

Here in the UK it is speed limits, average speed cameras, traffic congestion, plus the cost of motoring. All having an impact on the view of motoring and affecting car choice.

We have a 70mph speed limit, 60mph on single carriage ways, and lots more restriction being added. Many of our trunk roads have traffic flows of less than 50mph.

Most cars are reasonable to travel in, up to those limits. Driving dynamics is not high on most users priorities. Light steering, being an example of what is wanted these days.

As to design and style, that gets more complex. Some folks just want the more unusual, just to be a bit different. One of my close friends has made some pretty unusual car choices over the years. Cars like the Ford Ka, the Fiat Multipla, a couple of Fiat Pandas. Strange thing, the Multipla is one of the most practical and versatile vehicles I've ever been passenger in.

He had a 3-series for a while, but one of the shortest ownerships before he went back to the unusual, a Rover 75.

As to car designs and styles, I remember when the 'new' BMW X5 raised eyebrows, putting BMW outside the expected box. Someone has to push the boundaries, offer something different, "some win, some lose".

[M_Six]

I was in the "joy of driving" category for a good part of my life. Especially when I lived in Germany in the mid-late 80's. Even more recently, when I worked 55 miles away from home, I had a Z4 that I drove hard. But once I got a job less than 3 miles from home, things changed. The roads near us are almost all straight N-S or E-W. Boring as hell and mostly oil and gravel. The Z4 just wasn't as much fun to drive and juggling 3 cars in a 2 car garage sucked. I traded in the Z4 and the X5 for an almost new C300, which was nice enough but not really sporty. After a few years I traded that in for my current GLC300 because I missed having an SUV. Now comfort and convenience is more important to me than performance.

My late brother used to say that everyone has a "happy speed." It's the speed at which you feel comfortable driving. It fits the situation as far as you're concerned. My happy speed used to be in the 80MPH range on highways, especially around here where traffic is light. The speed limit here is 70 on the highways and pretty much 55 everywhere else unless you're in town. These days 70-75 is my happy speed on the highway, so I'm usually in the right lane while cars are zipping by in the left.

My focus on cars now is more technology based. I want something that is versatile, efficient, comfortable, hi-tech, dependable, and at least somewhat decent looking. It needs to be able to get out of its own way, but outright performance is not high on the list.

[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by M_Six

I was in the "joy of driving" category for a good part of my life. Especially when I lived in Germany in the mid-late 80's. Even more recently, when I worked 55 miles away from home, I had a Z4 that I drove hard. But once I got a job less than 3 miles from home, things changed. The roads near us are almost all straight N-S or E-W. Boring as hell and mostly oil and gravel. The Z4 just wasn't as much fun to drive and juggling 3 cars in a 2 car garage sucked. I traded in the Z4 and the X5 for an almost new C300, which was nice enough but not really sporty. After a few years I traded that in for my current GLC300 because I missed having an SUV. Now comfort and convenience is more important to me than performance.

My late brother used to say that everyone has a "happy speed." It's the speed at which you feel comfortable driving. It fits the situation as far as you're concerned. My happy speed used to be in the 80MPH range on highways, especially around here where traffic is light. The speed limit here is 70 on the highways and pretty much 55 everywhere else unless you're in town. These days 70-75 is my happy speed on the highway, so I'm usually in the right lane while cars are zipping by in the left.

My focus on cars now is more technology based. I want something that is versatile, efficient, comfortable, hi-tech, dependable, and at least somewhat decent looking. It needs to be able to get out of its own way, but outright performance is not high on the list.

I've followed sort of a similar transition but in reverse.... weirdly on my part.

In my younger days I loved the idea of luxury and comfort. My 2000 maxima had heated leather seats and a silky smooth V6. My IS had extremely comfortable heated and cooled seats, a very smooth shifting transmission.

Now as I'm getting older, mid-late 30s with 2 kids... funny thing is I find myself prioritizing fun to drive instead. I want my next car to be a manual transmission car, and I want it to be fast and handle well.

I think what changed for me was, the amount of disposable income I have. My #1 priority when I was a young kid with little income was not having hefty repair bills. So reliability was one of the big draws of the Lexus.

Now I'm much better off financially, so I'm into leasing cars and don't really worry about reliability, and am "catching up" on all the fun I didn't have.

[Maynard]

I get wheere OP is coming from - that there are obviously so many oddball reasons people must have had to have picked those choices. I get a similar effect when I hear people talk about their car purchases - brand loyalty, some oddball single piece of advice, that the color would match house, etc. Worst is when I know them long enough to know that after 3 years of having their car in the shop for warranty fixes that would have lemon-law'd it 5 times over, they are about to trade it in on a newer version of the same thing 'because they are giving me a great deal on the trade in'. I'm also reminded of stories from a car-salesman acquantance about how they would sometimes just take a dare and try to sell some POS to the next guy who walked on the lot (and how often they were able to do so).

[E92inNC]

Originally Posted by rwheels

The French Multipla would like to have a word.

Luckily I haven't seen one here, isn't it only in Europe? I'm just happy that my eyes haven't been assaulted by this car. +1 for that Nissan convertible, though I only seen it once while passing it on the highway. Watching Top Gear/Grand Tour all these years, ugly cars are plenty and common over there, I'm glad they haven't made their way to the states

[Oreo Cat]

Cars that don’t offer performance or reliability.
I understand that not everyone wants to go fast, but a used Honda/Toyota with low miles is going to be a much smarter buy than most American or European cars.

[dreamingat30fps]

People are weird, many people may just have hand me down cars, some people don't use the internet and basically just buy used cars they see on a shady used car lot or in someones yard with a for sale sign.

What I really wonder is how the fuck these ugly ass cars came into existence to start with???!!

It's one thing for Joe or Jane Smith to end up in possession of one, but how for fucks sake does a multi million/billion/whatever dollar company with supposedly professional designers and engineers and marketing people and executives being paid millions of dollar ever approve a design like the freaking aztec?????

[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by dreamingat30fps

People are weird, many people may just have hand me down cars, some people don't use the internet and basically just buy used cars they see on a shady used car lot or in someones yard with a for sale sign.

What I really wonder is how the fuck these ugly ass cars came into existence to start with???!!

It's one thing for Joe or Jane Smith to end up in possession of one, but how for fucks sake does a multi million/billion/whatever dollar company with supposedly professional designers and engineers and marketing people and executives being paid millions of dollar ever approve a design like the freaking aztec?????

And with a used car there's at least some justification to say they went with whatever they could find in their budget.

At some point though every car was purchased new. That's the story I'm interested in.

And of course how some cars make it past the chopping block from the manufacturer, like the Aztec.. an equally fascinating topic.

[dreamingat30fps]

Originally Posted by wtwo3

And with a used car there's at least some justification to say they went with whatever they could find in their budget.

At some point though every car was purchased new. That's the story I'm interested in.

And of course how some cars make it past the chopping block from the manufacturer, like the Aztec.. an equally fascinating topic.

Well for a loooooong time IMO most American cars were either bland or ugly. Add to that the fact that many people are loyal to certain brands. Let's say you are a Pontiac guy, your daddy always bought Pontiacs and your grandaddy always bought Pontiac and you buy Pontiacs. However you now want an SUV.... welcome to the aztec owners club.

Some of the cars posted here I think are more marketing gimmick than truly ugly cars. That murano for instance is not inherently THAT ugly. The standard murano is not THAT ugly... but I can see where some marketing genius decided throw a convertible top on that bitch and now you get the convertible market AND the suv market... and it worked... for like 3 people.

Others like those boxy ugly scions and nissans I think are just trying to be hip and "cool". Mostly bought by younger people who want something different and "edgy" or whatever.

That's my guess.

[3.0L]

Smoking weed, I guess:

[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by 3.0L

Smoking weed, I guess:

Yikes.... this just makes me uncomfortable

[3798j]

But,but,but...Edsels had the neatest dashes and steering wheels...l

[tranquility]

Originally Posted by 3798j

But,but,but...Edsels had the neatest dashes and steering wheels...l

So that's where Pagani gets his ideas

[shoei]

Originally Posted by tranquility

So that's where Pagani gets his ideas

At quick glance, it really did look like pagani interior lol

I think that's why I always preferred the stylings of koenigsegg vs pagani. The steam punk retro thing doesn't work for me in the interior of my car. It just seems so… busy? It's gorgeous but distracting and "noisy".