The Ugliest Looking Cars in The World

Important caveat: “Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder” - important thing to understand and know before reading my article. Furthermore, I’ll show that while some of these cars are thought of as ugly in popular culture today, they did serve their purpose when they were being produced. Another important point, many people actually liked the way these cars looked, hence the reason for the quote in the beginning of my article....

...The ugliest looking cars in the world...if you’re ever at a party and see some silly guy in a corner who thinks he’s funny, but really isn’t. He starts a joke by mentioning a really nice BMW or Audi, and ends it with “but he/she really had a Gremlin instead” as the punch line..., - well, you know where this is going....

Here are a list of automobiles that have been stigmatized in popular culture as being the ugliest of all:

AMC Corporation - Gremlin
This car has been the subject of jokes and punch lines like few other products in USA history have. American Motor Corporation produced this vehicle from 1970-1978. The engine choices on the Gremlin were pretty good. Furthermore, the car was quite reliable. Engines on this vehicle ranged from a small 4 cylinder, to a powerful 5.0 V8. This was a relatively nice and dependable car to own and drive back in the 1970’s.

Ford Pinto
Another of the ugliest looking cars in the world...this car is a cult classic. By the way, the real joke in the movie “Cujo,” was not the pinto. The joke was that the St. Bernard was actually bigger than the Pinto.... Unlike the Gremlin, this vehicle has had a bad reputation since its inception for both looks and reliability. Nevertheless, the small V6 was actually pretty good, even if the small 4 cylinder engine was below par. During the 70’s, American auto companies were well known for building excellent V6 engines, but infamous for building 4 cylinder ones.

Ford Falcon
Trivia: many people do not know that the first Mustang used the Falcon’s platform. Ford made this vehicle from 1960-1970. This car was durable and relatively trouble free, even if it wasn’t a Lincoln in the looks department.

Dodge Dart
Dodge made this vehicle from 1960-1976. The first few models weren’t very attractive, yet, the car had an excellent reputation with consumers for being very reliable. The 6L was sturdy and durable.

Chevrolet Chevette
Another candidate for the world’s biggest automobile joke. Chevrolet produced this vehicle from 1976-1987, no doubt that this car directly/indirectly contributed to GMC’s eventual demise. These was a poorly built car, as well as unattractive. By the way, if most had to make a choice for the ugliest looking cars in the world, this might be it....

Yugo
Just when you think a joke cannot possible be more vicious and deliberate, along comes this car from Yugoslavia. The USA sold this car from 1985-1991. However, the car was cheap and affordable, unlike many other new cars at that time.

Chevrolet Vega
Unlike some of the other contestants in this article, the Vega actually looked pretty good. The problem was its engine. This vehicle was built from 1971-1977, and was eventually replaced by the Chevette.

Ford Festiva
Built between 1986-2002.

Hyundai Excel
Today, Hyundai makes some of the best automotive products around, however, in the beginning.... The Excel was built from 1985-1994.

Toyota Echo
Though reliable like many Toyota’s are, the Echo was very unattractive. Toyota built the Echo from 1999-2005. The Echo was eventually replaced by the much better looking Yaris.