Gh-Gh-Gh-Ghia!

Chrysler and Ghia's show car partnership of the 50's produced some of the more elegant designs of the 50's. The US automotive world was just beginning to see these flights of fancy, as previous to Buick's Y-Job of 1938, no one really made them. However, because the stylists were new to this unrestrained artwork, the end products were usually extreme works of automotive fantasy bordering on garish, with lots of chrome, flares and fins.

The scene in Europe at the time, however, was much different. Independant coachbuilding firms like Bertone, Pinin Farina, Ghia, and Figoni & Falaschi were taking cars ranging from the pedestrian to the extremely expensive and transforming them into works of art, and had been doing so for a while. These firms arguably pushed automotive styling into the future, with a certain elegance and often times a lack of flourish usually absent on American cars of the same period.

1954 Chrysler Ghia Special GS-1

Chysler witnessed this first hand when invited by Fiat to Italy to give American insight to aid in their volume manufacturing techniques. Chrysler president K.T. Kellar was inspired, and set to work producting the series of show cars featured in this post.

The outcome was a bunch of remarkable similar concept cars, each refining the lines and design themes of the last. Their signature organic curves, the rise in the shoulderline over the rear wheels, inset headlights and narrower, "egg crate" style grille make for instantly recognizable cars. They were popular enough that they even sold some in production guise (the images included in this post are both production cars).

Built by Carrozzeria Ghia in Italy, many assume that they were designed by Ghia was well, given their restrained European looks. However, they were the product of Virgil Exner, then a fledgling automotive desinger at Chrysler. Somewhat ironically I suppose, as he was resposible for the fantastic fins of the "Forward Look" Chryslers of the late 50's, and nearer the end of his career he was producing some rather strange an ungainly designs that have been featured here before.

Which brings me to the ugly part of the story - this car.

Uh oh - the front is melting.

Although I haven't found much info on this car, it appears to be a one off production car from 1954, designed by Virgil Exner in the vein of the rest of the Chrysler Ghia coupes of the period. All the cues mentioned above are in place, except for one noticable difference - the headlights. Where the other cars have single round headlights placed slightly inboard of the fenders, this car has inset quad headlight place so low on the front end they look like an early experiment for fog lights. The featureless expanse of bulging sheet metal above makes the car look ungainly, even larger than it already is, and to be honest a little sad and defeated. What were elegant lines begin to look more like a depressed block of soap.

The sole ugly sibling in a family of supermodels. Must be rough.

Youabian Puma

“The Puma’s goal is not to be the fastest in the world, but to be the most unique...”

The Los Angeles Auto Show, 2013.  Subaru’s new WRX and the Mercedes AMG Vision Gran Turismo concept dazzle the crowds.  But something giant threatens to steal their thunder, like an angry blue hippo with a shrunken head.  Behold, the 20’ long Youabian Puma.  As your eyes wander over the convoluted, bulging body, you wonder exactly what it is.  An aquatic vehicle?  An SUV?  An abomination that should have been aborted at conception?  Yet it’s none of those things.  Well – except that last one.

What it is is a “pleasure vehicle”, according to the company.

“Conceptualized for those individuals who dare to be different than the ordinary. Those who go a step beyond achieving and dreaming the best that they can be.”

Technically, it’s a custom aluminum chassis, a pile of frightening fibreglass, a Corvette drivetrain and the interior and roof of a Volvo C70.  It took SEVEN YEARS to develop. And although the name makes some assume it’s some kind of Chinese automotive cloning disaster, it’s actually from LA – the brainchild of a plastic surgeon who’s name it bears.  A plastic surgeon whose client base is quickly shrinking since the 2013 LA Auto Show, no doubt.

But perhaps that most frightening part of all this is the price tag - $1.1M.  For what looks like a bloated whale carcass with monster truck wheels and a Volvo C70 stuck in the top.  Better start saving.

Bentley EXP 9 F(ugly)

Are those satellite dishes or fog lamps?

Behold the Bentley EXP 9 F, the awkwardly named Bentley concept that foreshadows it's upcoming SUV. Not digging the headlights, or the little mini-grilles on their inside edge either. I think it would look much better to get rid of the grilles and move the headlights inward so it looks a bit more like the Mulsanne. And replace those fog lights/running lights with something that doesn't look like a Star Wars prop.

The side and rear end are much better, but there's still a few iffy areas.  The dash to front axle length looks really short which makes it look like a FWD based crossover.  Due to that has less of that long hood look of the sedans that implies a massive engine lies beneath.  And those wide rectangular tail lights make the rear end kinda look like an 80's Range Rover - upscale but not exactly current, and at odds with the rest of the truck.

Mini Coupe Recoup

I thought I had posted this before, but I guess not. I wasn't overwhelmingly impressed by the Mini Cooper Coupe. For one I thought it should have been named the Mini Couper. But overall I thought the roof was overstylized and that otherwise stock looking rear end looked to abrupt and boxy. Below is my interpretation of a better looking version. My goal was to unclutter the roofline and change the tailights to something more unique and less tall to help visually reduce the height of the rear end. Plus I added a bit of extra scalloping between the taillights. Yeah - the taillights look a bit upset, and it has less visibility out the side windows, but you get the idea.

Through Space and Time...

Recently posting the Mohs SafariKar in a "Guess That Car" thread on Car & Driver Backfires, someone pointed out it's similarity (with the door open) to the Mini Rocketman concept - two cars featured on this site. And - amazingly - they do look remarkably similar exposing themselves. Proving that bad idea also withstand the test of time.

Mitsubishi e-compact Concept

Mentioning this car not because it’s ugly necessarily, but because it’s completely devoid of any resemblance of style. It almost looks like someone took a Ford Fiesta and removed all the interesting design cues to create one of those unbranded generic any-cars you see in advertising. Combined with a boring and forgetful name, I doubt anyone will remember this concept next week, let alone in years to come.

Alfa Romeo 4C Concept

Maybe I'm alone, but to me the new Alfa Romeo 4C Concept looks remarkably like the Lotus Evo, sans rear seating. I suppose it's mainly due to the fact that the Evora looks a little like a Ferrari in the hind quarters, and they're related to Alfas by blood.

Paging Elton John

Besides having a horrible that seems to have little to do with anything, Mini's new Rocketman concept for the 2011 Geneva Autoshow is an ugly little beast. What's more, the looks aren't even that original, resembling a shortened version of the equally ugly Citroen C-Cactus concept from 2007.

Luigi Colani Strikes Again

The 1977 Volkswagon prototype by Luigi Colani. I suppose this was the early days of aerodynamic design for everday cars (Citreon DS and Chrysler Airflow notwithstanding), so it could be considered groundbreaking, but you really have to wonder about some of the details. Is the a button in the interior that extrudes Playdo from the front grille? Why does the steering wheel look like it's going to bite me? Also, those seats look like a little too much like female anatomy for comfort.

Proton Instability

Some may think what we have here is a blatant case of plagiagism. However, Malaysian automaker Proton has a long history or dealing with both Lotus and Mitsubishi (with some of it's cars being Mitsubish derived), so both of these cars don't come as much of a surprise.

What is surprising though is what their idea of a facelift is. Where some might go to great length to hide their engineering cost-cutting roots, Proton saw it fit to simply paint sections matte black and overlay some of the clunkiest fender extension in recent memory. This concept stinks like a skunk and looks like one too. They also bring to mind the black and white cookie episode of Seinfeld, mainly because they makes me want to vomit.

For those who can't place the donor cars, the Jebal above is a warmed over Lancer Ralliart and the Lekir below is a similarly warmed over Lotus Europa (which itself is no longer in production).

There's rumors that the Europa could live on in Malaysia (not unlike the Elan did in Korea), which is good news for sports car fans. Unfortunately, compared to it's Lotus siblings, the Europa amounts to a average looking girl in a group of supermodels. I'll take what I can get though (as long as it doesn't look like this black and white disaster).

Hyundai OLV

Thank God Hyundai decided not to use the design language from this 2003 concept. With style that looks halfway between Edsel and Jeep Wrangler, it also has what appears to be the most useless cargo area ever, only useful for transporting bicycles.

Clones: Dusty Escort

The Plymouth Duster I was a show car from 1969, whose name went on to signify sporty Valiants. Basically a convertible Road Runner with all sorts of aero appendages, it's front end bares a remarkable similarity to the MK1 Euro Ford Focus, birthed the year prior.

2010 Paris Motor Show, Day 1: Nissan Townpod

I’m amazed. Day one of the 2010 Paris Motor Show is surprisingly restrained and fugly free. The French have been remarkably toned down this year, with concept cars that pale in comparison to previous years. Although some would claim that the Lamborgini Sesto Elemento Concept should take home the title of “Ugliest Car in Paris, Day 1”, I’m giving this designation to the Nissan Townpod Concept.

Looking like a cross between a Scion, Lightning McQueen, and a refrigerator, the hefty-looking white EV is described by Nissan as the following: “The innovative position of the headlights also allows a coupe-esque bonnet line, not dissimilar to Nissan Z, which feeds in to a visor-like wraparound, blue tinted glass house, reminiscent of Nissan Cube, while the galls to body proportions hark back to the rat-rods of the fifties.” Yeah, I don’t get that either. Bonus point for a the organic fluorescent yellow-green front passenger area, which I imagine feels like driving the car sitting inside an infected sinus cavity.

*PS: I'm not limiting my show coverage to one car per day. I just didn't happen to think there was anything else worth posting. I actually like the controversial Sexto Elemento (although I admit it's trying a bit too hard)...

Lincoln (kill it with a) Machete

"These aren't the droids we're looking for".

Hmmm... I wonder if this is Darth Vader? (Scroll down).

1955 GM Concept Cars

Something was in the water in 1955 at the GM headquarters. It was this year when all of their divisions released concepts that not only looked to be based off the same architecture - they were all monumentally ugly. Sounds remarkably like GM in the 80's and early 90's...

Chevrolet Biscayne

First up we have the Chevrolet Biscayne. From the windshield back it's not too bad - there's a lot of Corvette in there, and although you can't see the rear it seemed to have inspired later Corvettes and the Corvair. That front however looks like an unappealing mix of Austin Healey Sprite and bulldozer. Also it seems to look remarkably like the cars in Fallout 3.

Cadillac La Salle II Hardtop Sedan

Next up we have the Cadillac La Salle II Hardtop Sedan. Note the identical DLO, save the back window. Early experimenting in what would lead to the Cimarron I suppose. Again this car has a grille-less front end, although the headlamps are moved further out and you have the additional chrome Cadillac rocket extensions. Oddly, this car looks even more like a Corvette than the Chevy, with the two tone scalloping and rear light detail recalling the first generation Vette. Compared to the sleek and simple ugly of the Biscayne, the LaSalle comes off as over-accessorized ugly.

It may not be share as many components as the others, but this possibly Corvette based roadster version of the La Salle II also appeared alongside it on show stands. Sharing the front end (but with cutouts under the headlights), it has the appearance of a mutated 1958 Corvette with it's ass chopped off. Although to be fair, it likely inspired the '58 Vette's front end design.

Pontiac Strato Star

Next is the Pontiac Strato Star. A bit more conventionally attractive than the above two, it also doesn't share their roofline (but then it's a 2 door). I'm not entirely sure it shares a platform with the above, but it does have similar proportions and similar odd detailing, like the inset headlights and overall heavy looking appearance. Another odd detail is the gigantic front wheel wells, which flow back to almost reach the doors. In later show circuit appearances these were painted red, making it look like someone took gigantic chunks out of the car's flesh.

Oldsmobile 88 Delta

The last of the bunch is the Olds 88 Delta. You might be thinking "where's Buick"? There was a Buick show car in 1955 - but it was the Wildcat III, an evolution of the previous two concepts and likely unrelated (and not fugly). Speaking of not fugly, I don't really consider this Buick to be fugly. A little ungainly, but it's the best looking of these four. Why include it? The windshield and front wheel wells look to be shared with the Pontiac, so it might be related to the other cars here.

1961 Chrysler Turbofright

Yeah - I'm on a concept car kick again.

This time I'm featuring the 1961 Chrysler TurboFlight concept. Another in a string of collaberations between Chrysler and Ghia, although Virgil Exner is to blame for it's looks. Where his cars in the 40's and 50's were attractive and groundbreaking, he seemed to be losing his mind coming into the 60's. This - his final concept car - is proof if where things were going were his imagination not restrained. Still - even dumbed down for the masses is work still looked odd.

Back to the subject of the post, this car's claim to fame - other than it's looks - was that the entire canopy would lift up and down in sync with the doors opening and closing. It's unknown would neck issues you would suffer if you can to contort yourself under the canopy of a regular basis. But then again this is wacky 1950's - early 1960's concept car stuff. Up to this point all of Ford's concepts looked as if they could fly and claimed to be nuclear powered. All of which I'd feature here, but there's so many (and so bizarre they're almost in a realm above fugliness). In due time I suppose.

Dodge Super Hate Hemi

The Dodge Super 8 Hemi concept was a turning point in Dodge/Chrysler design from it's heyday in the 90's. Everything previous was sleek and well proportioned, everything after looked like there was something slightly off and heavy handed about their execution. I believe this concept's reason for being was to signal the return of the Hemi, as well as desensitize us to the upcoming 300C and Charger. Luckily they didn't turn out quite like this.

Cloned: Pontiac Banshee inspired by Lamborghini?

I can't help but wonder if the people who designed the beautiful 1964 Pontiac Banshee concept found inspiration across the ocean in the form of the 1963 Lamborghini 350GTV. Lamborghini's first car, this styling one off eventually became Lamborghini's first production car, the 1964 350GT (although it's looks changed substantially).

I suppose it could be a coincidental evolution of Pontiac's split grille. But the flowing fenders, round hidden headlamps, central ridge in the hood and even the scripty badging are are all eerily similar.

Buick Signia Concept

This monstrosity debuted at the 1998 Detroit Motor Show, possibly to prepare the public for the Pontiac Aztec show car that would appear in 1999 and eventually terrorize on public streets.

Looking a bit like an obese station wagon, the Buick Signia (why they cut off the "in" I'm not sure) is a bulky lump of unattractive organic curves, kind of like the older, shorter, fatter, uglier sister to the Buick Enclave. A better name would have been the Buick Rhino.

The car looks it's worst at the front end, where the lines of the car congregate to a strangely protruding nose, with the wide grille and tiny headlights resembling the vacant, gaping stare of a whale shark.