Car Articles

This Chrysler car is far from beautiful. But, the ugliest aspect was the spectacularly bad timing of the car's launch. It was 1934 and the world was in the midst of a deep economic depression. While the idea behind the Airflow may be good, its execution was just plain ugly. The car tried to show the world what was in the future. For whatever reason, the public shied away from the "new-as-tomorrow" car. At the time, people thought, nice try; call us again when you have a winner.

This is perhaps the strangest car ever produced. Just three or four units of the eight seater were built every year. The three-ton monster sat on a chassis built to industrial truck specifications and carried a V8 engine that was used in farm equipment. It had just one door, minivan style, rolled on 20-inch wheels with nitrogen filled tires, and was available with Ming-Dynasty style oriental rugs. It also featured a power retractable hardtop, a Naugahyde covered body, and available butane furnace, television sets and dual refrigerators. It was obscenely hideous.

The Cube is plain ugly. When it comes to being practical, the Nissan car has outstanding features giving it more than just an advantage. But, the theme on the Cube is asymmetry and nothing shows up more than the varied windows on the car - especially at the back. A Cube ad said "Humans aren't symmetrical why should their cars be?" The predominantly square-like aspects of the Cube's body have rounded off edges that give it the repulsive appearance.

The intentions were good, but the outcome was bad. Passenger and pedestrian safety was the only concern while designing the car. Appearance was an afterthought. The Aurora has been summoned by many as the ugliest vehicle of all time. Safety features of this hideous creation include; safety belts - rare in 1957, foam filled bumpers mounted on gas shocks, roll over bars built into the dome roof, and a telescopic steering column. The rounded windscreen was anticipated to eliminate the need for windscreen wipers.

The front end is squared like a dreadful dress shoe, is wider than the driver's cabin, and rises high before sloping down dramatically, giving it a front-heavy, unstable appearance. This acrylic plastic bodied Bricklin SV-1 (Safety Vehicle 1) sports car looks more like a kit car; a car where a set of parts are bought and then assembled by the buyer himself. It was made of brightly colored, dent-resistant plastic, like play school furniture. The car did not have an ashtray to discourage smoking. The hand-removing, 45 kg gullwing doors were known to come crashing down when the support struts failed. They sure do not exemplify safety.