So Much Automotive Ugliness!
#21
12-10-2015, 02:43 AM
Senior Member
#22
12-10-2015, 03:28 AM
Veteran Member
Yes its strange the way cars can take of in one country/region and yet not in other. Here the small car sector is owned by the Korean/Japanese brands. As an example my daughter only got a Fiesta because there was a 12 week wait for a Mazda 2 at the time.
Other quite good cars get marginalised. In the case of the Fiesta , you have that overlayed with the local Ford managements abysmal marketing efforts.
Other quite good cars get marginalised. In the case of the Fiesta , you have that overlayed with the local Ford managements abysmal marketing efforts.
#23
12-10-2015, 05:44 AM
Veteran Member
you must have meant the "not even close" bin
now if they had wanted to sell cars rather than convince
themselves they actually knew something better than
their predecessors, they could have just dug out the
blueprints for the 1966 GTO.
Last edited by plums; 12-10-2015 at 05:46 AM.
#24
12-10-2015, 05:58 AM
Veteran Member
To paraphrase a friend of mine, "It may be ugly but at least it's gutless."
(';')
(';')
The following users liked this post:
LnrB (12-10-2015)
#25
12-10-2015, 08:26 AM
Veteran Member
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Walnut Creek, California
Posts: 6,796
Received 2,399 Likes
on
1,880 Posts
AMC Pacer a bad car???
On what criteria?
Styling? Very subjective.
Usefulness. Lots of usable room in a small space. that seems
positive to me.
Mechanical. Drive train and suspension of the tried and true Rambler.
It's six cylinder engine was tough as nails. good power as well.
In modernized form it served in tot he late 90's!!
My 94 Jeep has a version. going strong at well over 200,000!!!
It's companion, the Gremlin's birth is a neat
story....
The gal up the street has a little white box looking car.
I think she has yuppie roots. first was a neat little
BMW convertible. Then, a sleek little MBZ in black.
And, now, what I thought was a fiesta is actually the
MBZ version!!!
Hubby a lot different, a big Dodge Ram 4x4!!!
A plethora of interesting cars among the boring ones around here!!!
The other day, I saw a gorgeous circa 1948 Cadillac convertible
in deep maroon with a white top aboard a flat bed!!!
And, a mid 60's GI truck in OD at the local gas station...
Carl.
On what criteria?
Styling? Very subjective.
Usefulness. Lots of usable room in a small space. that seems
positive to me.
Mechanical. Drive train and suspension of the tried and true Rambler.
It's six cylinder engine was tough as nails. good power as well.
In modernized form it served in tot he late 90's!!
My 94 Jeep has a version. going strong at well over 200,000!!!
It's companion, the Gremlin's birth is a neat
story....
The gal up the street has a little white box looking car.
I think she has yuppie roots. first was a neat little
BMW convertible. Then, a sleek little MBZ in black.
And, now, what I thought was a fiesta is actually the
MBZ version!!!
Hubby a lot different, a big Dodge Ram 4x4!!!
A plethora of interesting cars among the boring ones around here!!!
The other day, I saw a gorgeous circa 1948 Cadillac convertible
in deep maroon with a white top aboard a flat bed!!!
And, a mid 60's GI truck in OD at the local gas station...
Carl.
The following users liked this post:
ronbros (12-12-2015)
#26
12-10-2015, 06:23 PM
But the Aztek, absolutely the ugliest thing on four wheels in a long time. I have always liked the Pacer, but the AMC Matador was pretty awful in its final days.
Andrew.
The following users liked this post:
LnrB (12-10-2015)
#28
12-10-2015, 10:27 PM
Veteran Member
#29
12-11-2015, 12:42 AM
Senior Member
My Grandad bought one of those, when he was 80 and his mind had begun to fail. Actually, Grandma picked it out because it was red; she had less on the ball than he did. Grandad called it "The Wee Wagon."
Pontiac Vibe (Aztek in some markets) didn't go over well in Montana, they might actually have sold 3 in the whole state. Even AWD couldn't make them attractive to the public.
It wasn't only the astonishing ugliness that handicapped the car, it might also have had something to do with less than 100hp and 4-speed auto box. It couldn't even get out of its own way. "0 to 60 in 15 minutes" was not a joke with this car. If it even saw a suggestion of a hill in the far distance it began to slow down until traffic was stacking up behind as you topped the hill at the breakneck speed of 40mph!! Driving the car was an Ordeal!
Montana, "The Land of the Big Sky," wide open spaces and vast distances to travel between here and anywhere, is Not a place where you want a car whose top speed is 80mph downhill with a tail wind.
I read once that its cousin, the Aztek, was deemed the Worst car in American Automotive history.
To paraphrase a friend of mine, "It may be ugly but at least it's gutless."
(';')
Pontiac Vibe (Aztek in some markets) didn't go over well in Montana, they might actually have sold 3 in the whole state. Even AWD couldn't make them attractive to the public.
It wasn't only the astonishing ugliness that handicapped the car, it might also have had something to do with less than 100hp and 4-speed auto box. It couldn't even get out of its own way. "0 to 60 in 15 minutes" was not a joke with this car. If it even saw a suggestion of a hill in the far distance it began to slow down until traffic was stacking up behind as you topped the hill at the breakneck speed of 40mph!! Driving the car was an Ordeal!
Montana, "The Land of the Big Sky," wide open spaces and vast distances to travel between here and anywhere, is Not a place where you want a car whose top speed is 80mph downhill with a tail wind.
I read once that its cousin, the Aztek, was deemed the Worst car in American Automotive history.
To paraphrase a friend of mine, "It may be ugly but at least it's gutless."
(';')
The following users liked this post:
LnrB (12-11-2015)
#30
12-11-2015, 10:34 AM
Veteran Member
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Walnut Creek, California
Posts: 6,796
Received 2,399 Likes
on
1,880 Posts
OK, not bad, merely ugly??? I dimly recall that
proportions were it's claim to fame that many defined as ugly.
In about 1975, a school chum and I worked for the same
insurance company. He s administrative VP and I as the Claim manager for the SF branch office. Both dyed in the wool car nuts.
Well, he was sold by Ford that a four door Comet sedan powered
by a six cylinder engine was good fleet car. Why Bob bought that pitch has mystified me to this day??? Martini's or Tequila???
Serviceable, no question. Ugly, same answer. Well, after the two year
service was done, Bob offered me a "good" one for a really good deal.
No issue, same for any fellow employee.
Gee, thanks Bob, They are just ugly. Bob understood!!!
Carl
proportions were it's claim to fame that many defined as ugly.
In about 1975, a school chum and I worked for the same
insurance company. He s administrative VP and I as the Claim manager for the SF branch office. Both dyed in the wool car nuts.
Well, he was sold by Ford that a four door Comet sedan powered
by a six cylinder engine was good fleet car. Why Bob bought that pitch has mystified me to this day??? Martini's or Tequila???
Serviceable, no question. Ugly, same answer. Well, after the two year
service was done, Bob offered me a "good" one for a really good deal.
No issue, same for any fellow employee.
Gee, thanks Bob, They are just ugly. Bob understood!!!
Carl
#31
12-11-2015, 02:45 PM
#32
12-11-2015, 03:40 PM
Senior Member
#34
12-11-2015, 08:34 PM
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Tehama County, California, USA
Posts: 25,667
Received 9,472 Likes
on
5,471 Posts
Sick as it may seem, there is a very small part of me that would like to have an Aztek and one of those "Dustbuster" mini-van models from GM's 90's. If nothing else, just to bring to shows to warn future aspiring automotive designers that aesthetics does count for something.
The first and only Lumina I saw, I was young and stupid at the time and thought it looked pretty cool! Of course it Was red.
(';')
#35
12-12-2015, 09:29 AM
Veteran Member
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Walnut Creek, California
Posts: 6,796
Received 2,399 Likes
on
1,880 Posts
The real solstice:
I read an illustrated story of a group of GM engineers that decided to
rework a little red coupe. An LS1 drive train. Very decent appearance and more than enough performance.
The version GM could done very well with...Oh, oh, internal politics!!
Might out do the mighty Vette!!!
Carl
I read an illustrated story of a group of GM engineers that decided to
rework a little red coupe. An LS1 drive train. Very decent appearance and more than enough performance.
The version GM could done very well with...Oh, oh, internal politics!!
Might out do the mighty Vette!!!
Carl
The following users liked this post:
ronbros (12-12-2015)
#36
12-12-2015, 12:46 PM
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Tehama County, California, USA
Posts: 25,667
Received 9,472 Likes
on
5,471 Posts
I was coming home this morning and found myself behind a silver/gray amorphous blob that could have been anything. In a long line of other amorphous blobs, it was being driving in classic lol (little old lady) fashion and I gave no thought to what car it might be.
Only when I got within 30 feet as I was flying past could I see the Leaper on the trunk!
The car wasn't Ugly, merely uninteresting.
The driver wasn't interested enough to even try to keep up let alone pass me back.
(';')
#37
12-13-2015, 06:53 AM
Veteran Member
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Walnut Creek, California
Posts: 6,796
Received 2,399 Likes
on
1,880 Posts
Those grey or silver like cars on gray overcast days seem
accidents waiting to happen. Visible, only sorta???
And, my Jeep is pewter!!!! I'm one of them !!
It's seen over 20 years. Paint is still shiny. Looks good when washed and a bit better when polished. But, not outstanding!!!
OTH, when dirty, not all that bad???
difference?????
Jag looks not so good dirty, but definitely outstanding when clean.
A bit duty now. the drought thing. Dust brush???
I've used it a bit, no visible scratching. Really hard Thermoplastic paint...
Carl
Carl
accidents waiting to happen. Visible, only sorta???
And, my Jeep is pewter!!!! I'm one of them !!
It's seen over 20 years. Paint is still shiny. Looks good when washed and a bit better when polished. But, not outstanding!!!
OTH, when dirty, not all that bad???
difference?????
Jag looks not so good dirty, but definitely outstanding when clean.
A bit duty now. the drought thing. Dust brush???
I've used it a bit, no visible scratching. Really hard Thermoplastic paint...
Carl
Carl
The following users liked this post:
LnrB (12-13-2015)
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
Beagle
XK / XKR ( X150 )
0
12-04-2015 02:27 PM
Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)