6 Of The Worst-Looking Chevrolets Ever Made
Automotive designers and the automakers that employ them have two options when it comes to designing a new model to add to the corporate stable. They can either piggyback off an existing design or boldly launch something the public hasn’t seen before. Sometimes, the bold approach can result incars that are ahead of their time, while other newcar designs can become instant classics. Sadly, sometimes this design approach can lead tosome of the worst-looking cars.
WhileChevrolet has brought some beautiful designsto the automotive world with classic models such as the Camaro, Corvette, Chevelle, Bel Air, and the beloved square-body pickup truck, not every Bowtie creation is easy on the eyes. Some of the worst-looking Chevrolets ever made are also some of the worst vehicles to ever roll off a General Motors assembly line. However, other ugly Chevys perform well enough to have a faithful following of loyal owners.
The Chevy Vega was as bad as it looked
It seems anytime there’s a list of undesirable, unreliable, or ugly Chevrolet models, the Chevy Vega predictably appears near the top. However, although the Vega could beone of the most hated Chevrolet models ever made, it debuted to rave reviews. Chevrolet introduced the 1971 Vega 2300 to the world in September of 1970 as the replacement for the outgoing Chevrolet Corvair. The sub-compact four-cylinder featured four body-style variations, each with two doors. It could be had as a sedan, hatchback coupe, Kammback station wagon, or a panel express truck.
The Chevy Vega was introduced to compete with import and domestic models and garnered acclaim asMotorTrend’s1971 Car of the Year. The award wasn’t without merit, as the Vega was GM’s first automobile to feature standard front disc brakes. In addition, it offered three horsepower levels and two manual and two automatic transmission choices. The three power levels, 70-, 85-, and 110-hp, all came from the same base engine, a 2.3-liter dual-overhead-cam inline-four, which also contributed the “2300” to its name.
In the end, the Vega was delivered overweight, over budget, overheating, and subject to rapid corrosion. Chevrolet recalled around 500,000 Vegas in 1972 due to issues with the rear axle housing, jammed throttle cables, backfires capable of rupturing its gas tank, and a host of other problems.
The Chevy HHR isn’t as bad as it looks
The Chevy HHR, or Heritage High Roof, was discontinued in 2011, five years after its debut. Automotive industry types tend to agree that the HHR was brought forth by GM to compete with Chrysler’s PT Cruiser. That could explain why its design looks the way it does. However, unlike its rival, the Chevrolet HHR was, by many accounts, actually a decent vehicle.
In a review of the inaugural model-year 2006 Chevy HHR, theEdmunds Expertsfound favor with the smooth, quiet ride of the HHR, praising its cargo space, pleasing interior (other than some cheap plastic pieces), outward visibility from the driver’s seat, and its “versatile sound system.” While the Edmunds Experts found some issues with the HHR’s brakes and handling,Autoweektest drivers took it for a spin around a test track and “forgot” they were driving a front-wheel-drive SUV capable of carrying “a small family and their luggage.”
The Chevy HHR is also quite reliable, withRepair Palgiving it a 4.0 out of 5.0, placing it 13th out of 36 in its compact car rankings. If you can get past its quirky looks,Edmundsreports the average 2011 Chevy HHR carries a price of around $6,000.
The Aveo, another unattractive Chevrolet model with a bad reputation
The Chevy Aveo is one of a handful ofChevy models with engines built by other brands. In fact, Chevrolet originally had nothing to do with designing the car it marketed and sold as the Chevy Aveo. The Aveo’s story began in South Korea at Daewoo Motors as the Daewoo Kolas. When General Motors acquired Daewoo in 2002, GM felt its newest acquisitions would sell better with a Bowtie logo, and the Chevy Aveo name replaced the Daewoo Kolas when it came stateside for the 2004 model year and continued on until it was discontinued after 2011.
The first-gen Chevy Aveo, produced from 2004 to 2007, had the worst-looking models as a 2008 facelift improved the subcompact Chevy’s exterior. While the Aveo presented a practical and affordable option for the car-buying public, its 103-horsepower 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine came with a choice of manual or automatic transmission.
Chevy Aveo owners reporting toRepair Palgave the little Chevy three out of five stars, and it earned a 3.5 of 5 rating for reliability. Overall, Repair Pal ranks it just above the bottom third “for all car brands.”
The Chevy Avalanche, an awkward blend of pickup truck and SUV
Ranking amongthe strangest Chevrolets ever built, the Chevy Avalanche featured a four-door crew-cab design with a short-bed pickup box that could extend the cargo area into the cab by removing the mid-gate and folding the rear seats down. However, it’s not the combination of truck and SUV styling that landed the Avalanche on our list of worst-looking Chevrolets; it was the ugly plastic cladding that wrapped around early versions of the truck. The cladding accentuated the freakishly square wheel openings and plastic front bumper, and as it weathered and faded, it just looked cheap and dirty.
Chevrolet discontinued the Avalanchefollowing the 2013 model year, some 12 years after its introduction in 2001 for the 2002 model year. The first-gen Avalanche was built on the GMT800 platform along with other full-size SUVs and trucks such as the Tahoe, Suburban, and Silverado. Buyers could choose between two- and four-wheel drive models powered by a 285-horsepower 5.3-liter Vortec V8.
The Avalanche 2500, introduced later in 2002, provided more payload capacity than the standard model and featured a 340-horsepower 8.1-liter V8. Like the Chevy Vega listed above, the Avalanche was honored byMotorTrend, receiving the publication’s 2002 Truck of the Year award.
Another unimpressive blend of models, the Chevy SSR
Chevrolet introduced the Chevy SSR, short for Super Sport Roadster, for the 2003 model year and ceased production at the end of 2006, selling only 24,112 units over its three-year production run.Several reasons contributed to the failure of the Chevy SSR, with its odd-looking design and mediocre performance, especially for a Chevrolet with an SS anywhere in its name, ranking near the top.
The design is reminiscent of a Chevrolet pickup truck from the late 1940s or early 1950s. The bulbous front and rear fenders, chrome side-step rails, and smiling front grille give way to a rounded cab with two doors and a convertible top, giving the whole thing a VW Beetle vibe.
The earliest iterations of the Chevy SSR were powered by a 300-horsepower 5.3-liter V8 backed by a four-speed automatic transmission. That might have been sufficient if the SSR was light, but it weighed over 4,000 pounds.Car and Drivertested a 2003 SSR and found it took seven seconds to accelerate from zero to 60 mph, and 15.4 seconds to cross the line of the standing quarter mile at 89 mph.
The 2005 and up Chevy SSR received an upgrade in the form of a 6.0-liter LS2 similar to the engine found in Corvettes and Pontiac GTOs at the time. The newer SSR shaved 0.5 seconds off the zero to 60 mph time and ran the quarter mile in 14.1 seconds, crossing the line at 100 mph. Better, but too little too late.
The early fourth-gen Chevrolet Silverado HD is the ugliest truck to ever wear a Bowtie
This one is likely to ruffle some feathers due to the popularity of the Chevy Silverado lineup and its rabidly loyal fanbase. Please, don’t take this the wrong way as we’re in no way saying that the fourth-gen Silverado HD is a bad truck, but one look at the2020 Chevrolet Silverado HD photo galleryshould confirm that it’s one of the worst-looking trucks to ever wear the Chevrolet Bowtie.
For starters, its grille is massive, the relationship of its front signal lights to the headlights brings the Pontiac Aztek to mind, and the way the side mirrors jut out seemingly from the grille in the front view looks a little like Alfred E. Newman from the cover ofMad Magazine. While the 2020 to 2023 Silverado HD models, in particular, had a face only a fan could love, they are fine pickup trucks in most regards.
The fourth-gen Silverado HD featured two V8 engine options, one gas and one diesel. The 6.6-liter gas V8 also allows the use of E85 Flex Fuel and features a cast iron engine block and cast aluminum cylinder heads. With its 10.8:1 compression ratio, variable valve timing, and direct fuel injection, the engine delivers 401 horsepower and 464 lb-ft of torque. The 6.6-liter Duramax V8,the diesel engine option for the Chevrolet Silverado HD delivers 910 lb-ft of torqueand 445 horsepower from a similar cast iron and cast aluminum construction. When properly configured, the 2020 Silverado 3500HD can tow up to 36,000 pounds.
