A blog devoted to RANTS ON AUTOMOTIVE DESIGN, car reviews, and - above all - fugly autos. whether looking for vehicular plagiarism or rides of extreme tastelessness, you've come to the right place.


Friday, June 25, 2010

Gumpert Apollo



Like the Mosler Consulier, the Gumpert Apollo is a sports car that abandoned good looks in favour of pure functionality. Looking a bit like a Bugatti Veyron someone built in their garage, the 650+hp Apollo can reach 100km/h almost as fast, at an amazing 2.9 seconds. Still fugly though, so here she be.

Mosler Consulier / Raptor



Including both models in this post as their essentially the same car. The Mosler Consulier was a sports car built by Warren Mosler that was highly successful in racing in the early 90's, powered by a 2.2L Chrysler engine. As you can probably tell, it's engineering took preference over the styling. It's taillights come from the Ford truck parts bin, for example.



The Raptor was the final evolution of this body style, again evolving not for looks but for speed - adopting an extremely awkward V-shaped windshield to help cut the wind (but unfortunately did not aid in visibility).

As time went on Mosler decided they would have to make their cars more attractive in order to gain acceptance, and Warren Mosler hired a designer. The result is the MT900S/R, instantly turning the capable ugly duck into a swan.

Thursday, June 24, 2010

It’s not Smart to be Noble



It doesn’t take a genius to tell that 95% of the design of the Shuanghuan Noble is based on that of the Smart ForTwo. Unlike the Smart ForTwo, it has seating for four – although it’s uncertain how comfortable the rearmost passengers will be. It’s also important to note that the ForTwo has an integrated safety cell. Given some recent Chinese cars propensity to have crash structure with the strength of a wet cardboard box, the Smart ForTwo may be the safer choice, literally and figuratively.

Acura CL Headlights and their Legacy of Fug


Back in the late 90’s, there was a disturbing automotive trend involving pimping out Acura Intergras and slapping on Acura CL headlights. The resulting creation was both horrifying and nauseating. Strangely, it’s rather difficult to find pictures of these mythical beasts on the internet. It’s possible that owners had them destroyed as their owners came to their senses. The above photo I believe is not an Integra but a Mitsubishi Eclipse (with a bonus pink fuzz interior treatment).



*EDIT* - Found a good pic of an Integra with the CL headlight conversion, complete with Z3 louvers on the fenders as an added bonus.

Mustupra



This horrifying creation is the result of the movies “Fast and the Furious” and "Gone in 60 Seconds" being transported simultaneously in the Telepods from "The Fly". Holy movie references, Batman!

PS: I think the description might be to vague - it's a Toyota Supra dressed up like the Eleanor GT500.

PacManly Bits




Remember the Corbin Swallows that scooted around all phallic looking in Austin Powers' Goldmember? They ain’t got nothing on these Chinese runabouts. Looking like the leftovers from PacMan’s castration, my favourite is the double bubble 4 seater I affectionately call “The Nutsack”. I'm guessing these are some sort of concept car - they're made by the Chinese company Tanghua.

Attack of the Clones: 2011 Honda Accord


Honda just today released pictures of it's updated Accord, whose current iteration isn't quite fugly - but definitely was not as pretty as previous generations. Focusing on the sedan here as it's the biggest offender. I wouldn't say the facelift exactly helps matters. Up a new grille is the biggest news - kind of similar to that on the Crosstour, but 40% the size. Guess it doesn't look too bad, but then I find myself constantly comparing it to the Crosstour.


However out back they seemed to glue on this gaudy taillight on the truck and call it a day. Worse yet, the looks is shockingly similar to everyone's favourite BMW.


Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Bass Ackwards


You may be thinking, "so what exactly is wrong with this car?"

Well, besides looking like a precursor to the the Pacer...

It's apparently been build backwards. The car you see here is the 1959 Renault Studio 900, and about the only details I can ascertain is that it was a concept or design experiment. Even 50 years ago Renault was paving the way for it's future atrocities.

HPP Daytona Challenger is Superlame


This is wrong on so many levels, the main one being that it's a Challenger. Also, the black headlight surrounds were found on the Superbird, which wasn't a Dodge.

Dodge Challenged


Take one Dodge Challenger, add one scoop of Vista Cruiser, a dash of Superbird, and voila!