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1Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute“Fugly” is a matter of taste, not an engineering category. These 1980s cars draw attention for unusual proportions, conspicuous styling, or a mismatch between their intended image and how their designs were received. The available documented examples do not establish a definitive roster of 23, so this article covers the specific cars supported by the cited sources rather than presenting an unverified ranking.
What makes a car “fugly”?
The label is subjective. Here, it points to a visible design choice that can strike viewers as awkward, excessive, or out of step with a car’s intended identity. That judgment is separate from claims about quality, reliability, or commercial success: those require their own evidence.
MotorTrend’s 2020 feature, “The Ugliest Cars of the 1980s,” presents twenty examples, including many of the cars below. A Society of Automotive Historians review identifies other period examples in a humorous book about disliked cars. Neither source establishes a single consensus ranking or a complete 23-car list.
Cars with styling that challenged expectations
1980 Cadillac Seville
MotorTrend singles out the Seville’s bustle-back rear, a sharply distinctive treatment on a luxury sedan. The same feature criticizes engines used during the model’s run; that is a separate mechanical judgment, not proof that the styling was unpopular. MotorTrend’s 2020 feature
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1980 Chevrolet Citation
MotorTrend criticizes the Citation’s styling and also describes its engineering and execution unfavorably. Those assessments belong to the publication’s account; they should not be mistaken for an independent reliability study. MotorTrend
1981 Maserati Biturbo
For a car wearing a Maserati badge, the Biturbo’s styling drew an unflattering comparison: MotorTrend says it looked too much like a Chevrolet Citation coupe for the image expected of the Italian marque. The criticism is about the gap between presentation and prestige, not a claim that the cars were mechanically identical. MotorTrend
1982 Nissan Stanza wagon
MotorTrend frames the Stanza wagon as an early crossover-like vehicle, but argues that its design—not merely buyers’ unfamiliarity with the format—was a problem. Its inclusion illustrates how a useful category idea can still be undermined by its execution. MotorTrend
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1984 Lincoln Mark VII
MotorTrend acknowledges the LSC’s performance appeal while taking issue with the visual effect of large overhangs on Mustang-derived underpinnings. The tension is between a sportier driving proposition and a body whose proportions did not convince the publication. MotorTrend
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MotorTrend says the downsized deVille resembled related General Motors models. For a Cadillac expected to look distinct within the luxury market, that resemblance was the central styling complaint. MotorTrend
1985 Alfa Romeo Milano
MotorTrend criticizes the Milano’s proportions. That is a visual assessment, not a broader verdict on the car’s driving character or engineering. MotorTrend
Rank #3
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1985 Subaru XT
The XT’s angular styling is the feature MotorTrend highlights. Its sharp-edged look made it conspicuous among the period’s cars, though whether that is a flaw or a distinctive design choice depends on the viewer. MotorTrend
Retro styling and custom-car excess
1980 Excalibur Series IV
MotorTrend regards the 1980 restyle as an especially awkward turn for Excalibur, a maker whose retro-inspired identity already set it apart from mainstream cars. The criticism is aimed at the redesign’s execution, not at retro styling as a concept. MotorTrend
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1983 Glenfrome Facet
The Facet was a British custom based on the Range Rover, not a typical mass-market model. MotorTrend describes its unusually elaborate body and removable targa top—features that make it an example of bespoke ambition that can read as visual overstatement. MotorTrend
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- Detailed Chevy 350 V-8 engine with port fuel injection. Easy-to-mount chassis with lowered suspension.
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1984 Zimmer Quicksilver
Built around a Pontiac Fiero, the Quicksilver stretched the donor car into a long-nosed neo-classic. MotorTrend notes that it retained the Fiero’s pop-up headlights, an incongruous detail against the custom body’s vintage cues. MotorTrend
AMC Eagle Kammback
MotorTrend describes the Kammback as an AMC Spirit-based variant and reports that 5,603 buyers purchased one. That figure is a sales count reported by MotorTrend in its 2020 feature, not a measure of the car’s design quality or a current production figure. MotorTrend
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Cars remembered in writing about automotive misfires
1985–91 Yugo
The Yugo appears in the “Egregious Economy” section of the Society of Automotive Historians’ review of Automotive Atrocities: The Cars We Love to Hate. That placement documents the car’s role in a humorous history of disliked automobiles; it is not a formal industry ranking. Tom Jakups, SAH Journal, issue 216, May–June 2005
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1982–88 Cadillac Cimarron
The same review places the Cimarron in a section called “Loathsome Luxury.” The juxtaposition between an economy-car association and Cadillac’s luxury identity helps explain why it became a target in that book’s treatment, but the source does not establish a consensus verdict among buyers or critics. Society of Automotive Historians review
Other examples in the same book review
The review also names the 1987 Renault Alliance GTA and the 1989–91 Chrysler/Maserati TC. Their inclusion is evidence of how the book organized examples of cars people love to hate; the review does not supply enough styling detail to make a more specific visual case for either one. Society of Automotive Historians review
One Aztec is from the 1980s; the other is not
Italdesign’s Aztec was a concept project dated 1988 and introduced at the Turin Motor Show in 1989. Its unusual split cockpit, passenger-side control console, side-mounted information panels, hydraulic jack, and onboard tools made it a technology-laden concept rather than a conventional production car. Italdesign’s project history
It is not the Pontiac Aztek. That was a 2001 model discussed in Dan Neil’s TIME retrospective on the worst cars of all time. Neil wrote of the Pontiac: “The Aztek violates one of the principal rules of car design: We like cars that look like us.” The line is Neil’s criticism of the later Pontiac, not a general rule established for every car or a comment on Italdesign’s concept. Dan Neil, TIME, 2007
Why the list is not a ranking
There is no cited statistic that measures how ugly these cars are, and the sources do not establish a definitive set of 23. The examples range from mainstream production cars to coachbuilt customs, a concept vehicle, and cars remembered in a book review. Their common thread is not an objective score: it is a design feature or critical reception that makes each worth revisiting.
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