Archive for the ‘Car Feedbacks’ Category

The car is a symbol of success for many people. This perception is normally passed onto Children, who often plan on owning their dream sports car when they grow up and put posters of it on their bedroom wall. However, somewhere in the growing up process something goes wrong and some people make some truly shocking decisions about which car to buy. This is a list of the five ugliest cars of all time, and if you own one you should be ashamed of yourself!

Nissan Micra

The new Nissan Micra which Nigel Mansell owns in that Moneysupermarket advert isn’t a bad looking car. The only thing which stops this car being desirable is its predecessor.

The Micra was introduced in 1982 and actually did quite well at first. The K11 version of the Micra was introduced in 1992 and was equally successful, winning the car of the year award in 1993. However, Nissan didn’t change the design until 2002 by which time it was hideously outdated and only had 2 Euro NCAP stars, which was a fine achievement in 1992 but rather poor by 2002 standards. The car became associated with little old ladies and despite the fine appearance of the new model; it simply couldn’t overcome the stigma of its predecessor.

Toyota Space Cruiser

To be fair to Toyota, this does exactly what it says on the tin because it looks like a space cruiser. It is likely that it is a very good space cruiser, because it’s so ugly that it would probably blind any opponents it encounters on its travels. Even Captain Kirk wouldn’t stand a chance against this one.

The car was an attempt by Toyota in 1982 to create a vehicle which could carry a rather large family, as it came equipped with seven seats. It is so focused on being family friendly that it has a mirror sticking out of the back and pointing at the back two seats so that parents can monitor their children’s activity. Unfortunately this sticky out mirror makes it look like the car has been subject to a rather nasty accident and putting up with the cars appearance is a rather large price to pay for having a family friendly vehicle. It might be morally better to avoid subjecting people to the sight of this vehicle by not have any more kids.

Fiat Multipla

You would think that a car owned by car experts Michael Schumacher and James May must have some good points, but that would be an incorrect assumption as both men are also famous for having no fashion sense. This was Fiat’s attempt at a family car and just like Toyota’s attempt with the Space Cruiser something went hideously wrong. In all honesty, compared to the Space Cruiser the Multipla is beautiful, but that isn’t saying much.

However, the Museum Of Modern Art in New York actually displayed the car as an artistic piece following it launch. It should be pointed out that this is a museum which displays a number of Van Gogh paintings. Van Gogh is a man who cut off his own ear, perhaps an image which was the muse for the designer of the Multipla.

Nissan Pajero

Describing the Pajero as “pretty” would not be an accurate statement. However, it isn’t half as bad looking as many of the other cars on this list, so you may be asking why it is here. The simple answer to this question is the name.

When Nissan launched the car in 1994, its sales in Spanish speaking countries were not as good as expected. For some reason when deciding on a name for the car it had not occurred to Nissan’s marketing ‘experts’ that the word “Pajero” was a rather offensive swear word in Spanish. However, no name change took place and some Spanish gentlemen with no self respect are quite happily driving around labelled as “pajero’s” to this day. You couldn’t make this stuff up.

Fiat Seicento

Introduced by Fiat in 1997, this was the Italian manufacturers attempt at a city car. It was designed to challenge the established and respectable Ford Ka and Smartcar Fortwo. However, it is alleged that the person who designed the car was mentally ill. This resulted in a car which looked like a cross between a trainer and a hearse.

You could at least argue that the car handled well, had good power and was reliable. Unfortunately this would be a lie. The car had numerous electric problems, a dismal one litre engine and handled like a pig. To top it all off, it was woefully unsafe, achieving 1.5 Euro NCAP stars in 1997, which was less than the Nissan Micra which had been designed five years earlier before the more stringent safety tests were introduced. The final nail in the coffin came in the hit Channel 4 hit comedy The Inbetweeners, where it became a comical prop.