Blast from the Past: Ugly Cars of the 1970s, Pt. 2!

Continuing last week's Blast from the past theme, here is another batch of the ugly cars of the 1970s. And please note, that the first car in the list--though a 1980 model billed as "the first Chevy of the 80s"--was being sold in April 1979! And the '70 Ford Maverick may have been released in 1969, but it was sold well into the 1970s. Mmmkay?

1. Chevy Citation (1980) - This ugly car was the next size up from a Chevette. . .with no visible improvements. And what's the deal with the missing back wheels in the ad? Who thought that was a good idea?

2. Ford Maverick (1970) - This one doesn't look ugly to me anymore. But it did in the seventies. It seemed to me to be the Pinto's big brother.




3. Mustang II (1976) - Yes, there were a couple of models of the Mustang II that managed to be somewhat attractive. But there were some homely ones too. More importantly, how could they put the Mustang brand on a Pinto?


4. Dodge Omni (1978) - Chrysler's projects were often inferior imitations of other manufacturer's products back in the old days, but seldom were they as ugly as the Rabbit/Chevette knockoff Dodge Omni.




5. Plymouth Horizon TC3 (1979) - Identical to the Omni except in name, was the Horizon. They stretched the brand with this somewhat more attractive fastback version. But it was still pretty ugly.

6. AMC Matador (1977) - Mitt Romney's dad's company produced a huge amount of ugly. But the Matador--with it's Pacer-esque front end--was it's own special kind.




7. Mercury Bobcat (1976) - When you've got two car divisions, you apparently have to spread the ugly around. Lincoln-Mercury produced this upscale version of the Pinto to virtually no acclaim.


8. Oldsmobile Starfire (1975) - This was apparently Olds' answer to the Chevrolet Vega/Monza. Having lived through the 70s myself, this one is apparently burned from my memory. Evidently though, they manage to make over 125 thousand of them in five model years.



Okay, so I think that will do it for this week's edition of Blast from the Past, and from this category. Have a great week everybody. Happy Monday!