Yes, I've brought you these bastardizations before. Multiple times. But they were never of Thunderbirds of this vintage - only 10th generation (1989-1997) cars. Now it appears they broadened their horizons to the 9th generation (1983-1988). Either that or some savvy individual that this was a brilliant idea idea and struck out on his own.
Lets see:
Chrysler (or is it Fiat) is now going about sprucing up it's current lineup, which for the most part consists of some slight plastic surgery, new interiors and a heart transplant in the form of it's new Pentastar V6. Not that's I'm bashing that - it's interiors and engines needed sprucing, and it's much cheaper than coming out with all new models. As long as they can revise the exterior enough not to get stuck in that awkward limbo of looking like a new car and looking too much like the old one.
Out back we have a case of changing things just so they look different, but cheaping out by only changing the cheapest parts. So basically they left the sheet metal and focused solely on the bumper and taillights, resulting is these bizarre pinched looking taillights. How did anyone think this looks better than it did before? Sadly, this cheap-ass plastic surgery seems to be all the rage lately.
A couple weeks ago this Audi R8 popped up near Nürburgring, and the internet went atwitter with people hypothesizing that this is a special edition R8 mockup, out in about in a strange camo tape job and relocated exhaust. However, given that the tape job doesn't really hide anything, I'm thinking this is just a case of "money doesn't buy class". Looks to me like the world's most unattractive vinyl job, and a case of buying a less restrictive exhaust setup without paying for fixing the bodywork to remove the old exhaust ports. Here's to hoping Audi will prove me wrong.
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.
Acura's chrome beak - like Ford's razor grille - is a bone of contention for me. It's huge and in your face, yet unattractive and looks a bit like a Parrotfish snout. The Acura Advanced Sedan has the best visage to show this fishy coincidence.
The Acura Advanced Sedan Concept is wrong on many levels. For one, the name is ironic (and lame - couldn't they have thought of something more imaginative?). Why? Well, from the front wheels back this "Advanced Sedan" looks almost exactly like the Lincoln Sentinel concept which debuted in 1996. A 10 year old design is hardly advanced.
And secondly, it introduced the world to Acura's hideous new face, which is especially hideous on this first iteration. I can not imagine what possessed them to continue on with this theme after seeing the result that is this car.
To clarify, I find the Lincoln to be menacing and mean. Something that you would see prowling the streets of Gotham City. Not fugly.
Concept cars seem to offer an endless supply of fugly - going back through the years there's almost too many to choose from. I present to you the Fiat Ecobasic from 2004, an unfortunate concept that seems to draw some of it's looks from the Multipla. But where the Multipla had various beedy headlights poking out all over the front end, the Ecobasic has a gigantic light bar inspired by 1980's era Mercurys.
It's refreshingly unique for a Chinese brand I suppose. Still, this squinty-eyed car combines all the bad parts of the Sbarro X5 and Spada Codatronca to create an unattractive concept that looks like it could be terrestrial conveyance for Storm Troopers, if the AT-ATs and speeder bikes proved ineffective.
However, new that the shots of the entire truck have been released, I have to admit I'm a little let down. Not that it's ugly, but from the headlights back the flowing curves look remarkably like those on the Buick Enclave (of the two, I prefer the Durango however). I guess I was expecting something a little more butch, given the angry front end treatment. Although I suppose it's platform-mate the Grand Cherokee got the masculine square shouldered lines, so the Durango had to be unique to that end.
Which is strange considering the taillight treatment. Looking at the rear of both trucks, it's actually a bit hard to tell them apart. I suppose the reverse lamps/turn signal locations are flipped, but the shape of the trapezoid taillights are the same - and both have a chrome strip connecting them. I little variety wouldn't hurt, especially since the trucks share a majority of parts.
