OK, so you went to the Greater Kansas City Auto Show and loved some of the new models…
You even thought about buying one but the wife hates your taste in cars and says the one you like is ugly. She wouldn’t be seen dead in it.
Guess what, she may have a point.
CAR & DRIVER magazine recently checked out the looks of the new cars as well and found many of the latest models downright ugly.
The ones that stood out?
CAR & DRIVER’s list (and reasoning) of the 10 Ugliest Cars for Sale Today:
# 10—SUBURU LEGACY/ OUTBACK
“Styled with a mishmash of disjointed gimmicky & exaggerated cues.”
# 9—FIAT 500L
“Have you ever wondered what a Fiat 500 might look like if it had an air hose shoved up its tailpipe?”
# 8—HONDA PILOT
“A onetime class-leading people hauler, the Honda Pilot would fade into the crossover static if it weren’t for one of the most obnoxious-looking snouts in the industry.”
# 7–CHRYSLER 200
“This modestly face-lifted Sebring is a sad leftover from the Daimler-Chrysler merger of equals from hell.”
-BMW 5-Series GT
# 6—NISSAN VERSA SEDAN
“Aiming directly for buyers on a budget who value rear seat trunk space above all other attributes….To be sure, such people deserve and need personal transportation, but does it have to be so depressing?”
# 5—MINI PACEMAN
“Seems to have been created by committee. Unchecked proliferation of models have little to do with the brand’s heritage—or even the brand’s very name.”
# 4—LINCOLN MKT
“We’re all for saving the whales, but our enthusiasm doesn’t stretch to embracing artificial ones on wheels.”
# 3—INFINITY QX 80
“You know the old axiom about a face only a mother could love. The automotive equivalent of a fairytale castle. It’s as big as one too.”
# 2—TOYOTA 4RUNNER
“Sometimes you have to wonder whether Toyota’s various design centers exist in happy bubbles, safely disconnected from the real world in sanitized, cheerful bliss.”
# 1—BMW 5-Series GT
“Expectations couldn’t have been higher, but the solution was to, uh, bloat a 5-series and raise its center of gravity. The (5 GT’s) taillights look as if they might start weeping. We already are.”
So are looks everything?
Not necessarily, but they sure don’t hurt when it comes to car sales.
And if for nothing else they also keep mamma happy…….
FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
For the record, none of my car choices made the list…
Including my Smurf Blue Volvo C30 that my wife shamed me into trading in recently
So this whole post isn’t actually about anything seen at the Auto Show, but it’s just a reprinting of Car & Driver’s work, without even bothering to link to the source material?
Car and Driver is so out of touch.
The 200 is probably the best new(ish) small car in the US this year and has been a huge hit.
The Nissan Versa is like the new Subaru Outback/Forester now that they try to get 30k for Outbacks.
I did actually see an MKT at the mall the other day. It was so ugly in the back I actually had to stop and check it out.
And the 4Runner is an SUV classic in an era where there are maybe 4 real SUVs left. So I don’t know where they are coming from with that one.
Those “Audi Avant” style BMWs are good looking too.
on second look, it appears I am confusing the Nissan Rogue and the Versa
I’m with Balbonis…
This Car & Driver story was a stretch. I skipped right past it when I saw it in the magazine.
They should have shortened the list and worked it harder. The reality is, they just don’t make too many Pontiac Aztecs these days.
And forgive me in advance for saying so, but I don’t think the Fiat 500L looks all that bad. It just doesn’t translate nearly as well as its little brother in the size XXL
Please share by what measure the 200 is the “best new(ish) small car in the US this year and has been a huge hit.” First of all, it’s not a B-segment (Honda Fit, Ford Fiesta) or C-segment (Honda Civic, Ford Focus) car; it’s a D-segment one (Honda Accord, Ford Fusion) so calling it small would be incorrect.
You’re correct though, that it’s selling pretty well so far this year – ranking #12 of all cars (non-trucks) in February (http://www.goodcarbadcar.net/2014/03/usa-all-cars-ranked-by-february-2014-ytd-usa-sales.html). The new 200, which should be a vast improvement over the current rental car special, isn’t even on sale yet, so I would guess the increase in sales is in large part due to heavy, heavy discounting on it. Same reason the 200’s twin (Dodge Avenger) has sold well, at the expense of the Dart, which is smaller and costs almost the same thanks to the Avenger’s discounting.
You are a car dude, Kyle…
Are you looking at that new Mustang or are you gonna stand pat?
The Dodge Dart is basically a Fiat 500 with a different body and interior. Have you noticed how Dodge is (deceptively) filming it in the new TV spots to make it look really large, like a normal Dodge?
Would love to, but just bought a house last fall and will be needing to buy a 3rd car as a kid-mover in the 18 months maybe, so will just be hoping to hang onto the Mustang at that point!
And while the new styling is nice, I don’t feel like it totally makes my ’11 look dated, like the ’94 body style did to the previous Fox body one. One more reason to keep it!