These cars are difficult to look at. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the most hideous automobiles in the history of the industry.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00 It's just such a sad car.
00:02 Look at that.
00:03 It's just so sad.
00:05 Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most hideous automobiles in the history of the industry.
00:11 Seeing as most Cube owners will spend their time sitting in it rather than looking at it, we'll ease ourselves in gently.
00:17 Number 20. BMW Isetta
00:21 Step inside. Let us tell you the tale of one of the strangest little cars ever made, and perhaps one of the scariest we've driven.
00:29 On one hand, we totally get it. The idea of microcars is cute, right?
00:33 The BMW Isetta was initially born from the Italian Iso Spa firm, which specialized in refrigerators, scooters, and tiny trucks.
00:41 This sort of tracks, as the Isetta is also, shall we say, compact.
00:45 But the bumper car design of the Isetta feels like an eyesore, and is unsafe to boot.
00:49 I keep instinctively reaching for a seatbelt that isn't there.
00:52 No, there's no safety at all.
00:54 You know what?
00:55 I'll be honest, James, I'm pretty concerned right now.
00:57 When the BMW took over, it didn't get any prettier.
01:00 Yet, these single-cylinder, single-door vehicles were actually popular in their day, primarily due to their fuel economy.
01:06 Still, this doesn't change much about their squished appearance, making the side benefit one that arrives armed with a side order of ugly.
01:13 Number 19. The 1976 Rolls-Royce Camargue
01:17 Automobile journalists have historically held mixed opinions when it came to the Camargue line from Rolls-Royce.
01:22 It was also at number 38 in my friend Richard Porter's book, "Crap Cars," in 2005.
01:30 Now, however, though, I think it's perhaps coming back.
01:33 Some see the car as one of the worst to ever come off the assembly line,
01:36 while the Camargue's appearance has been both defended and rejected over the years.
01:40 For the most part, however, the Camargue has been lambasted for its ugly front and back ends.
01:45 The 1976 model in particular looks like a Frankenstein's monster of small compact in the back,
01:50 and perceived luxury in the front.
01:52 The headlights and grille make this Camargue a bad dream best left forgotten.
01:56 What I would describe as a Marmite car. You either like it or you don't like it at all.
02:02 A lot of people fall into the latter category.
02:04 Number 18. 1970 Marcos Mantis
02:07 The Marcos Engineering Company from Britain no longer exists, and it's easy to see why, with car brands like the Marcos Mantis.
02:14 I've driven one of your cars, and it was the most blinding afternoon it really was. I'm surprised I managed to get in one piece.
02:20 Production of the Mantis began in the late 60s, and it would take some serious rebranding in the 90s in order to bring the model back to life.
02:27 That's because the 1970 iteration was somewhat infamous for its hideous appearance and lack of popularity.
02:32 In fact, Marcos was actually offering the Mantis in component form in early 1971,
02:37 effectively putting the kibosh on this experiment and heading back to the drawing board.
02:41 So we're featuring today a 1971 Marcos.
02:45 To my eye, this is one of the prettiest, the most unusual sports cars of all time.
02:50 Number 17. 1976 Aston Martin Lagonda
02:54 1976 it arrived, and it's then, weirdly, it's series two.
02:59 It's a pretty telling fact that the esteemed Aston Martin Corporation only produced 645 of the Lagonda between 1974 and 1990.
03:07 Aston Martin is largely associated with cutting-edge James Bond cars, not junky, ugly mistakes.
03:13 In the Lagonda's defense, the interior does its best to impress with a space-age design that's very indicative of the era.
03:19 However, the lines of this thing are all wrong, the hood and headlights disconcerningly narrow,
03:24 and the vibe as a whole just unworthy of the name Aston Martin.
03:27 We wouldn't even wish this car on a Bond villain.
03:29 I've heard enough. Let him finish.
03:31 If you have no objection, I'll take my money now.
03:35 What's the matter, Solo? Too big for you to handle?
03:38 Number 16. Sin Model S1
03:41 You'd be forgiven for not being aware of the Sin Cars company from Bulgaria.
03:44 The car is not made by an established brand or developed by one of the traditional car-making countries.
03:50 Instead, the car has its roots in Bulgaria.
03:54 The private company was founded by Razin Deskolov in 2012,
03:58 and initially built their brand around ultra-fast supercars, such as the Model S1.
04:02 On the one hand, we totally understand the "Build for Speed" concept around its light design,
04:06 as well as the options for customizable components.
04:09 That said, the Sin Model S1 looks like the result of a "Create a Car" video game mod got horribly wrong.
04:15 Like, let your little brother or sister play with the controls level wrong.
04:18 Sin Cars may be fast, but they're certainly not easy on the eyes.
04:22 Niko, who's in my spot?
04:23 Ugly little car.
04:24 Crap, crap, crap. What do we do?
04:26 Number 15. Plymouth Prowler
04:28 The car we're featuring today, 1999 Plymouth Prowler.
04:32 I'm smiling because this is a car I think could have been great.
04:36 Don't get us wrong. We totally appreciate retro,
04:39 as well as the sentiment of Daimler Chrysler to turn back the clock with the design of their Plymouth Prowler.
04:44 Yet the end results just don't justify even the best of intentions,
04:47 since the Plymouth Prowler doesn't really do justice to the old-school hot rods it's attempting to mimic.
04:52 The bumpers appear misplaced,
04:54 and the wheel design makes the Plymouth Prowler feel more like a Hot Wheels experiment come to life
04:58 than a proper sort of retro revival.
05:00 This one was a nice try, but no dice.
05:02 Almost every magazine review you read just beat it up for not being faster than a Mustang or Corvette or something.
05:12 Number 14. Nissan S-Cargo
05:14 There is, well, a lot going on with the design of the Nissan S-Cargo.
05:19 Getting the obvious out of the way, yes,
05:21 the name is absolutely meant to sound like the food, "S-Cargo."
05:24 It looks like a snail, and the French word for snail is "S-Cargo."
05:29 I'm serious.
05:30 Beyond this, however, the S-Cargo looks more like something that would be hanging in a museum than running on the road.
05:35 The boxy design is tall and unwieldy, with weird windows,
05:39 including ones that look like a ship's porthole, and a disastrous back end.
05:42 Let's face it, nothing short of a miracle would allow anybody to look cool in a Nissan S-Cargo.
05:47 I'm 6'3", this is a ruler, I'm going to put it upright on my head, and it still doesn't touch the roof!
05:55 Number 13. Volkswagen Type 181
05:58 This is a 1974 Volkswagen thing.
06:01 It's slow, it's funny-looking, it has no amenities, and it has absolutely no safety equipment of any kind.
06:09 A Volkswagen Type 181 was known by a number of names over the years,
06:13 following its initial production of the West German Army.
06:16 Call it a courier wagon, a trekker, a safari, or perhaps, tellingly, the Thing,
06:21 a Type 181 by any other name would still be ugly.
06:24 This piece-metal vehicle could literally be taken apart,
06:27 featuring removable doors and roof and a windshield that could be folded flat,
06:31 like some sort of Looney Tunes cartoon.
06:33 That said, the Type 181 branded cars are reliable and possess good fuel economy,
06:38 but struggle to escape their image of being the sort of thing you'd see scooting around in an old war movie.
06:42 It looks like the kind of military vehicle you'd get if you gave a child a pencil and a piece of paper in 20 minutes.
06:48 Number 12. The 1957 Aurora
06:50 The conception and production of the 1957 Aurora feels like one of those stories that defy description.
06:56 The car was only produced for a year, and was the brainchild of a Catholic priest named Father Alfred A. Juliano.
07:02 The history behind the Aurora was that it was built over a period of time by a priest in Hartford, Connecticut.
07:09 The Aurora was developed by Juliano, who possessed knowledge of both art and auto manufacturing, with safety on his mind.
07:15 The car succeeded in this aim as well, existing as a well-made car with the long haul in mind
07:20 when it came to a safe and reliable driving experience.
07:23 It achieved this, however, at the expense of style,
07:25 with the Aurora becoming a bulbous and bloated example of space-age design gone horribly wrong.
07:30 It's 7'6" wide and 20' long, and yet he was trying to make the safest car in the world.
07:37 And it's just bizarre, it's almost a contradiction.
07:40 Number 11. City Car
07:42 You want a car that uses as little gas as possible, or ideally, no gas at all.
07:47 What's the solution? This? Oh, come on, no one's that desperate.
07:51 Hey, think that electric vehicles are just a modern-day invention? Think again.
07:55 Because the Spring Vanguard Company actually tried taking this route way back in 1974.
08:00 The City Car enjoyed production for about three years, and served as an inspiration for EVs of the future,
08:05 including the Buddy Cars over in Norway.
08:07 Don't think for a second that this goodwill makes the City Car, or the Buddy if we're being honest,
08:12 look stylish or cool, however, because this thing looks more like a doorstop.
08:16 The sliding windows are weird, the slanting lines unattractive,
08:19 and the headlights look small, cold, and dead.
08:22 We understand there was a fuel shortage back in the '70s, but come on!
08:26 So that's the City Car, a hilarious little electric cheese wedge from the '70s.
08:30 Number 10. AMC Gremlin
08:32 We're not quite sure who thought it was a good idea to name this car a Gremlin, but you know what?
08:37 It's pretty damn accurate. The two-door subcompact is about as beautiful as its namesake.
08:41 In production from 1970 to 1978, the Gremlin featured a similar body to the AMC Hornet,
08:47 but it was shortened, and it boasted, if you can call it that, a nearly vertical hatchback tail.
08:52 The Gremlin was designed to compete with fuel-efficient European and Japanese offerings,
08:56 but it failed to live up to those global standards.
08:58 With cars like the Gremlin, it's no surprise AMC couldn't hang in with the big auto manufacturers.
09:03 It's a good quality American-made car for the period. It's just not the sexiest thing ever.
09:08 Number 9. Tata Magic Iris
09:11 If only they'd spent as much time on the design as they did on the name.
09:15 While the car manufacturer based out of India didn't exactly strike gold with the Tata Nano,
09:19 its real creme de la ca is the Magic Iris.
09:22 Entering production in 2010 and still in production as of 2024,
09:25 this three-door, four-to-five-seater microvan looks like a toy kindergartners would run around playing with,
09:31 not a car you'd actually drive. But it does have an interesting purpose.
09:34 Within the cramped streets of Indian cities, the tiny Magic Iris is designed to compete with auto rickshaws.
09:39 It's... a niche market.
09:41 The new Magic Iris from Tata Motors. The international ride for the new India.
09:48 Number 8. Chrysler PT Cruiser
09:52 It's hard to define exactly what kind of car the PT Cruiser really is.
09:56 In some ways, it resembles your standard four-door car, while in other ways, it looks like an SUV.
10:01 If you look at it just right, you may also think it looks like the Monopoly car,
10:05 or at least a malformed one. A "muh-blah-bly" car, if you will.
10:09 "You, me, Dwight, are going to jump in my PT Cruiser. We are going to crush this sale!"
10:14 It was in a category all its own, but fortunately, it was one that didn't stick around.
10:18 The four-door hatchback was produced for 10 years, halting in 2010,
10:22 and actually had surprisingly decent sales throughout its run.
10:25 But of course, the benefit to driving a PT Cruiser is it's one less PT Cruiser you have to look at on the road.
10:30 "But he is allowed to festoon the parking space outside his house with a hideous Chrysler PT Cruiser."
10:37 Number 7. Suzuki X90
10:40 So many of the cars on this list just don't make any sense,
10:43 and we're likely the products of designers trying to create the next big thing.
10:46 The Suzuki X90 has to be an example of that, because there's no other explanation for its existence.
10:51 Between 1995 and 1997, Suzuki produced this fusion of a car, truck, and despair.
10:58 With a truck-like nose, the profile of a Fisher-Price pedal car, and the abbreviated rear end of an SUV,
11:04 the X90 failed to carve out a desirable identity.
11:07 We would give them credit for trying, but it's not clear that they actually were.
11:10 Number 6. Pontiac Transport
11:13 The Pontiac Transport has the best nickname on this list by far, the Dustbuster.
11:17 The similarities go deeper than just a nickname though, because like a Dustbuster, this confused attempt at a minivan sucks.
11:24 When the Transport was introduced as a concept back in 1986, it received rave reviews for its futuristic look and features.
11:31 It had the dream car appearance and feel so many consumers desired, so the Transport was given approval for production.
11:37 Fast forward to 1989, when the 1990 model was officially released, and the Transport had lost all the features consumers craved,
11:44 instead boasting nothing new but an ugly design.
11:46 ♫ We build excitement transport ♫
11:49 Number 5. Nissan Juke
11:51 Nissan has a lot of attractive, eye-pleasing cars. The Juke is not one of them.
11:55 Before we get into the model, let's just stick on that name.
11:58 When you hear the word "Juke", you think football, you think shifting and bypassing a defender, you think agility.
12:04 Now, let's look at the car. It's big, bulky, and has wide, protruding wheel arches.
12:08 It also claims a high waistline, leaving its side windows small and narrow.
12:13 Meanwhile, the front end has a bunch of what can only be called "random, obtrusive lights".
12:18 Bottom line, there's nothing agile or sleek about the Juke.
12:21 Number 4. Reliant Robin MK1
12:24 The Robin famously has three, rather than four wheels.
12:27 Beyond this, there is little in the way of visual excitement to behold here.
12:31 Even as far back as the 1970s, when the MK1 was first produced, the automotive world was seeing regular gains in steering technology.
12:38 So we're not quite sure why three wheels seemed like an attractive investment, but Reliant went for it.
12:43 Perhaps more surprisingly, the public went for it.
12:45 The Robin sold well, though that was likely the result of its fuel efficiency and an odd reduced tax and licensing loophole,
12:51 which are all appealing features in a fuel-short, cash-strapped UK.
12:54 Number 3. Pontiac Aztek
12:57 Maybe you don't got... er, Pontiac.
12:59 From 2001 to 2005, Pontiac sold this absolute hunk of an implosion of a mid-sized crossover,
13:05 billing it as a utility vehicle for the modern family.
13:07 When your vehicle's big features are a removable cooler, grocery compartments, a tent, and cup holders,
13:13 you know you've gone wrong. And those were on the interior.
13:16 The real problems were on the exterior, where the car was too bulky, had strange plastic cladding,
13:21 narrow windows, and a crazy front end.
13:23 Still, it did eventually earn a welcome place in pop culture,
13:26 but only thanks to meth chef Walter White, and only after the Aztek left the market.
13:30 "It's just so sad."
13:32 "It's a sign that your life has gone terribly, terribly wrong."
13:35 "Yeah. Aww."
13:37 Number 2. Fiat Multipla
13:40 Everyone's bound to make a mistake every once in a while,
13:42 and you could make a fairly strong argument that Italian car manufacturer Fiat
13:46 is among the best when it comes to producing sleek, stylish cars.
13:49 Still, they couldn't escape botching at least one model, the Multipla.
13:52 Where to even begin? The Multipla is a clunky, misshapen mess.
13:57 Its front end looks like the bill of a duck, and the car boasts way too many lights to make sense.
14:01 The design is bulky in every area, except in the back, where there's very little trunk room.
14:06 We could use more words to describe the Multipla,
14:08 but this is definitely one of those "a picture says a thousand words" scenarios.
14:12 Before we continue, be sure to subscribe to our channel and ring the bell to get notified about our latest videos.
14:18 You have the option to be notified for occasional videos or all of them.
14:22 If you're on your phone, make sure you go into your settings and switch on notifications.
14:27 Number 1. Nissan Cube
14:30 Nissan strikes out again!
14:32 Almost universally considered the worst car of all time,
14:35 the Cube appears exactly as its name suggests.
14:38 Sold from 2009 to 2014 in the world at large,
14:41 the Cube we've come to know and, well, know,
14:44 was actually their third attempt, with the first two being sold in Japan only.
14:48 Oddly, however, while the Cube is, as the name implies, boxy,
14:52 its designers did attempt to inject some style.
14:54 Notably, it claims an asymmetric wrap-around rear window.
14:57 While that does break up the design a bit,
14:59 it doesn't do much to overcome the whole "it's a box" vibe
15:02 and really only amplifies the "ugh" factor.
15:05 If you like defending any of these cars, ever owned one?
15:07 Do you currently own one?
15:09 Let us know in the comments.
15:10 "It was on the road for a year, went to all the autoramas and motoramas.
15:14 Um, it never took an order, and the company went bankrupt,
15:17 and, um, the FBI were supposedly called in on a case of fraud."
15:21 Did you enjoy this video?
15:23 Check out these other clips from WatchMojo,
15:25 and be sure to subscribe and ring the bell to be notified about our latest videos.
15:29 [music]