Can You Identify These Ugly Cars From the ’70s and ’80s?

After the '60s, American Motors Corp. was a small company struggling to compete with the heavyweights of the car industry. The Matador was AMC's mid-sized answer to the Ford Torino and Chevrolet Monte Carlo.

The name "Pacer" was meant to signify the car's pace-setting craftsmanship. In 1982, American Motors donated the first Pacer to the Detroit Historical Museum. A 36-foot Pacer limousine was featured in the film "Wayne's World 2."

The Chevrolet Gremlin was manufactured from 1970 to 1983. Chevrolet's head of design at the time, Dick Teague, decided to develop the Gremlin by revamping the Hornet model, eliminating 12 inches from the car's wheelbase and discarding the sheet metal at the back wheels.

The first Aston Martin Lagonda that sold to a U.S. customer was delivered in February 1950. The highly-anticipated 21st-century DBX model is Aston Martin's first SUV. Aston Martin has set plans in motion to be the first completely electric luxury car brand.

The 1986 Subaru BRAT GL came fully equipped with similar amenities to high-end cars. Subaru passed the car off as a passenger vehicle instead of a pickup truck classification to avoid the 25 percent U.S. "chicken tax" on imported pickup trucks.

Great Britain's Bond Company produced the Bond Bug at the start of the 1970s. The car was released on the market as a "micro-car." In addition to its looks, the car has been maligned for being mechanically unstable.

Through the years, the 1972 Ford Pinto has developed a reputation for being the worst American car ever made. The Pinto was quick to rust, and the model embroiled Ford Motor Company in legal battles because the gas tank would explode if the car was ever rear-ended.

Introduced in 1960, the Dart was Dodge's shot at the compact car market. The first model was a smaller full-sized car. Dodge managed to tweak the '60 model and eventually produced a true compact car in 1963.

In spite of being one of the ugliest car creations ever, the 1979 Oldsmobile Cutlass is renowned in California as being the most stolen car. Other model years of the classic rank among the top ten of the criminal list. Allegedly, the car is a favorite among gang members.

The 4,580-pound Chrysler Cordoba was 215 inches long, yet it was 12 inches shorter than Chrysler's other models. The car's ridiculed gold-embellishments were intended to conjure images of Spanish antiquity.

Chevrolet produced the last El Camino in 1987. The company borrowed the half-car/half-utility truck design concept from Ford Australia's 1930s ute models. The first El Camino was manufactured in Arlington, Texas in 1958.

The 1971 Volkswagon Thing evolved from the concept of the Kübelwagen, which was a German military car. Between 1969 and 1981, the Kübelwagen was constructed for German forces.

General Motors moved large quantities of the rear-wheel drive, low-priced Chevrolet Chevette during the oil crisis that ensued after the Iranian Revolution. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ranked the Chevette as one of the only U.S. best-mileage car models.

Oldsmobile released 34 models in 1976, including the 98 Regency coupe and the Starfire model. The Cutlass was the best-selling model of '76 in America. The base price of the rear-wheel-drive Oldsmobile '98 Regency was $13,962.

In 1979, the base price of a standard Pinto Wagon was $3,500. The Pinto Cruising Wagon, fully equipped with power steering, power brakes, and air conditioning, was priced at $6,000 that same year.

Weighing in at a whopping 4,757 pounds, the 1978 Ford Country Squire was a massive presence on the road; Ford then shaved 10 inches in length off the 1979 edition. The '78 model could achieve a speed of just over 101 miles per hour.

The four-door, four-wheel-drive Subaru GL Wagon was one of the best-selling wagons of 1987. Of the 596,788 station wagons that shared America's roads in July 1987, 339,684 were Subaru four-wheel-drive models.

The Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser wagon had a sturdy transmission and 350-cubic inch V-8s. The 455 cubic engine was a possible upgrade for the base model, and the Vista Cruiser could seat up to seven passengers.

Before going bankrupt in 1975, Bricklin Vehicle Canada manufactured the Bricklin SV-1. Bricklin unveiled the vehicle on June 25, 1974 in Manhattan. The SV-1 featured a roll cage, wing doors and urethane bumpers.

Volvo debuted the 262C to the United States in 1978. The car was priced at $15,000 and was ranked in the upscale division of vehicles. The Volvo 262C's attractive interior included black hand-sewn Italian leather.

In 1991, Yugo America filed for bankruptcy. In honor of the failed fleet, art students in Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles transformed "ugly" Yugos into works of art in a 1995 exhibit titled "Yugo Art."

The Ford Mustang muscle-car legacy dimmed with the unsightly 1983 model; the car's "Foxy Body" was anything but foxy. Ford revved up the power and speed of subsequent models. Customers grew more and more attracted to the 5.0-liter V-8 engine the car sported in the mid-80s.

American automotive designer Carroll Shelby teamed up with Chrysler to produce the 1982 Dodge Charger. Dodge paused production of the high-powered Charger after the 1987 model year.

The front-wheel-drive Chevrolet Citation was introduced in 1980 and manufactured until 1985. In spite of its eye-souring design, the 1980 model won the "Motor Trend Car of the Year" award.

After Ford introduced the decidedly "ugly" Mercury Cougar, the company raised prices on all the company's 1982 models by 4.8 percent in the name of "product improvements." The increase for the Cougar L8 was one percent higher than that; the price went from $8,113 in '81 to $8,587.

Chrysler fielded numerous customer complaints regarding the 1985 Chrysler LeBaron, as some of the high-powered models would stall repeatedly. The car was initially priced at $15,400.

American Motors only sold 7,239 units of the AMC Eagle in 1986. The car debuted in 1979. Perhaps already-plummeting sales took a massive nosedive after the ugly '83 edition reared its front end onto the car scene.

The Cavalier emerged from the '70s J-car platform as General Motors's response to foreign models that were proving to be formidable U.S. car market competitors. The company introduced the Cavalier in 1982. Apparently, an attractive exterior was not a priority for the '85 edition.

This 1983 auto "beauty" came straight out of England from the Glenfrome company, which was founded in the 1970s. The company also manufactured limousines that were equipped with stairs.

The 1984 Rover 200 was based on the Honda Ballade. For the Ballade, Honda forged a manufacturing relationship with British Leyland car company. Honda inserted its transmission and engine parts into the Leyland frame.

With a frame that only a die-hard car collector could love, the Rolls-Royce Sbarro's look was likely an acquired taste even for fans of automotive designer Franco Sbarro, who re-crafted the Camargue to produce the car for a Moroccan king. Paolo Martin designed the original Camargue.

Cadillac enthusiasts were less enthused about the 1975 Seville because it was smaller than the brand's contemporary models. Nevertheless, Cadillac won many new converts with the now-classic design.

Chrysler Corp. made the Plymouth Caravelle for the Canadian car market. The ugly frame of the 1983 model may have put a strain on U.S.-Canadian relations from the looks of things. The company opened a new plant specifically for the Caravelle and two other models.

Oldsmobile based the 1984 Omega on its Citation model. The high-end Omega replicas were Brougham sedans equipped with crypto-velour upholstery. The Omega Brougham priced at $8,104.

The first Volkswagen Rabbit GTI that sold in the U.S. was the 1983 model, but the car was introduced in 1975. The Plymouth Horizon and the Chevy Chevette imitated the GTI after it proved to be a success.

General Motors had high hopes for the Allante, which the company introduced in '86 as a 1987 model. But in addition to its challenged appearance, the first units were not assembled well.

Buick premiered the Skylark as a 1953 model and rebranded the name a few times before unveiling the 1980 front-wheel-drive version in 1979. The car was a hit; Buick sold 202,933 units in 1981.

The low-powered Trabant was an East German car creation that was neither environmentally friendly nor physically appealing. Production of the vehicle stalled when sales slumped and economic issues stemming from Germany's reunification proved impossible.

Ford introduced the 1981 Mercury Lynx to replace the Mercury Bobcat. That same year, the infamous Ford Pinto was laid to rest and replaced by the Ford Escort, which dominated the North American subcompact car market for many years thereafter.

Did Ford tack on an "ugly" tax for purchasing the 1986 Ford Tempo? That year, the company increased the price of the Ford Tempo GL model by 2.4 percent. The '86 price tag was $7,687.