The Good, The Bad, and The Incredibly Ugly Cars

#17: 1980 Yugo GV

Normally, I’m not one for beating a dead horse, but what the heck, let’s say it again: the Yugo is an ugly little urchin. It initially cost a relatively low #3,990, but for that low cost, you got shoddy construction, low reliability, and just a generally unpleasant ride.

The Yugo was originally supposed to be a sort of symbol of pride for its home country Yugoslavia. To its credit, it is the only Yugoslavian-made car in history. Of course, Yugoslavia stopped being a country in the early 90s, so that doesn’t mean as much anymore. But hey, on the bright side, there’s plenty of Yugo parts to go around these days in case you’re driving one and it breaks down.

Some cars, like the Yugo, have nothing but ugliness to them. This next car started ugly, but ended up being part of an impressive pedigree.

#16: 1989 Alfa Romeo SZ

When you think Alfa Romeo, you think of the modern Italian titan of luxury cars. But this is not the case with the ’89 SZ. Back then, Alfa Romeo hadn’t quite established themselves as a luxury brand, so they were still trying to find their groove. One of those groove-finding experiments was the SZ. Spoiler: it didn’t work.

The SZ, with its predominantly red and black color scheme (including checkered floor mats) and six headlights, kind of looks like something Spider-Man would drive if he had no style or sense of brand recognition. If nothing else, you certainly wouldn’t lose track of it in a crowded parking lot.

Speaking of brand recognition, next up is a car that worked well in the States, and pretty much nowhere else.