Msnbc.com readers have no shortage of opinions on ugly cars, with the Pontiac Aztek among readers' least favorite in an informal Newsvine vote. “I had an Aztek as a rental car once. I asked the person at the Avis counter if they gave me a mask with it. She was perplexed until I explained that I didn't want to be seen in it,” writes boto.
But an ugly car to some is another's beloved automobile, as can be attested to by reader bob-nepa's defense of the Ford Pinto: “We owned two Pintos and they were darn good cars. For the price you could not beat them and we ran both of them for many years no trouble. It is a shame you can not buy a similar car today cheap and decent running.”
Below is a selection of reader comments on Newsvine:
“The Aztek actually pained me to look at it initially. Some design by committee, focus group rationale run amok that can only be enabled by some mysterious force from management.”
— quieteye
“It (Aztek) reminds me of a Simpson's episode where Homer was allowed to design a car.”
— poopiebear
“Any car 25 years old or older is considered a classic. I own a show car and go to a lot of shows where most of these cars are restored and look awesome. Even the Aztek will have it's place in the classic world when the time comes.”
— ROK-1076233
“An Aztek is ugly, I know because even though I leave the keys in the damn thing, it's still sitting right there staring at me every morning when I get up.”
— wlockridge
“Ok... so the Aztec was ugly as sin... but we have a new winner that needs attention, the Nissan Cube.. what happened with that car?”
— Matt in PHX
“Honestly I think the new Cube or that thing that looks like a giant toaster from a couple years back is worse than anything I've seen in a long time...”
— Allen-968499
“I use to have a Chevy Vega ... it was so ugly even my blind uncle hated it.”
— Cimarronrose
“I know, those old 70's cars are pretty gosh darn ugly. But they remind me so much of being a kid that I can't help but look at them fondly. Remember the Vega? My daddy had one. I know it sounds silly, but I would love to have one...sentimental reasons.”
— brunicas
“Apparently many of you never saw the 1960 Plymouth. My grandfather had one and it was so ugly that I never allowed him to take me anywhere. And if it was sitting in his driveway, I would give it a wide berth in hopes that it's ugliness wouldn't consume me.”
— harry-355067
“Sorry, none of these losers even come close to the hideous boxes called the Element and the Scion.”
— phyllisd
“The Pacer and Edsel look cool years later. The Pinto just looked like a crappy car (but everyone I knew said they were reliable.)”
— SFBill
“The AMC Pacer had to be the ugliest car ever! It looked like a reject from the old TV show ‘Lost in Space.’ ”
— iamachristian26
“Where is the El Camino? (((shudder)))”
— Science Gal
“I'd vote for the puke green Gremlin, hands down. Still cringe to think of it, and thank goodness I haven't seen any recently as they age and are taken off the roads.”
— Robin Burns
“I owned a Gremlin. It was a weird car to see (the designers quit designing it half-way back) and a weird car to drive (overpowered so that the rear end was always trying to pass the front end). It was ugly to look at and ugly to drive. But I loved it as only a parent can love an ugly child.”
— MotownJohn
