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plance1
plance1 HalfDork
7/21/10 5:28 a.m.

http://www.autoblog.com/2010/07/19/2011-subaru-impreza-wrx-sti-first-drive-review-road-test/

I mean, I know ugly... and that's ugly.

bravenrace
bravenrace Dork
7/21/10 5:48 a.m.

I agree. It seems like they almost go out of their way to make them ugly.

4cylndrfury
4cylndrfury SuperDork
7/21/10 6:18 a.m.

Best looking Imprezas IMO were the late 90s RS models - I havent been as big a fan of subsequent models from a aesthetics stanpoint - but if it goes like stink and grips like glue, who the $^&^@ cares

z31maniac
z31maniac Dork
7/21/10 6:20 a.m.

That's terrible, really.

Woody
Woody GRM+ Memberand SuperDork
7/21/10 6:26 a.m.

As the original owner of an ugly WRX, I would fully support better looking WRX's.

DILYSI Dave
DILYSI Dave SuperDork
7/21/10 6:31 a.m.

+1

I have a bugeye. It's ugly. It's also the best looking Impreza made in this century. But it's still ugly. Maybe they still have the tooling from the late 90's collecting dust. Those were some good looking cars. Everything they do now looks like a Hyundai that got attacked by the NOPI catalog.

Platinum90
Platinum90 SuperDork
7/21/10 7:15 a.m.

I felt the same way when the STi hatch came out...its growing on me.

GameboyRMH
GameboyRMH GRM+ Memberand SuperDork
7/21/10 7:45 a.m.

The 2007 models were the best looking IMO.

zomby woof
zomby woof Dork
7/21/10 7:46 a.m.

Subaru has never been known to produce good looking cars. They hit a road bump in the late 90's, and put out a few good lookers, but for the most part, haven't built a good looking car since the 2000 2.5 RS. That, IMO, is the only acceptable platform for the WRX. Say what you want, but a 4 door sedan, or hatch is NOT a performance platform.

Yes, that car is beyond ugly, even worse than the last generation.

mndsm
mndsm HalfDork
7/21/10 8:04 a.m.

That's what I love about Subarus. A face only a mother could love. Volvo starting making "attractive" cars, and now Subaru is the only one willing to take a risk.

4cylndrfury
4cylndrfury SuperDork
7/21/10 8:08 a.m.
zomby woof wrote: Subaru has never been known to produce good looking cars.

mmmm i wouldnt go that far...SVX, Foresters of the last decade, legacies of the last decade, I think there are some lookers there

tb
tb New Reader
7/21/10 8:52 a.m.

Every few months or so I convince myself to go buy a wrx, until I remember that I have a girlfriend. While she finds her '98 outback legacy to be acceptably styled, she just wouldn't be caught dead that thing...

carguy123
carguy123 SuperDork
7/21/10 8:55 a.m.

Until Subaru designs a body specifically for that drivetrain you'll have to live with the WRX/STI being nothing more than a tarted up sedan.

I don't dislike it, but wrapping it in a nice 2 seater ala Miata or the new VW/Audi/Porsche offering would definitely increase the drool factor.

Osterkraut
Osterkraut Dork
7/21/10 8:56 a.m.

04-07 Legacy is a fantastic looking car. New one? A botched abortion.

I think the bugeye looks pretty purposeful, the blobeye not so much, and the Flying V has it's evil looking moments.

mndsm
mndsm HalfDork
7/21/10 8:57 a.m.

The pignoses are pretty epic IMO.

ReverendDexter
ReverendDexter Dork
7/21/10 9:04 a.m.

I actually like that Subaru makes ugly cars. Keeps the "just give me the best one" crowd away.

Now, this latest one, though... It's the wrong kind of ugly. It's like with b-movies... they're so bad they start being good again. That's how subaru's aesthetics used to be, but now they've dialed down some of the ugly, and it's made the car just straight up unattractive.

Reminds me of one of these.

Snrub
Snrub New Reader
7/21/10 9:08 a.m.

I don't know that this problem is unique to Subaru, I think in recent years many cars have become rather ugly. What's with the giant grills, bullbus styling with weird lines without a consistent theme that many manufacturers have embraced?

On the flip side I think in other ways we've been blessed with some great looking cars with great lines and classic looks.

Keith
Keith GRM+ Memberand SuperDork
7/21/10 9:27 a.m.

The reason the pre-bugeye cars look good is because you instantly overlay a world-championship winning rally car in Rally Blue when you see it. They weren't a terribly attractive car, really. They were just inoffensive and had that cred.

There were a lot of companies that hit their styling peak in the late 90's - most of them German. BMW started the rush to ugly when they decided the pretty E39 was just too well resolved and that everything had to be "challenging". Audi's A4 was a good looking car, then it sprouted a hideous schnozz. Mazda hung on for a few more years, but then the Giant Smile hit and it all went wrong.

4cylndrfury
4cylndrfury SuperDork
7/21/10 9:34 a.m.
Snrub wrote: I don't know that this problem is unique to Subaru, I think in recent years many cars have become rather ugly.

Troof!! The new acuras look like parrots with a broken beak, that horrific turd of the Accord crosswagonthingy makes my soul cry, Aveos look like a furby on steroids and im pretty sure if I have to look at one more PT cruiser, Im gonna end up on the nightly news.

Woody
Woody GRM+ Memberand SuperDork
7/21/10 9:37 a.m.

A Subaru in the woods is a beauteous thing.

SilverFleet
SilverFleet Reader
7/21/10 9:38 a.m.

Honestly, most Subaru buyers don't buy them because of the looks. I bought both of mine because they were turbo, awd vehicles that are fun to drive in any weather and I can haul lots of crap in the back. I think the best looking ones are the GC-era RS's and the Bugeye 02-03's. I also like mine too. It's just aggresive looking enough to warrant a second look from passers-by, but the police think it's some sort of economy hatchback with a hood scoop, like a dressed-up Mazda 3.

That said, I prefer the flare-less one in my driveway to the new ones coming out. The sedan in particular looks really bad from the rear doors back. The flares look terrible and that rear bumper cover makes it look like an LOL-face now, just like the buck-tooth front end of the new Mazdaspeed 3. And seeing that the performance is essentially the same, I won't be running down to my dealer to get one. At least they can stuff more tire under the cars now, and as ugly as it is, it's a little bit more functional now.

Osterkraut
Osterkraut Dork
7/21/10 10:03 a.m.
Snrub wrote: What's with the giant grills, bullbus styling with weird lines without a consistent theme that many manufacturers have embraced?

Euro pedestrian crash-test standards have killed sleek front ends, and American lust for "tanks" has raised beltlines to well, shoulder level.

I think the Euro standards have done the most damage.

bravenrace
bravenrace Dork
7/21/10 10:06 a.m.

I get that some people like that they're ugly, and I get that some people don't buy them for their looks, but they'd still sell more if they weren't so ugly. I thought long and hard about buying a WRX when they first came out, and didn't because of the looks. I'm pretty sure I'm not alone. That said, I agree with others that it's not unique to Subaru. I had an Acura TL that was one fine looking and driving automobile, but look at them now. Honestly, I'm baffled as to where some of these designs come from. I think it might have to do with the late 60's. Maybe all the drugged out hippies grew up and became car designers. You know, maybe they have some brain damage or something. I really can't understand why cars, especially special interest cars are so often unexplicably mo-fugly.

bravenrace
bravenrace Dork
7/21/10 10:08 a.m.
Osterkraut wrote:
Snrub wrote: What's with the giant grills, bullbus styling with weird lines without a consistent theme that many manufacturers have embraced?
Euro pedestrian crash-test standards have killed sleek front ends, and American lust for "tanks" has raised beltlines to well, shoulder level. I think the Euro standards have done the most damage.

Really?

mndsm
mndsm HalfDork
7/21/10 10:11 a.m.
Osterkraut wrote:
Snrub wrote: What's with the giant grills, bullbus styling with weird lines without a consistent theme that many manufacturers have embraced?
Euro pedestrian crash-test standards have killed sleek front ends, and American lust for "tanks" has raised beltlines to well, shoulder level. I think the Euro standards have done the most damage.

+1 on those silly crash standards. That was the reason the wife declined the 07 Cooper we had ordered, and ended up in a used 05. We couldn't get past that hideous snout.

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