Ugliest of the Ugly… what’s yours?

[JBryant]

I drove a series of ugly cars over the years:
1. My first was a '79 El Camino, it broke down 3 times in the first two months so we sold that
2. I got a 76 Chevy like that one but mine was school bus yellow. My dad told me years later that he bought that one because he wanted everyone to see me coming so they would move out of the way.
3. Then I had the Rangers brother the Mazda B-Series Pickup that I got for graduation
4. My dad needed a truck for work as his work truck broke down, I then drove the family mini van for a year, a 97 Aerostar in this weird red color
5. I traded the Aerostar in for a 2001 Chevy Cavalier which I drove for 9 years, 5 of which without air conditioning, in Louisiana, the summers were miserable but I didn't have the $2000 it would cost to fix it.
6. I instead saved that money up and bought my first new car that was purchased by me, a 2011 Nissan Versa SL HB , I loved my little car and put nearly 200k miles over the nearly 12 years I owned it.
7. Now I have my coolest vehicle, the 2022 Ford Maverick XLT AWD in Alto Blue, I'm very happy with my purchase and this is the first vehicle I've owned that is exactly what I wanted. I purchased the versa but it was more the best car I could get with the little money I had.

Fantastic vehicle journey. I grew into up in Louisiana and lived all over — north, south, east and west. Where you located?

Sponsored

 

[JimParker256]

Neither was mine, but in the family...

1942 Plymouth Sedan in "Robin's Egg Blue" that my dad was so proud to own as his "daily driver." (This was in 1968, by the way.) It had manual wipers and a 6" hole in the floorboard precisely positioned so that the passenger would get severely wet if he ran through a puddle. Only car we ever owned that Mom rode in the back seat...

The car in the picture has been restored, I believe, and is MUCH better looking than ours ever was. You have to imagine the light stippling of rust-color peeking through the quite faded blue paint...

The other "ughmobile" we owned was an early '60s Renault Dauphine our family drove when we first arrived in Brazil. Imagine a family of six in that little bitty thing! Ours didn't have any hubcaps or the whitewall tires, and was a considerably uglier shade of brown than the one in the picture. Dad usually referred to it as "baby-diaper brown..." Intended to compete head-to-head with the VW Beetle, it had rear engine, rear-wheel drive with a 3-speed manual, and a whopping 27 hp! 0-60 mph was 37 seconds. Top speed was supposed to be 68 mph (110 kph), but ours never was able to get anywhere near that speed... Maybe 50 mph, tops!

They made a "sporting" version of the Dauphine called the "Gordini" that would have been WAY better. All of us kids lusted after that "rocket" car... It had the same "gorgeous" body, but it came with 33% more power (a mind-blowing 36 hp!) and a 4-speed transmission (and disk brakes!) and only took 30 seconds to go from 0-60. No one we knew was rich enough to own one, however..

 

[Rojo]

Fantastic vehicle journey. I grew into up in Louisiana and lived all over — north, south, east and west. Where you located?

Shreveport/Bossier Area

 

[JBryant]

Neither was mine, but in the family...

1942 Plymouth Sedan in "Robin's Egg Blue" that my dad was so proud to own as his "daily driver." (This was in 1968, by the way.) It had manual wipers and a 6" hole in the floorboard precisely positioned so that the passenger would get severely wet if he ran through a puddle. Only car we ever owned that Mom rode in the back seat...

The car in the picture has been restored, I believe, and is MUCH better looking than ours ever was. You have to imagine the light stippling of rust-color peeking through the quite faded blue paint...

The other "ughmobile" we owned was an early '60s Renault Dauphine our family drove when we first arrived in Brazil. Imagine a family of six in that little bitty thing! Ours didn't have any hubcaps or the whitewall tires, and was a considerably uglier shade of brown than the one in the picture. Dad usually referred to it as "baby-diaper brown..." Intended to compete head-to-head with the VW Beetle, it had rear engine, rear-wheel drive with a 3-speed manual, and a whopping 27 hp! 0-60 mph was 37 seconds. Top speed was supposed to be 68 mph (110 kph), but ours never was able to get anywhere near that speed... Maybe 50 mph, tops!

They made a "sporting" version of the Dauphine called the "Gordini" that would have been WAY better. All of us kids lusted after that "rocket" car... It had the same "gorgeous" body, but it came with 33% more power (a mind-blowing 36 hp!) and a 4-speed transmission (and disk brakes!) and only took 30 seconds to go from 0-60. No one we knew was rich enough to own one, however..

Man, forgot about the Renault. Had friends with one when a kid. Showing your age LOL.

 

[Thoron99]

1978 Pinto-stang (Mustang ll) in high school. Ugly car to start plus was rusted out in spots, and had a bad muffler.

 

[RobCannaday]

77 b210

 

[TGTBTU]

Pontiac Aztek - ugly from every possible angle.

 

[Car Nut]

Honda Element, it was a great vehicle but just not much to look at.

Though, supposedly a very practical and reliable vehicle, despite not great fuel economy.

 

[JBryant]

Pontiac Aztek - ugly from every possible angle.

Most of the congregation says Amen to that.

 

[Car Nut]

I had a '79 Honda Civic similar to this one. I bought it cheap from a older gentleman who chain smoked cigars. I thought the interior was beige until I scrubbed it down with PineSol...

Check and see what they are going for on BringaTrailer now...amazing !

 

[rlhdweman]

Pinto & AMC's are popular responses, if you can find one now they are going for 8K or more, who would have thought that would ever happen.

 

[IvyMike1952]

I too was afflicted with the Ford Tempo. A 1984 Tempo L. Followed by a 1991 Cavalier a decade later. Awful, awful cars...

 

[1fifty]

winner.
close thread.

 

[MM Mav]

I too was afflicted with the Ford Tempo. A 1984 Tempo L. Followed by a 1991 Cavalier a decade later. Awful, awful cars...

I had a 96 Cavalier as my first brand new, ordered exactly as I wanted, vehicle. I loved that car, but after all the problems with my previous Tempo, I was afraid to keep it beyond the 3 yr/36k warranty.

 

[breal]

Upon review, I'm changing my choice from '79 Civic to '79 Datsun B210 hatchback.
It was under-powered, it understeered, and felt very frail - a horrible experience.

Sponsored