http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Topic: Ugliest Cars on the Road en Mon, 01 Jun 2026 06:59:22 +0000 http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11913&page=3#post-137870 Fri, 20 Dec 2013 22:17:49 +0000 rosscbrown 137870@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>This thread is painful to follow as I'm in the market for something with an engine and the following:</p> <p>* An Audi/Merc/BMW badge<br /> * Christmas Tree lights - check<br /> * Aggressive styling - check<br /> * Blacked out windows - check (through I don't really want them, they come with the christmas lights)<br /> * V/R/S/Sports/Turbo branding - check (but I'll be asking the don't include the branding)<br /> * A bigger 4x4 style version of a nicer smaller car - check<br /> * Etc </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11913&page=3#post-137850 Fri, 20 Dec 2013 18:10:15 +0000 Its_Me_Knees 137850@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>@WC "But I've always liked the more brutish Astons..." My Bro-in-law had a 6-cylinder DBS back in the day, which was absolutely gorgeous. It was from a time when Aston lost money hand over fist (possibly an urban myth but B-I-L said they £200 lost per car...on the radiator grill alone). David Brown (who gave Astons their 'DB' nomenclature) were tractor makers too before they bought the car marque.</p> <p>Of course the whole performance car market is an exercise in stupidity/vanity, there being nowhere in the UK that one can legally go above 70 mph (tracks and test areas aside) which makes entirely superfluous 9/10ths of the engineering that makes Porsches, etc, so expensive. I knew a wealthy (new money - no class) family who had a collection of high-end Mercedes and Beemers on their front drive and a Ferrari tucked away for the weekends, who pootled around SE London in them, rarely venturing beyond the (old) GLC boundary. Pointless, other than to massage some desperate egos, I would suggest. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11913&page=3#post-137843 Fri, 20 Dec 2013 16:41:42 +0000 Wilmington's Cow 137843@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Or as I read one day, like a car with a baseball cap on backwards. Mini is in danger of ruining a good product with re-designs. They've tweaked the standard model again and it's apparently pretty awful. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11913&page=3#post-137842 Fri, 20 Dec 2013 16:39:56 +0000 cc 137842@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>The Mini Coupe is even worse. Looks like it's been sat on. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11913&page=2#post-137840 Fri, 20 Dec 2013 16:22:00 +0000 Greenroofer 137840@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I've just seen a Mini Paceman for the first time. It's got Juke levels of hideousness. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11913&page=2#post-137801 Fri, 20 Dec 2013 12:06:07 +0000 PS 137801@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><em>Americana, the modern Mustangs I can't stand.</em></p> <p>Mustangs are another one where the modern version is just so much bigger than the original that it doesn't look right - the classic design is lost in the changes in proportion. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11913&page=2#post-137786 Fri, 20 Dec 2013 10:46:48 +0000 Wilmington's Cow 137786@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I took off in the hatch I had before that one on holiday in France once. Loads of level crossings about, all nice and flat and so on. Coming down a road to one I could have sworn I'd been over already so thinking nothing of it. Probably only came 6 inches or so off the ground at something like 25mph, but felt like we'd gone stratospheric. Weird feeling becasue you really do know that nothing is touching the ground.</p> <p>Similarly to mkns's issues with the Mini and Clubman, my big issues with urban SUVs comes, a lot of the time, from <em>some</em> of the people associated with them. Or... <em>Maybe the fact that I wasn't a short fat business type desperately trying to look macho/sporty/outdoorsy all at the same time confused him</em>. They seem to attract the "I'm better than yow, I have considerably more money than yow" type.</p> <p>With the Cayenne it goes a little further into feeling like Porsche are sullying their sporting heritage. While I'm not a 911 fan (I do like the look of the Cayman), they are "driver's" cars. The Cayenne feels like a sell-out to a middle-class meme. Obviously it's highly profitable for them to move into that market, and it's a commercial world where "who am I" to say they can't enter a different arena. But it still grates with me.</p> <p>Then again. Lamborghini made tractors.</p> <p>Staying with supercars, I've never been that bothered with Ferrari. Again there are the 'showy' connotations, but I also think they're a bit dull to look at. The Dino was gorgeous, but I think things hit a nadir with the Testarossa and F40. Return to form though, the new range <em>is</em> genuinely stunning (IMO).</p> <p>But I've always liked the more brutish Astons. The 80s AMV8 was just a beast.</p> <p>Americana, the modern Mustangs I can't stand. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11913&page=2#post-137760 Fri, 20 Dec 2013 00:02:59 +0000 neddie 137760@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>@WC. </p> <p>Your first pic would look even better if there was about 2ft of air between wheels &amp; ground, as you crested that summit. ;-) </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11913&page=2#post-137752 Thu, 19 Dec 2013 23:10:35 +0000 Dave 137752@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>The X6 and Q7 both have that weird muscle thing going on at the front end. Not quite sure how to describe it other than there's "too much car" at the front between the bonnet and the road..?</p> <p>I don't rate cars very highly as a thing to spend on, but if I did, it would have to be a two-seater I think. However, this would be very unwise, for the same reason that I have banned myself from ever owning a motorbike... </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11913&page=2#post-137748 Thu, 19 Dec 2013 21:31:43 +0000 Kenny 137748@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>It's just as well for the car companies that we all like different things!</p> <p>I have major issues with the Mini for a variety of reasons, although a lot I suspect has to do with the first couple of people I knew who bought them, and how they went on and on about them. Not fair on the car, granted, but I now can't stand the sight of them, and that in my head makes them ugly. I have no idea if that makes any sense.</p> <p>The X6 on the other hand looks awesome for the reason that PS thinks it's awful. It's such a better looking car than the box-on-wheels that was the X5. Granted, it's not as amazing as a Nissan GT-R, which will literally stop me in the street if a black one goes past me (as one does occasionally in Leith), but it (the X6) ticks the boxes for me.</p> <p>I don't think I've ever met another person who likes the new model of the Cayenne. I think I even surprised the salesperson at the Porsche garage when I asked to have a look at it. Maybe the fact that I wasn't a short fat business type desperately trying to look macho/sporty/outdoorsy all at the same time confused him. ;)</p> <p>Going back to the air scoops, that would be pretty cool if I had an interest in getting a car like that. I don't; my mid-life crisis vehicle was a bicycle, but if it was a car, it would probably have an air scoop on it. Or be an Audi RS 6 Avant. Maybe I could get one installed on that?</p> <p>My wife's car has blacked out windows, and it's a nightmare to reverse in. I literally can't see out the back *at all* unless it's bright daylight. My car, on the other hand, also has blacked out windows, but I can see out clearly. I can only guess that blacked out window technology has changed? Mine is even harder to see through from the outside, too.</p> <p>In fairness, that 2nd photo above does make the Mini look less irritating than normal. I don't think it's quite changed my mind, though. The fact I can't see the double doors on the back helps. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11913&page=2#post-137726 Thu, 19 Dec 2013 17:07:16 +0000 wee folding bike 137726@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I get the impression that Ford are getting an Aston Martin style grille. Looks odd on a Fiesta. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11913&page=2#post-137663 Thu, 19 Dec 2013 12:55:33 +0000 Wilmington's Cow 137663@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Certainly more practical than the hatch (though that never stopped us taking that to Italy, France and the Isles - our very first Mini we took on the Italian Job charity rally and it got driven on the rooftop Lingotto test track (which is now a hotel where we also stayed) and a couple of laps around Monza.</p> <p>Oh, the teeny little Aston Martin take on a Smart Car, that's horrible as well. Something about that grille and the Aston wings just doesn't fit. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11913&page=2#post-137612 Thu, 19 Dec 2013 10:14:13 +0000 CycleCommute.CC 137612@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Another Clubman owner here and I love it! Much better than the usual droll offerings from most manufacturers. Quite practical too. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11913&page=2#post-137609 Thu, 19 Dec 2013 10:11:03 +0000 EddieD 137609@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Not ugly, but very quirky - I saw a split window Morris Minor Convertible (279 FUO) in immaculate condition (i.e. rattling slightly) heading up Lothian Road this morning. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11913&page=2#post-137607 Thu, 19 Dec 2013 10:04:02 +0000 Wilmington's Cow 137607@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I refused to have my picture taken with the statue at the top of the Tourmalet until I'd cycled up. Seemed like cheating otherwise. Mountain pic was the best I had of the ugly double doors ;) (though shows the whole beauty/eye of beholder thing as the double doors are one of the selling points for me). </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11913&page=2#post-137602 Thu, 19 Dec 2013 09:35:15 +0000 fimm 137602@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Yes, the first photo lacks the strategically placed bicycle that demonstrates that the photographer rode the thing up there...</p> <p>(Sorry W.C., just being silly) </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11913&page=2#post-137598 Thu, 19 Dec 2013 09:31:14 +0000 amir 137598@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>WC, the mini looks much prettier/ less ugly in the second picture but that due to the background. I think the top picture would look better without a car. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11913&page=2#post-137595 Thu, 19 Dec 2013 08:17:50 +0000 wee folding bike 137595@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><em>Almost as bad as the one we got where the speedometer was placed in front of the passenger so that my husband and I had to read each others speed.</em></p> <p>Wouldn't you both have more or less the same speed unless you were going round a corner?</p> <p>And, as well as the Juke obviously, any kind of jeep that's not a Defender looks silly. LED indicators are horrible because the do ON OFF rather than gently on off like a bulb. Alloy wheels, why?</p> <p>Wingpig, brakes and tail lights often use a dual filament bulb. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11913&page=2#post-137589 Thu, 19 Dec 2013 00:56:47 +0000 Wilmington's Cow 137589@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I was asking for it really, starting this thread. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder... ;)</p> <p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/blackpuddinonnabike/8037086798/"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8450/8037086798_fe8869ddca_n.jpg"></a><br /> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/blackpuddinonnabike/8037086798/">Col d'Aspin</a> by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/blackpuddinonnabike/">blackpuddinonnabike</a>, on Flickr</p> <p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/blackpuddinonnabike/6341534060/"><img src="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6058/6341534060_1e0c4dc89f_n.jpg"></a><br /> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/blackpuddinonnabike/6341534060/">Bridger by Night</a> by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/blackpuddinonnabike/">blackpuddinonnabike</a>, on Flickr</p> <p>(though next time I'm not getting white - this is our third Mini, though first Clubman) </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11913&page=2#post-137583 Wed, 18 Dec 2013 23:24:33 +0000 Kenny 137583@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>My taste in cars is clearly "different". I like the BMW X6, the (new) Porsche Cayenne, but especially the Audi Q7.</p> <p>As for ugly, I'd go for the Mini Cooper (the one with the double doors on the back), Fiat Multipla, Renault Avantime, Nissan Juke, Pontiac Aztek. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11913&page=2#post-137557 Wed, 18 Dec 2013 18:16:16 +0000 Min 137557@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>The last hire car we took had a blacked out rear window. Just WTF? The guy who we dealt with reckoned it wasn't a problem as he doesn't use the rear view mirror anyway. I suppose it is a pretty redundant feature for a lot of people. Along with the wing mirrors. And the windscreen in some cases.</p> <p>Almost as bad as the one we got where the speedometer was placed in front of the <em>passenger</em> so that my husband and I had to read each others speed. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11913&page=2#post-137545 Wed, 18 Dec 2013 17:40:28 +0000 Wilmington's Cow 137545@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>"<em>I detest the Range Rover Evoque (the 'baby' one) mostly because of the insanely narrow &amp; high rear window, all done for 'fashion'. The visibility out the back must be worse than an HGV.</em>"</p> <p>Apparently a rear view parking camera is standard for this very reason. Seems ridiculous to design something that then requires this, but actually in practice means that the Evoque probably has rear visibility that exceeds most other cars on the market! (in the same way many understandably call for cameras to be standard on trucks)</p> <p>But. It's still hideous. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11913&page=2#post-137544 Wed, 18 Dec 2013 17:23:13 +0000 kaputnik 137544@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><em>My children could... read the expressions on cars</em></p> <p><a href="http://www.latimes.com/classified/automotive/highway1/la-hy-sinister-faces-pg,0,3053091.photogallery" rel="nofollow">http://www.latimes.com/classified/automotive/highway1/la-hy-sinister-faces-pg,0,3053091.photogallery</a> </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11913&page=2#post-137536 Wed, 18 Dec 2013 17:01:35 +0000 neddie 137536@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I detest the Range Rover Evoque (the 'baby' one) mostly because of the insanely narrow &amp; high rear window, all done for 'fashion'. The visibility out the back must be worse than an HGV.</p> <p>Whenever I see the back end of one, the only thought that goes through my mind is 'How many kids could you line up behind that thing, and the driver be completely unaware they are there?'</p> <p>Another appalling example of fashion over safety. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11913&page=2#post-137534 Wed, 18 Dec 2013 16:59:00 +0000 Cyclingmollie 137534@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>My children could (maybe still can - we don't all go out in the car together much these days) read the expressions on cars. Not just the obvious ones but ones that took a fair bit of imagination to see. Most fell into the category "cheesed". </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11913&page=2#post-137521 Wed, 18 Dec 2013 16:06:12 +0000 fimm 137521@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Ah! I think I was thinking of the Audi Q7. Even uglier than the BMW X6.</p> <p>(My boyfriend likes Audis. I think he'd own one if he could. Hopefully not a Q7...) </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11913&page=2#post-137520 Wed, 18 Dec 2013 16:05:33 +0000 kenny 137520@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>@wingpig, @crowriver</p> <p>I have a Kona Explosif which you must never look up the Portuguese translation for.</p> <p>Actually, I drew up beside somebody on a slightly newer one a year or two back and we "Ooh-ed" and "Aah-ed" at eachother's ancient, but classic, bikes.</p> <p>It's almost old enough not to pay any road tax on ... </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11913&page=2#post-137514 Wed, 18 Dec 2013 15:17:48 +0000 jdanielp 137514@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>"and a trip to the Nurburgring - I don't have a bucket list, but it would be on there if I did"</p> <p>it would probably be best to put that at the bottom of your bucket list WC, just in case... </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11913&page=2#post-137512 Wed, 18 Dec 2013 15:10:14 +0000 Baldcyclist 137512@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>".....We do recommend purchasers also consider a personalised number plate to put, shall we say, the cherry on top."</p> <p>Aw aw. ;-) </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11913&page=2#post-137511 Wed, 18 Dec 2013 15:09:02 +0000 Wilmington's Cow 137511@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><a href="http://www.blipfoto.com/entry/445949">And for completeness my views on ridiculour pick-ups as school-run-mobiles</a> </p>