Ugly Cars Archives - The Weekly Driver

Pontiac Aztek: Reviled, revered, cult classic

The Pontiac Aztek is likely the most maligned car in modern history. Like the Ford Pinto, Chevrolet Vega and Yugo it has been described as the ugliest car ever built and the worst car ever made. Sometimes, the criticism cut deep. One reviewer said of the Aztek, said: “The styling of the car is its best feature.” The 2001 Aztek was the most picked on model. It looked like a badly designed space vehicle or a tank that had been totaled. It was rough-edged and gaudy. Still, the Pontiac Aztek had such a rotten reputation, it’s become a cult car. I’ve spoken with two Aztek owners recently who said they wouldn’t trade their Azteks for a new SUV. My second

Seven ugliest car colors at the 2013 LA Auto Show

New cars are rarely identified as simply painted blue, green, white, black or gray. The color names are most often embellished with fancy-sounding word combinations. It’s no different at the 2013 LA Auto Show. I recently drove the 2014 Nissan Versa Note. It had several rich exterior color options, including an inviting shade of blue. It was called Metallic Peacock. At the LA Auto Show there are plenty cars with exteriors that simply could be called red, white or blue. But manufacturers and going to extremes not only to come up with fancy names for the colors of their cars, they’re introducing more colors, some not very attractive. Of course, the beauty of cars, like many things, is in the