What Ugly Car Will You Risk It All To Defend?

Automotive design is such a polarizing, deeply personal, and subjectively judged piece of car enthusiasm, we can’t possibly ever all agree on what makes one car pretty and another an overwrought monstrosity. For example, I really like the headlight design of my Porsche 996-generation 911, but this particular cue has been the butt of design jokes for over twenty years. Maybe your own car looks great to you, but others would find it off putting. Opinions are like belly buttons, everybody’s got one, so what’s yours? What ugly car do you think deserves your appreciation and you’ll fight to defend it? 

Maybe you are a dyed-in-the-wool Pontiac Aztek fan and you got a tattoo of one on your left calf. Or you have never seen a Fiat Multipla that you didn’t want in your garage. Do you think the Chevrolet SSR, Plymouth Prowler, or Nissan Cube are just the bee’s knees? This is your chance to let everyone know what your ride-or-die ride might be. Maybe you’re addicted to late-1970s Datsuns and you think the world would be a better place if every car looked like that. Whatever your weirdest car design opinion might be, we want to hear it, and we want to know why. Not only is this an opportunity to learn a little more about each other, but perhaps we can come together and learn a little bit of tolerance of the opinions of others. Unless they’re wrong, of course. 

Sound off in the comments below and we’ll discuss it. On Monday I’ll pick a few of my favorites to recap for everyone else.

Earlier this week Ferrari launched its first all-electric model, the Luce. It has come to my attention that I’m one of the only people on the planet who actually likes this design. Some people have been extremely vocal about their distaste for the new Jony Ive-penned tech-driven language, and after thinking about it, I’m ready to resort to fisticuffs if I must to defend the honor of this “ugly” car. My initial reaction to seeing the car was one of joy, and I quickly messaged my Jalopnik co-workers at 6AM last Monday “Ferrari Luce looks sick as hell.” I promise I don’t form the opinions I do because they’re contrarian, I just genuinely believe that this is a nice design and a good direction in which for Ferrari to move.

Ferrari has not made an interesting looking car since the ultra-rare Monza SP1, and I don’t think any Ferrari has been truly beautiful since 1964’s 250LM. Everything wearing a Prancing Horse since then has a bit of ungainliness, some indelicate lines, or a few too many embellishments. Which is a big part of why I like the Luce. In fairness, I don’t think the Luce is good design or particularly pretty, but it’s a big step in the right direction. Imagine this design language shrunk down to the size of a sports car, a foot lower, a foot wider, a couple feet shorter in length. Now that’s something that has potential to be pretty, or maybe even beautiful.

More than anything, though, I just appreciate that it’s different. And for the record, I also really like the Jaguar Type 00 for the same reason.

Alright, here’s your chance. Tell me what ugly car you’ll put up your dukes to defend in the comments below, and we’ll all have a great time arguing about it.