The year 2000 was supposed to be the future. We survived the Y2K bug, everyone had a Nokia 3310, and for some reason, automotive designers decided that "eyesight" was an optional requirement for the car-buying public. Honestly, looking back at that decade is a bit like looking at middle school photos of yourself. You see a lot of questionable choices, too much plastic cladding, and a desperate attempt to be "edgy" that just ended up looking... well, weird.
The 2000s were a wild west for car design. It was a transitional era. Computers were finally allowing for complex curves, but manufacturers hadn't quite figured out how to make those curves look, you know, good. This resulted in a decade of experimental "crossovers" and "retro-futurism" that gave us some of the most offensive sheet metal to ever roll off an assembly line.
If you lived through it, you remember. If you didn't, consider this a warning. Here is the reality behind the ugliest cars of the 2000s and how they even got made in the first place.
The Pontiac Aztek: The "Angry Kitchen Appliance"
We have to start here. It’s the law. If you talk about ugly cars, the Pontiac Aztek is the undisputed heavyweight champion. Launched in 2001, it didn't just miss the mark; it aimed for the mark and hit a bystander three blocks away.
General Motors’ then-CEO once famously described it as looking like an “angry kitchen appliance.” He wasn't wrong. The Aztek featured a bizarre double-decker front end, grey plastic body cladding that looked like it was glued on by a toddler, and wheel arches that were far too small for its bulky body. It looked misassembled.
Why did it happen?
The irony is that the Aztek was actually a great idea. It was one of the first true "crossover" SUVs. It came with a removable cooler in the center console and a literal tent that attached to the back for camping. It was built for "active" people. But the design process was a disaster of "corporate groupthink."
According to Bob Lutz, who joined GM shortly after the Aztek launched, the development team was basically a cult. Anyone who said the car was ugly was kicked off the project. They were so focused on meeting internal "innovation" goals that they forgot to ask if anyone actually wanted to be seen driving it. By the time it hit the 2000 Detroit Motor Show, a reporter said the crowd expressed a level of dissatisfaction he’d never seen before.
The Aztek eventually found a second life as Walter White’s car in Breaking Bad, which feels poetic. It’s the official vehicle of a man who has completely given up on his dignity.
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Fiat Multipla: The "Psychotic Cartoon Duck"
While America was grappling with the Aztek, Europe had its own monster: the Fiat Multipla.
If you haven't seen one, imagine a normal car that grew a second, smaller car on its hood. It had a weird "muffin top" bulge right below the windshield where a second set of high-beam headlights sat like a pair of extra eyes. The Daily Telegraph once called it a "psychotic cartoon duck."
The Beauty is (Deep) Inside
Here is the thing about the Multipla: it was actually brilliant. It was designed from the inside out. Because it was so wide and boxy, it could fit six adults in two rows of three. The visibility was incredible because the windows were basically the size of patio doors.
Roberto Giolito, the designer, later said it was "too forward-looking." In Italy, people actually liked them because they were incredibly practical for narrow streets and big families. But to the rest of the world, it looked like a deep-sea creature that had been hauled up too fast and suffered from the bends. It’s a classic case of "form follows function" going way too far.
SsangYong Rodius: A Yacht on Wheels (But Not in a Good Way)
If the Aztek was an appliance and the Multipla was a duck, the SsangYong Rodius was... well, it was a mistake.
Released in 2004, the Rodius was meant to look like a luxury yacht. Designer Ken Greenley, who actually headed up the automotive design course at the Royal College of Art, was behind it. You’d think that would mean it looked sophisticated.
It didn't.
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It looked like two different cars had been welded together at the rear pillar. The back end had this strange, extra glass compartment that looked like a greenhouse had been stapled to a van. Top Gear famously called it "arguably the most hideous thing ever created."
The Rodius was huge. It could seat up to 11 people in some markets. But driving it was like trying to steer a pedalo in a storm. It was heavy, unrefined, and so visually offensive that some critics suggested it should come with a public health warning for pedestrians’ eyesight.
Chrysler PT Cruiser Convertible: When Retro Goes Wrong
The standard PT Cruiser was actually a massive hit when it launched in 2000. People loved the 1930s "gangster" look. It won the 2001 North American Car of the Year award.
Then Chrysler got greedy.
In 2004, they released the convertible version. To keep the body from folding like a taco without a roof, they had to install a massive "basket handle" roll bar over the middle of the car. It looked like a giant handle for a toddler's toy.
Clotaire Rapaille, a consultant who helped conceptualize the original car, hated the convertible. He told The New York Times, “The convertible was terrible. They just cut the top off, that is not design.” It went from being a quirky retro throwback to being the official car of rental fleets and mid-life crises that couldn't afford a Mustang.
The Subaru Baja: The Outback's Identity Crisis
Subaru usually plays it safe, but in 2002, they gave us the Baja.
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Basically, they took a perfectly good Legacy/Outback wagon, chopped the back off, and turned it into a tiny pickup bed. To make it look "rugged," they slapped a massive amount of silver plastic cladding along the bottom.
The bed was only about 41 inches long. You couldn't really fit much in it. It wasn't a good truck, and it wasn't a good car. It was a "truckette." Car and Driver noted that the interior felt like a standard Outback, but the exterior looked like it was wearing a "clown suit." It only lasted four years before Subaru realized people who want trucks usually want, you know, a truck bed that can hold more than a few bags of mulch.
Why Do We Still Care About These Cars?
You’d think we would want to forget these eyesores, but the ugliest cars of the 2000s are actually becoming cult classics. Why? Because they were different.
In 2026, most cars look like slightly different flavors of the same aerodynamic jellybean. They’re safe. They’re sleek. They’re boring.
The Aztek and the Multipla might be ugly, but they represent a time when car companies were willing to take massive, catastrophic risks. They were bold. They were weird. They had personality, even if that personality was "I want to eat your soul."
What You Can Learn from the Era of Ugly
If you're looking at buying a "future classic" or just want to understand car history, here are a few takeaways:
- Design by committee is the enemy of beauty. The Aztek failed because nobody was allowed to say "no."
- Practicality doesn't always sell. The Multipla was the most practical car on this list, and it’s the one most people wouldn't be caught dead in.
- Context matters. The PT Cruiser was a genius design in 2001, but by 2009, it looked like a fossil.
Next Steps for Car Enthusiasts:
Go check out the Museum of Failure. They actually have a permanent exhibit for the Pontiac Aztek. It’s a great way to see how these design choices influenced the much better-looking crossovers we drive today. If you're feeling brave, look up "Fiat Multipla tuning." There is a small, dedicated community of owners who have turned these "ugly" cars into some of the most interesting custom builds on the planet. Just don't look directly at the headlights for too long.