Can You Identify These Ugly Cars from the '80s?

AUTO

By: Brian Whitney

7 Min Quiz

Image: Wiki Commons via Bull-Doser

About This Quiz

The 1980s were a pretty good time for a lot of us, but looking back, some styles from that decade were pretty awful, and some of the ugliest designs of all had to do with cars. But it wasn't just cars. The '80s were the time of incredibly bad hairstyles, including the mullet. They were when acid-washed jeans were thought of as cool, and people were even wearing MC. Hammer pants. It was the decade of shoulder pads, Members Only jackets, fanny packs and carrying a boombox on your shoulder. There was no way everything else in that decade could be so tacky without cars being affected by it too.

The '80s might have been the worst decade for the design and look of cars of all time — the phrase "unrepentantly blocky" springs to mind. Even brands like Rolls-Royce and Cadillac were making ugly looking cars, so you can imagine how horrific looking the cars put out by Ford and Chevy appeared. And some smaller dealers from overseas were really putting out some awful stuff. 

We've put together some photos for you to check out of some of the ugliest cars of the decade, and man, we sure had a lot to choose from! Can you identify totally grody cars from the '80s from a photo? Take this quiz to find out. 

Beauty might be in the eye of the beholder, but this car is just ugly. Can you name it?

This vehicle took the "luxurious" out of "mid-sized luxury car." And what is up with that razor-edged back end? The Seville was manufactured from 1975 to 2004. It was originally supposed to be called the Cadillac Leland to honor Cadillac's founder, Henry M. Leland.

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Can you tell us what gorgeous ride this is?

The Skylark used to be kind of cool until the '80s. It was made in six generation runs over its 46 years. It had numerous designs, all of which were made to keep up with the times. The 1980s, however, were design-wise not a great decade to keep up with, as this car illustrates.

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Can you name this car from the '80s?

The Caravelle was. in theory, named after a Portuguese sailing ship, but the name was spelled just a bit wrong. This is fitting for this screamingly bland car that didn't do much right. The Caravelle was first introduced in Canada in 1983 and came to the U.S. in 1985

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Which unpleasant '80s car was this?

This was introduced to compete with the Mercedes-Benz SL and Jaguar XJS. Needless to say, The Cadillac Allante failed. It was only produced for six years, and only around 21,000 of them were made during its production run.

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Can you identify this car?

These cars — part of the Volkswagen Golf family — were known for running forever and going for hundreds of thousands of miles, They weren't known, however, for their good looks. A much-cooler version — the "Rabbit Edition" Golf GTI — hit the roads in the 2019 model year.

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Does this car ring a bell?

The Oldsmobile Omega was not good looking, not even a little bit. It also was recalled numerous times by the government for fluid leaks, suspension problems and braking issues. Not a good combo. The name "Omega" was to imply this car was the "last" car you would need, as Omega is the last letter of the Greek alphabet. We hope you've replaced it by now.

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Might you be able to name this car?

This vehicle used to be a Range Rover (or at least a Range Rover chassis) until Glenfrome Engineering got ahold of it and turned it into, well, this incredibly ugly thing. Glenfrome did build some good looking cars though, such as the Delta.

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Does this bland car spark a memory?

It seemed like just about everyone either had a Ford Tempo or knew someone who did back then. They were still ugly though. This car was the same vehicle as the Mercury Topaz and was made in response to the Chevy Cavalier, which, to be fair, was also terrible.

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Here is another unattractive car. Can you name it?

The Renault Fuego was supposed to be a sports car. The only problem is, sports cars are supposed to be good looking. This car was extremely unreliable and did very poorly with sales. Sold in the U.S. by AMC, the Fuego lasted from 1982 through 1985.

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What about this hideous ride?

This car was supposed to look like something from the future, which went to show that everything in the future wouldn't be beautiful, either. The interior was styled as a cockpit, complete with a joystick-shaped shifter. It was called the Alcyone in Japan, and the Vortex in Australia and New Zealand.

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Which '80s eyesore is this?

What was going on with Chevy back then? Did they have any cars in the '80s that weren't uninspired? The Citation was one bad looking car. Developed as the replacement for the Nova, the Citation was the first Chevy to have front-wheel drive. It lasted just one generation, from 1979 to 1985.

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Might you be able to name this car?

Zimmer is a car manufacturer based out of New York that specializes in "neo-classic" automobiles, where modern automobile materials are used to make vehicles in the classic styles of the 1920s and 1930s. The Quicksilver is based on the Pontiac Fiero and is...certainly something.

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Can you name this car from this photo?

You know when something is supposed to be luxurious and fancy but it really just looks totally ugly? This is it. The "Executive" — a limousine with a sedan variant — was only made from 1983 to 1986 and never captured much of the market. In fact, only 1,700 were ever produced.

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What about this horrible-looking car?

Bad kitty! This car was expensive, and at the same time, looked awful. Not the best combination. Introduced in 1981, the Lynx was a Ford Escort under a different name. It was dropped in 1987 when sales went south, although, at one point, it was Mercury's best-selling car.

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Can you name this unpleasant-looking car?

Sold from 1977 through 1984, many say the Phoenix was the start of Pontiac's downfall. This compact car, which replaced the Ventura and was replaced by the Grand Am, was named after the mythical Phoenix who died in a fire and was reborn from its ashes. Pontiac has not been so lucky.

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Can you name this car?

This was one of the cheapest cars you could buy in the U.K. and for good reason: It was awful. Skoda is a car manufacturer from the Czech Republic founded in 1895. The design and development of the Skoda 120, sold as the Estelle in the U.K., was hampered by Soviet bureaucracy and a lack of resources.

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Can you identify this car by its photo?

Just because something is expensive doesn't mean it isn't ugly. This discontinued Rolls-Royce proves that for certain. Sbarro is a small Swiss car manufacturer that specializes in sports cars and replicas and this particular model, based on a Rolls-Royce Camargue, was initially designed as a hunting car for a wealthy Middle Eastern client.

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Can you name this unappealing ride?

Not a good-looking car, the Alliance was sold in the U.S. from 1983 to 1987 by AMC, which was on its last legs at the time. French cars might be a lot of things, but they aren't usually boring. This one was.

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Can you figure out which car this is?

The DeLorean was not a high-performing car. It's also ugly. There. We said it. This car was the only one the DeLorean Motor Company ever produced. The company ended up in bankruptcy, but the DMC 12 is still fondly remembered thanks to its "Back to the Future" fame. If they had only come with flux capacitors in the first place....

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Can you identify this car from the '80s?

Sterling was a brand name of Austin Rover Cars for automobiles marketed in the U.S. It only lasted from 1987 through 1991, possibly because the cars were so ugly. This line was known as the Rover 800 series in England.

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By looking at the photo, can you name this car?

This was supposed to be a tiny jeep, but it was more a big risk to roll over. It was also totally ridiculous looking. The Samurai is dead in the U.S. but lives on in other areas of the world under the name Suzuki Jimny Sierra.

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Can you identify this future beater?

The Fiero, built between 1984 and 1988, was known for its awful performance. It was also known as an ugly attempt at a sports car that tended to catch fire more than other vehicles of the era (although its crash safety rating was among the highest at the time). Despite its flaws, this mid-engine sports car was a top seller for a little while.

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What about this mediocre-looking '80s ride?

Cadillac has always been known for having cars that are large, and, in theory, rather luxurious. This was Cadillac's attempt to go midsize (a "compact executive car," to be exact), but it just ended up looking like the Chevy Cavalier that it was based on. It was available from 1981 through 1988.

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Can you identify this vehicle?

This is another car that was just basically an ugly Chevy Cavalier (the source of many awful cars, it would seem), except it cost way more. It was produced between 1982 and 1988 before fading away.

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Can you name this car by the photo?

There are ugly cars, and there are ugly station wagons. The Eagle somehow managed to be both. On the plus side, the Eagle is known as the first crossover vehicle as it was the only four-wheel-drive passenger vehicle of the time in the U.S. The Eagle was made between 1979 and 1987.

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Which ugly car was this?

Maybe this car looked like it was top of the line back in the '80s but now it just looks kind of tedious. The LeBaron started as a luxury car way back in the 1930s and has actually been the name of five different vehicles made by Chrysler, including sedans, hatchbacks, wagons, mid-sized and personal luxury cars.

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Can you name this bad-looking ride?

The cougar used to be really cool-looking back in the day. Then the '80s happened. When the Cougar was first made in the '60s, it compared favorably to the Ford Mustang.

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Can you identify this '80s car?

Chevy Chevette is one of the worst names ever for a car. But then again, it was also one of the worst-looking cars (Consumer Guide called the Chevette “unimaginative to an extreme”). In 1979 and 1980, however, the Chevette was the best-selling small car in America. The vehicle was discontinued in 1987.

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What is the name of this unsightly car?

In the '80s, many people thought this car looked cool, but they thought the same thing about mullets. The earlier, cooler 1969 version of the Dodge Charger was the car used as the General Lee on the show, The Dukes of Hazzard. A much prettier version of the Charger, now in its seventh generation, is still being produced.

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Can you identify this good-looking ride?

What was this supposed to be? The Cavalier was half compact car, half sedan and all ugly. It was introduced to replace the Chevy Monza in 1982, and was, in turn, replaced by the Cobalt in 2005.

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What is the name of this '80s ride?

The Geo Metro is one ugly car. It was manufactured by General Motors and Suzuki to compete against the wave of European imports in the '80s. Part of its appeal was its fuel economy, however, and when tested in 2009 against a Toyota Prius, it tied at 42 mpg. Unattractive but efficient.

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Can you name this beauty?

The Yugo was the product of a car manufacturer in Yugoslavia called Zastava automobiles. It is thought of as one of the worst cars ever — the "45" in its name describes its engine's horsepower. It is regularly on "worst cars ever" lists.

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How about this ugly car?

The Lada Riva was of Russian origin. The Russians are better at such things now, but back then there were ... issues. Oh, and it's ugly too. The Riva was first introduced in 1980 and continued until 2012.

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Can you name the car in this photo?

This car was just your average tiny hatchback, except it was even more awful to look at than most. Just a very boring car when it came to looks, and initially only offered a three-cylinder 1.0- or 1.20-Liter engine. One thing not boring about the Justy is that it does strangely well as an off-road vehicle.

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By looking at the photo, can you tell which car this is?

This British car was supposed to be much more popular than it was. Maybe its bland looks had something to do with that. Because of various acquisitions and mergers, the Austin Montego was manufactured under different companies from 1984 through 1995.

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Which awful car is this?

It isn't that The Milano is all that ugly; it's more that, as an Alfa Romeo, it should have been gorgeous. And this compact executive sedan, also known as the Alfa Romeo 75, just wasn't. Alfa Romeo is an Italian sports car manufacturer that has been involved in racing since 1911.

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Remember this car from the '80s?

The words "Triumph" and "Acclaim" might make you think this car was a company-saving success, and it did sell well for a while, but it turned out that this Triumph/Honda production would be Triumph's last. This car was made in England and production only lasted from 1981 to 1984.

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We know it isn't pretty, but do you know what it is?

This car was not only ugly, but it also had another problem. It was known to rust like crazy, which is not a good look for a vehicle. It was the first front-wheel-drive car ever produced by Hyundai.

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What is the name of this car?

Ricardo Montalban famously starred in the commercial for Chrysler's 1983 LeBaron series, claiming that the convertible "makes driving fun again." This convertible "woody" version featuring fake teak siding was undoubtedly no exception at the time — and nowadays, its fugly looks may actually generate more smiles than any modern vehicle you could take for a Sunday drive.

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Can you identify this '80s vehicle?

Some cars were bad mechanically, and some just looked bad. The Kia Concord managed to do both. Kia is South Korea's second-largest automobile manufacturer, behind Hyundai.

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