13 Ugly ’70s Cars We Just Can’t Stand

The 1970s was not a good decade for car enthusiasts. Performance was hampered by the oil crisis and stricter emissions regulations.

Even design-wise, they didn’t hold a candle to the stunning models that had appeared throughout the 1960s.

Still, as bland as most cars were, some models stood out as particularly ugly, and here we’ll cover some of the worst eyesores of them all.

Ford Mustang II Ghia

Since its debut in 1964, the Ford Mustang has been a style icon. Like Elvis, it put on some weight over the years, and its performance suffered, but it was still cool and loved. Then, Ford introduced the Mustang II, and nothing was cool about it.

As bad as the Mustang II looked, the Ghia model was particularly offensive to the eyes. Ford decided to make it more “luxurious” and covered the C-pillars and rear section of the roof in padded vinyl. It then slapped on some color-coded bumpers, a cheap set of hubcaps, and various luxury items and called it a day.

Aston Martin Lagonda

Nowadays, collectors fawn over the Aston Martin Lagonda that debuted in the 1970s, proving that money can’t buy taste.

Since the Lagonda’s designers clearly only knew how to draw straight lines and triangles, it’s the wedgiest of all the wedge-shaped cars. If it’s looks weren’t bad enough, it’s also stuffed to the rafters with old-school tech, which never works as it should.

Sebring-Vanguard CitiCar

If you’re into EVs and wonder why dinosaur juice enthusiasts refer to them as glorified golf carts, the Sebring-Vanguard CitiCar may be to blame. In fact, we’d rather drive a golf cart than this.

It was styled to look like a cheese wedge, powered by a 2.5-hp electric motor that gave it a 25 mph top speed, and it had a 40-mile range — the CitiCar had no redeeming features. To make matters worse, a company called Commuter Vehicles bought the design. They renamed it the Commuta-Car and installed massive bumper extensions, making it even uglier!

Volvo 262C

Volvo introduced the 262C as its first luxurious coupe, and we really wish they hadn’t. The Swedish carmaker sent around 6,600 262 GL coupes to Bertone, the Italian design house, who then chopped 2.6 inches off its height, making it unusable for everyone taller than six feet — which was probably 80% of the Scandinavian population.

We can accept that cars are impractical if they’re stunning to look at. That’s something the Italians have done for decades. However, the Volvo 262C looks worse than the regular two-door model with its roofline intact.

Saab Sonett III

Volvo isn’t the only Swedish carmaker that messed up, as Saab also has its fair share of blunders. They actually designed the third-generation Sonett specifically for the American market tastes. Someone must’ve convinced them that the Americans don’t have taste!

It has a massive front overhang, which is made even worse by the mandatory 5-mph bumpers. In stark contrast to its long front, the rear end is abruptly cut off. The rest of the Sonett III’s design is a mishmash of curves and pointy bits, and it just looks messy.

Bricklin SV-1

The Bricklin SV-1 looks like an evolution of the aforementioned Saab Sonett III, and that’s not a good thing. It’s actually not related to the Sonett at all, as it was the brainchild of American businessman Malcolm Bricklin.

We’re sure Bricklin meant well, as the SV-1 was supposed to be a super-safe, small, affordable sports car with gullwing doors. While that sounds great, it looked terrible, and to make matters worse, it suffered from shoddy build quality and wasn’t even particularly safe. It’s fancy gullwing doors were known to fail, leaving occupants trapped inside the car.

Marcos Mantis M70

Another hideous sports car, this time from the land of tea and crumpets. British carmakers have designed and built some of the best-looking sports cars ever, yet Marcos Engineering tried to get away with the grotesque Mantis M70.

Marcos marketed the Mantis towards the “younger English executive market,” and they actually sold 32 cars. All of whom should have had their eyesight tested, as blind people aren’t allowed to drive.

AMC Gremlin & Pacer

We’re feeling generous today, so we’ll give you two for one, starting with the AMC Gremlin. In all fairness, AMC responded to the era’s needs, making it a successful car. We’re pretty sure it would’ve been an even bigger success if it didn’t look like they chopped the rear end off a regular car.

With the Pacer, it was more of the same, but with a more rounded design and a large glass area that would bake the passengers when driving in the sun. Its passenger-side door was also bigger than the one on the driver’s side.

British Leyland Princess

British Leyland introduced the Princess in 1975, and while it’s not the worst-looking car ever, it’s an awkward wedge-shaped car that’s instantly forgettable.

To make matters worse, it was also impractical and unreliable. It looked like a hatchback design, but it really wasn’t, and the trunk space could only be accessed via a small lid.

Reliant Robin

Reliant sold the first-generation Robin three-wheeler from 1973 until 1981, and while we’ve seen some cool-looking three-wheelers, this certainly isn’t one of them.

The Reliant Robin was never as prone to tipping over as various movies and TV shows suggested, but it was still a laughable attempt at making a car for people who can’t afford to buy one with four wheels.

Porsche 914

Today, the Porsche 914 is more popular than ever, and prices are on the rise. While we understand the allure of owning a classic, mid-engined Porsche, the 914 isn’t exactly a looker.

From the front, it looks okay, but from the middle and towards the rear end, the 914’s design starts to fall apart. The windshield angle combined with the swept-back B-pillar makes it look like the top half is trying for dear life to hang on to the car. In fact, the whole car seems to be designed using lines that don’t flow together.

Vanden Plas 1500

The Vanden Plas 1500 is peak badge engineering. It’s based on the already horrible Austin Allegro — a car so bad that it’s among the worst cars ever made.

Then, British Leyland threw on a Rolls-Royce-inspired grille, upgraded the interior with leather seats, deep-pile carpet, and walnut pieces, and marketed it for almost twice the price of the Allegro. Who says you can’t polish a turd?

Leata Caballero

The worst part about the Leata Caballero isn’t that they misspelled caballero. It started out as a Chevrolet Chevette, a car that didn’t look horrible but was slow, noisy, cramped, and had poor handling.

Donald E. Stinebauch must have looked at the Chevette and thought, “I bet I can make it even worse!” It’s safe to say he pulled it off, and then he had the nerve to charge innocent people nearly double the Chevette’s price.