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I can’t put ugly, and anything in that photo in the same sentence.
Yes.
And I think Chevrolet needs to dump the bow-tie badge, it is really Buick-old. The Aztek designers still have a job at GM?
I’m no styling expert but I can offer an opinion.
The headlights are too big. They almost extend to the A-pillar. I understand that the designers are probably trying to slope the entire front end for better aerodynamics. But all the features of the front end are too big for the size car. This must be a trend. Audi bass–mouth grille. The new Mazda 3 has a whopper of a grille.
Here I thought the Aveo took the cake in this range, but they’ve outdone it.
The ugliness appears easily remedied. That’s what’s so ugly about it.
If the models are placed there in every showroom across NA, it should do fine. They’re covering up the ugliest part (but not by much). I would LOVE to understand the inner workings of the design departments at GM. Most likely still top-down design decisions, not so collaborative. GM is a wonder to me. That they can come up with the Vette, which has been consistently a well-designed (exterior) car (barring the latest concept car travesty), and then come up with this POS is mind-boggling. It’s like they said “Hmmmm… Toyota is doing something neat with the Yaris headlights, let’s try that…” and then hyper-extend them. Then they see that the Fit uses creased metal (very well), and say “let’s do that too, that’s neat…” and then overdo that. These clowns need to learn restraint. Something Toyota and Honda do well (though usually to the point of boring). IMO Nissan is doing it all right from a design perspective, save for the overdone new Infinity FX line (loved the old, hate the new).
Other then the too-big headlights, it doesn’t look that bad to me.
Not even close to the worlds ugliest car. Not bad for what it is IMO.
I won’t say it’s unattractive, but I will say it makes a Yaris look downright handsome.
No, the Aztek is still the winner.
John
Smaller cars are apparently harder to style than larger one (although of course the Big 2.x have made plenty of really ugly big cars in their time). Anyhow, compared with other cars in its size its average looking, neither ugly nor pretty.
I don’t see how one could design an aerodynamic,tiny, fuel saving vehicle, without
the end result being ugly.
Toyotas position as number one builder of ugly cars is not threatened.
They are plenty of uglier cars around like the Corolla S, Aztek,Versa,etc.
From wikipedia.com “First shown to the public in 1999, the Pontiac Aztek concept car was fairly well received.[2] It featured “Xtreme” futuristic styling and promised maximum versatility in support of a young and active lifestyle for its intended Generation ‘X’ buyer demographic.”
Just scale back the grill assembly and the headlights and it wouldn’t look all that bad. I’ve seen many other pictures of the Spark” (or Beat as it was originally named); I find the size and proportions are nicely done.
Ugh, the giant headlights are enough for me. It seems very odd to me when the area of a car’s headlight cluster is greater than the area of the adjacent wheel.
Naahhhh But it’s right in there with the Yaris, Smartcar, Nitro, Element and anything Scion.
If those enormous headlights function better than any others on earth, I could live with it.
If not, what the heck?!
Ugliest? Not even close. While the headlights are disproportionate, the rest is fine. At least it is interesting, which is more than you can say for the Aveo.
It ranks right up there with the Scion xBox, Nissan Cube, Toyota Yaris coupe, Smartcar, Honda Element and the old Aztek.
The models sure help!
Not exactly gorgeous, but interesting. If the price is right, I think they have a shot at scooping up some of the market that Scion has aimed for but thus far missed.
If they do something about those giant bug eyed headlights, and paint it a different colour I would say it’s sorta handsome. It’s going to take more than this to dethrone the mighty Aztek from it’s position as World’s Ugliest Car.
The only thing I don’t like about that design is the headlights. They’re a bit much. Other than that, it’s actually a handsome car, I think.
It seems that as economic times get worse, cars get more “expressive.” Here we have the pouty whale mouth and the bug-eyed stare combined. Better Mazda’s new cartoon grin?
Beauty (and the beast) is in the eye of the beholder, but…
I still think the Mitsuoka Orochi takes the cake for ugliest car.
On a sidenote, the name change from “Beat” to “Spark”: almost makes it seem like they’re cashin’ in on the Volt. But GM would never do something like that right? Right?
OK..so nobody is going to call the Aztec handsome
But how far back are we going?How about a 61 Plymouth,an Echo or a 51 Studebaker? They are all in the history books and so is the Aztec.
With the new Mazda 3 on the market soon, GM will have to try harder. They’ve gotta be Avis. (“We try harder.”)
Yes.
With the new Mazda 3 on the market soon, GM will have to try harder. They’ve gotta be Avis. (”We try harder.”)
Mazda did an ugly facelift on the ’09 Miata, too. Sad.
Close second after Tata Nano
Have ya’ll seen an Aztek lately?
It fits right in these days, hell it looks kinda good. It was just before its time. A Honda Element with poor color choice is way worse.
Those girls need to put on some weight. They would look healthier, and also cover up that Aztek better.
No, of course not. There are many contenders for the title of World’s Ugliest Car, but the Spark is well back in the pack.
Not that it’s at all handsome. It’s just your typical egg-shaped little car with a Transformers-inspired front. I wish some “journalist” would ask GM the cost of replacing one of those humongous headlight covers. Better stay off gravel roads.
Say, what’s with the obsession with the Aztek? After the truly egregious cladding was scaled back for the 2002 model, it was just a clunky-looking wannabe-macho SUV. The greenhouse and rear glass have a lot of similarity to a Prius.
No. Not even close. Chevrolet had a good idea here, however, it went… awry. They are trying to take the recent Mazda style to a screeching extreme (in a desperate attempt to have youth appeal and/or have young customers). There is nothing subtle about the Spark. Chevrolet is playing the recent trend. Look at a Honda Fit and the recent Mazda 3. Only problem is they are playing it TOO FAR. There needs to be subtlety in the design, just enough. Here is an idea for the logo (dang it looks out of place) – place the traditional logo on the side and on the front have something like “Chevy” or “Chevrolet” in stylish lettering.
Ugliest car ever? Perhaps the Fiat Multipla or the Pontiac Aztek. Or… that thing. You know, that thing! It was this car that looked like a crab wearing ugly braces! Who here can name it? Seriously, it looked like an ugly crab wearing braces…
I wouldn’t say so at all. The legs may be a bit skinny however the dress is interesting, as is that look…. Oops! There’s a car there too?
Like others have stated if the headlights weren’t the size of the front quarter panels it would improve things ten fold. But Pea Soup Green Metallic w/gray plastic accents don’t help the cause. Overall its not THAT bad for a Chevy (or Toyota).
And yes the new Mazda 6 grill makes the Audi “billy the bass” front end look like a minnow. What were THEY thinking? Shameful as the old 6 was very nice looking to me.
Personally, I love the design. It looks just like my Aztek only smaller.
Unfortunately, ugly is about all that’s distinctive.
It would be pretty if it weren’t proportioned such that the headlights were bigger than the wheels.
“Honey, did you put the Aztek in the clothes dryer?”
“Yes….”
Yes ugly and out of proportion. It’s like a puffed up clown car.
Someone please give that blond something to eat.
Yeah the concept car proportions got lost in the final. Guess its fine if we dont get it here in the US. Its funny GM concept cars are in the transformers movie not the final production versions (volt/spark/corvette/ even camaro) they always sacrifice too much.
I might not call it the world’s ugliest car.
But if you think either one of those girls — or any girls anywhere even somewhat like them — would be standing next to that car, without first having been paid more than the car is worth…
…well, maybe you’re the kind of person who needs to be told that the Cruze is the world’s ugliest car.
Beauty is skin deep, but ugly goes all the way to the chassis?
Er, Spark.
Can anyone keep track of all the new models GM won’t be producing?
Want to see a truly ugly car? Try the Datsun F10 which was Nissan’s first U.S. front-wheel-drive model. The Spark’s headlights are big, but Nissan attempted to make the F10’s look bigger by adding 12-inch aluminum dinner plates around the headlight.
Looks like “son of Aztek” to me. It’s so small, the skinny girls block the view!
The F-10 was nasty.
Bunter
Not as long as the Kia Amanti is for sale. Or that Chevy Spark in India (God help you if you click on this http://www.chevyspark.in/) Lots of other uglies out there vying for the title.
And you can tell someone is asleep at the wheel with this display. Pay some kid a few bucks to scrub those letters and numbers off the tires before you put it up there for all to see. And hire someone with some color coordination skills. That hideous blue dress on the blond clashes with that Garish Green.
But then again, this is Chevrolet – same company that thinks a tacky fat gold bowtie is “in”. Just like chrome wheels. And Ford taillights. Yeah, people will really like those. Sigh.
Not really the ugliest car of all time, but the front end does look like a Pokemon having a colonoscopy.
For GM, “small” has always equaled “cheap”. That’s why it has gray plastic all over the front, to scream “cheap”.
Of course it has tiny wheels. On a car that size you have to, or they take up too much interior space. So why is it necessary to have the big fender flare to emphasize how small the wheels are? I don’t get that.
That paint color doesn’t look good on a lot of vehicles. Done correctly it’s a beautiful lime gold that jumps right into your face in the sunlight, but too often it looks just like metallic olive drab. Anyway, you need bright colors on a vehicle that size, to maximize the chance that other drivers can see the little thing beside them or back near their blind spots. Maybe that’s the reason for the headlights too.
61 plymouth valiant
Go to Google images for a look. My dad had one and even as a 3 year old child I thought it was hideous. Both round and angular it was a mishmash of hideous design cues squeezed into a compact.
Nothing else comes close
I heard the headlamp clusters were an appeal to the youth demographic. You can remove it and use if for wakeboarding or tobogganing depending on the season.
Panamera. Porsche. There is no substitute.
It’s pretty ugly, but not the worst. Though like it’s been said above it sticks out to you because you know exactly why it’s ugly and you have more than a few ideas on how to fix it.
How can you consider that thing ugly? Haven’t you ever seen Citroen’s from the 50’s? A whole line up of ugliness.
It’s not ugly… it’s special.
It looks like it could fit through the front door of my house; probably has <50 inches of shoulder room.
I think the lights are over-sized so they will get smashed.
Th!nk about it, any small collision, even rear, will probably flex the body panels and crack/dislodge/shatter the huge light assemblies. Oh, we’re sorry, replacement light assemblies are $500 each, plus labor.
It needs bigger taillights.Why look around you no car is cool unless the headlights touch the taillights,luckily we have the new Nissan line with the Z-car & Versa to help out. this terrible imbalance.
Ha, I actually like it for some reason. I wish they’d kept it closer to the concept, though — that was much better proportioned.
There is a 2009 Honda Fit that parks down the street. It also has huge headlight assemblies. They’re shaped differently than the Spark, but they’re huge nonetheless.
You’ve seen a Toyota Prius, I know you have, so why are you even bothering to ask this question?
Many in the automotive press are calling this a great looking car. What is so bad about it?
What is wrong with a few daring proportions?
Have you seen Korean market cars? If you had, you wouldn’t need to ask that question.
No. Still gotta give it to the Honda Element and the Scion box thing. Do they still make the Element?
It’s not that bad looking (other then paint job, although many South-Asian people love that color). And I’m really surprised that it’s got mirror cups painted. Most domestics and some cheaper Japanese vehicles don’t bother with that (that’s ugly).
Nope Aztek is #1, but the Knock off Cherry Automobiles will do of the spark in their (QQ Mrk II) will deserve #2 and the Spark will fall in line… just because it’s the original….
The problem is they’ve tried to give this tiny, emasculating car a macho, pickup truck front end. It just doesn’t fit.
all it’s features are just too oversized for such a small car
It’s a leprechaun!
No, it’s not the ugliest. Close, but no cigar. The front end of the new Mazda 3 beats it.
It would actually look semi-okay if they’d tone waaaaaaay down on those headlights. They’re really too much.
Not the worst but ranks right down there with the
“refreshed” 03-05 Cavalier, last generation Celica and Mitsubishi Montero and the Dodge Caliber.Incoherent beasts, all.
Sherman Lin: the first Generation Valiant was referred to as a “Road Toad”. A mantle the Dodge Caliber has taken on for the 21st Century.
Bimmer: that color is not limited to South Asian appeal. It’s a trendy, popular color. It’s fashionable ya know? Get that young crowd, like the Aztek was supposed to.
Booger is the new black.