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.


Saturday, October 22, 2011

Fisker Karma

I don't have anything against the Fisker Karma.  Ignoring the fact that it gets mediocre mileage for an "electric" car, and that it weighs almost as much as an Escalade. It's a beautiful sedan.  However, it felt a bit familiar when I first saw it.  Only when leafing through an old magazine did I realize why - it shares some lines with the 1991 Chrysler 300 Concept car, that was effectively a Chrysler branded 4 door Dodge Viper.



You'll note in the above paragraph I stated that it's a beautiful sedan.   There's a reason I clarified.  The Fisker Karma Surf concept that was unveiled at the 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show wasn't exactly a home run.  The sleek lines of the sedan don't exactly translate to wagon form all that well.  The tapered cabin ends in a very narrow backlight that ends up looking squished, as do the windows aft of the rear doors.  This is all capped off with the world's most unnecessarily over-styled hatchback.  I cleaned it up a bit in Photoshop below - it's surprising how much better it looks.



Civic Fugliness Crosses the Ocean


I was a huge fan of the last generation European Civic. It was odd, but in a funky spaceship kind of way. Like it was sent from the future. The 2012 European Honda Civic takes a page from the 2012 North American Honda Civic, in that it's an evolution of the last generation more than a complete reboot. Although in my eyes, it's a bit of a de-evolution.

Where the previous generation was a sleek little space pod, the new one looks like it melted a bit on re-entry. The chiseled lines are now smoother and more organic, but unfortunately now it looks more like a crouching frog than something from outer space.  The taillights have also move vertically, which makes it look a bit tall and narrow when viewed from the rear.  It's almost as if Honda took the worst part of the CRZ and the Hyundai Veloster and called it a day...


Sunday, August 28, 2011

Das Blotto

What is it with people thinking their VWs look even remotely like BMWs?  PS: Nice hubcaps.

How not to modify your new Camaro...

Thought I would combine these two Camaro atrocities in one post.  Above is what happens when you take a car that's already retro too far into the past.  It ends up kind of looking like Burt Reynolds - the face looks kinda the same as it did 45 years ago, but every looks a sleek and just plain not right.

Below is evidence that the "Donk" look is alive and well, now brutalizing new cars and not just 25 year old Chevrolet Impalas and Buick Regals.  It still baffles me how people think this looks good.  Most likely cramming as many inches as they can into the wheel wells to make up for the inches that are lacking in certain parts of the anatomy.


Tiburong

An eye-searingly fluorescent Hyundai Tiburon that thinks it's a Ford Escort rally car.

Not Holden Back

My only guess is that this poor Holden Ute is possibly a prop from a modern-era Mad Max film.  Guessing by the rims and the abundant chrome, it was possibly driven by a pimp.

Hot Rod Tracker

What do you get when you combine a Geo Tracker with a hot rod?  Something you shouldn't have combined.

Aston Martin V12 Zagato

I don't think the Aston Martin V12 Zagato is fugly, or even ugly.  But it does look a bit chubby for an Aston - less sleek and more bulbous.  I suppose it's kind of attractive the way a plus size model is, when compared to non-plus size models.

But the most unsettling thing about the design is how similar it looks to a Nissan GTR in the side view.  Sure, the rearmost angle of the side windows goes the opposite direction, but the air intake and blacked out "helmet visor" appearance of the A-pillar bear more than a passing resemblance.

Monday, July 25, 2011

Unbalanced


How exactly does one balance these wheels? The only wheels that should look like this belong inside a Citroën.

Supra Fugly

I apologize for the horrible quality, but this was snagged from the road.  Basically a late '80's Toyota Supra, modified to include a body kit with a gigantic Toyota emblem grille and - confusingly - Nissan 350Z headlights.  I had to do a double take just to understand what I was looking it.  You would think that with the number of people that graft Toyota Celica headlights onto their abominations, that that would be the go-to headlight for ruining a Toyota.  Especially if you're faithful enough to the brand to turn the entire front end of the car into a giant Toyota logo.