The automotive industry spends large amounts of money to design the cars that will be marketed in the future. One of the main objectives that manufacturers pursue is to obtain models that are visually attractive. Many times the success or failure of a vehicle has as much to do with its performance as with its beauty, hence the importance that brands give to design to turn their creations into sales successes.
However, throughout history there have been unsuccessful models from an aesthetic point of view. We all remember the Fiat Multipla, the Audi A2 or the Peugeot 1007, three models that, despite belonging to companies with a long tradition in the automotive world, failed to obtain popular fervor due to their designs in dubious taste.
These three models are used to being in almost all the lists of the ugliest cars that have ever existed. But in the same way that it is difficult to choose the most beautiful car ever made, it is not easy to choose the ugliest car of all time.
Already set to curl the loop, a British car rental company has conducted an experiment to find “the ugliest car in history.” The result of this test carried out by Hippo Leasing is the Deformis 10. It is an imaginary model that takes its name by combining the meaning of the Latin word (ugly) and the number of the ugliest cars that he used to create his imaginary Frankenstein.
The test consisted of mixing characteristic elements of the 10 cars that appear the most in searches for ‘ugly cars’ on the Internet. In total, the authors of the experiment found references to up to 116 different models that they then ranked by the number of mentions.
The Fiat Multipla turned out to be the car most often associated with the word ugly, followed by the Pontiac Aztek, Chrysler PT Cruiser, Nissan Juke, SsangYong Rodius, Ford Scorpio, Nissan Cube, AMC Pacer, Honda Civic Type R and Toyota Prius.
Once the 10 models that Internet users consider to be the ugliest cars in history were obtained, Hippo Leasing chose the most characteristic parts of each of them to make the Deformis 10. They used the Nissan Juke as a base, due to its “unusual shape”. , and from there they were placing the rest of the pieces.
For the front end, they chose the lower bumper from the Toyota Prius, the headlights from the Ford Scorpio and the grille from the Chrysler Cruiser, “probably the ugliest ever”. They finished off the front of this monstrous car with the rear window-bonnet of the Fiat Multipla. This last piece is, according to Tom Preston, general manager of Hippo Leasing, “the strangest addition that can be added to a car.”
With regard to the rear, they incorporated the square structure of the Nissan Cube that gives the Deformis 10 a rear window “never seen in any other car made since then.” The lights and the bumper are taken from the SsangYong Rodius.
On the sides stand out the skirts of the Honda Civic Type R, the wheel arches and the gas cap of the Pontiak Aztek, a car that has become a cult classic thanks to its appearance in the television series Breaking Bad. The hubcaps of the AMC Pacer finish off the dubious aesthetics of the Deformis 10.
Finally, it was necessary to solve another not minor aspect such as the choice of color. To determine which is the least accepted tonality, the authors of the experiment once again carried out a query on the Internet. This time it was about analyzing what is the least sought after color by buyers on the net before buying a new car.
Among the average monthly searches found in Ahrefs, the color wheat was the one that aroused the least interest, so the Deformis 10 has been designed with that hue.
