After seeing a mid-1980s Jeep Wrangler roll by me in traffic the other day and shuddering at the square headlights, I got to wondering what other ill-advised automotive redesigns have been dropped on the general public over the years. Immediately I thought about the 1975 Charger which went from the decent looking “fuselage” styling to the barf inducing Ricardo Monalban-era look with the long nose, oddly proportioned headlights and huge front grill. The fun doesn’t end there, though.
Ford certainly had one on their hands when the Mustang II sprang onto the scene. The 1973 Mustang was a decent looking car with the sportsroof tapering down to meet the rear spoiler and a nifty front end. Although neutered, the Mach 1 was still an option and it at least looked like a muscular pony car. Then 1974 happened and the Mustang looked like a My Little Pony car and one that was destined for the glue factory at that. Putting the two cars side by side is an interesting exercise. Yes, the Mustang II did what it had to do for the era and kept the Mustang alive until the 1979 revision that was used all the way into the mid-1990s. That doesn’t mean it was good to look at!
There are lots of examples along these lines. Hell, some would say that the new Camaro should fall under this category. Since we have named a couple above, we’re leaving it up to you now to come up with more.
The question of the day is: What is the worst year to year redesign of a car ever?
The 1973 Chevelle
OH Dear God Yes !!! Mine had a 350 auto that couldn’t pull a old lady of the can , I had to have a readers digest under the seat back rest so I could seat up right in the seat , then my head rubed the roof . I hated every thing about that car & the damned thing went 300 K when I finely couldn’t take it anymore . Traded it for a Chevette and it was still an improvement !!
96 Taurus – US’s best import fighter went bubbly
98 Cougar – front drive smiley face
03 Silverado – batman frontend only a mother could love
68 Thunderbird – 4 doors?!?!
68 Corvette – began the gold chain and open shirt movement.
HEY! The ’67 T-bird has 4-doors too! And I rather like the design, it was in 1970 when they when BIG and ugly LTD style.
I’m know I’m not the only one on this, but the new Camaros do not look at all like a ’69 Camaro, looks like it belongs and should stay in a Transformer movie. Yes, I’m a Mopar diehard, but even some of my Chevy friends agree with me on this one.
No matter what they do they never can get away from at least 108″ wb, 3800+ lbs and no friggin’ full frame! At least, from 2d gen on…
MMMMMM, Corinthian leather.
1988 Buick Regal: From GNX to R.I.P.
Likewise with the 1980 Skylark when it went FWD.
Toyota FJ…Almost as bad looking as a Pontiac Aztec.
No the winner is the ’74 Mustang II. Ford was not content to desecrate the name to the vast extent that they did; the crowning touch was putting some decals on the SOB and calling a Cobra. Honorable mention to their introduction of the Fiesta, a fairly decent small car for the times just after that and then killing it the following year.
1987 Chevy Pickup, at least the one ton, Suburban and Blazer made it to 91 alive. 94 Dodge Pickup
err, 88
The 85-88 Cherolet “Nova” or really, a rebadged Corolla.
[img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cc/1986_Chevrolet_Nova_Hatchback.jpg[/img]
The 75 “Char-doba” (pictured) definitely was pretty bad. Chrysler should have been able to differentiate the styling of the Charger and Cordoba better. They came close to getting it right in 1978 with the Magnum, but buy then, the Charger name had been tarnished beyond recognition.
The 1978 Bronco. It went from a small beauty to an oversized ogre.
I’m not so sure about the 71-73 Mustang being better looking than the 74? The 70 was a great look that Ford should have kept! But they all looked better than the crapbox econo stuff we are stuck with nowadays!
Fox body Mustangs. Just because it has a 5.0 doesn’t mean it’s gonna look good going down the road. What ugly trash, driven by white trash.