QOTD: Best-looking Awful Car?

“Awful” can mean a lot of things, some of them pretty benign. A car can simply a boring appliance, and to some, this makes said car awful. Others might disagree.

Other vehicles might boast many positive attributes, only to have reliability issues render them awful in the minds of many. Yet an awful car can still be a thing of beauty, in the purely physical sense. Name one.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve made a point of looking, in vain, for that goddamn comet in the evening sky, getting eaten alive by mosquitoes from my viewing point along a well-treed shoreline of a nearby river. I’m convinced it’s a hoax.

The only real comet to ever exist was built by Ford Motor Company’s Mercury division. Prove me wrong.

But it’s entirely possible that, during those moments of fruitless sky scanning, my eyes flitted across a gleaming point of light. A very important star, if there ever was one: Vega.

The Chevrolet Vega was a disaster that sullied General Motors’ reputation in an era of decline, hastening the growth of a stigma that only swelled in size during the ’80s diesel fiasco. We all know the car’s shady history. Designed by committee at the highest levels of the GM totem, then hastily foisted on the Chevrolet division. There were innovations, careful considerations to packaging and shipping and cost.

Alas, GM delivered an oil-gulping turd that turned brown faster than a sliced apple on a hot day. But boy, was that an attractive car.

With a front mimicking a second-generation Camaro, a sporty, sloping roofline, and a tidy, almost Italian rear, the Vega had all the right proportions. Its little steel wheels were fetching, like that of a circa 1980 Corolla. Combine that car’s looks and handling dynamics with reliability, and you’d have had a real winner. Too bad that by the time GM fixed the model’s grievous engine wear, overheating, and corrosion issues, customers were treating it like a coughing stranger in an elevator.

Luckily for GM, Ford was already earning itself a black eye at this point with its sometimes-explosive Pinto, while Chrysler Corp was doing its part for domestic car stigma with the new Aspen and Volare. Sad!

My choice of Vega for best-looking shitty car might run in opposition to your choice. There’s a lot of automakers out there, and many foisted vehicle son the buying public that prioritized style over function and durability. Name some names.

[Images: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, General Motors]