Uhhh… Mag-Commute Nalang Tayo! 5 Cars We’d Rather Not Be Seen In
Even with the unbelievable traffic along Metro Manila’s streets, and despite not having a legitimate automotive industry of our own, Filipinos loooove cars. So much so that those who can are willing to pay WAAAAY more than sticker price to own the hottest rides in the world. We’re looking at you, Willie Revillame (and your P30M Ferrari).
The horsepower, the styling, or the years and years of history behind the car brand’s name? Right. And EDSA traffic on a Friday is light. Unfortunately, we feel that the truth is, most people buy cars just for show. Bah. Who needs ‘em!
Instead, we decided to feature what we felt were the cars you WOULDN’T want to show off. We scoured the interwebz to find funkiest/ugliest/weirdest looking vehicles we could find! This one’s for all the people who found themselves staring at the Porsche parked next to them, you’d be proud to pull up next to one of these automotive flukes!
1957 Aurora
Designed by a priest (yes, you read right) to be one of the safest cars of its time, the Aurora was definitely NOT designed to be one of the prettiest. In fact, it was so ugly that only ONE prototype was ever built. One site even described it as being “so ugly, it’s melting.” Ouch.
If you’d ever want to see this runt of the litter in person, someone actually found, restored, and had it displayed in the Beaulieu Motor Museum in England.
1958 Zunndapp Janus
Wondering which way the car is facing? Yeah, so am I. I’m not too sure traffic was bad enough in the ‘50s to want a car that you could argue isn’t really counterflowing. Oh and get this, the rear seats actually faced backwards. The point? It meant you’d have to actually watch the people behind you making fun of you.
Apparently, the Zunndapp Janus was built by motorcycle manufacturers somewhere in Germany. Should’ve stuck to building two wheelers, guys.
1998 Fiat Multipla
You’d think that approaching the new millenium, people would get better at spotting bad car designs. Looking like it’s part van, part car, I can’t help but be reminded of a Platypus while looking at it. Scratch that, a zombie platypus… Yeah, that sounds about right.
Okay, so I did a quick Wikipedia search on the Multipla and found out that it won the Top Gear “Car of the Year” (2000) and was voted Top Gear Magazine “Family Car of the Year” for four years in a row (2001–2004).” Ano raw??
2010 Sbarro Autobau
A few Google searches here and there revealed that this recent concept car garnered mixed reactions from different sources. Autoblog.com called it a “Geneva Classic” while Jalopnik.com called it “the ugliest car we’ve ever seen.” Personally, I think it looks like a cross between a Lamborghini and my dad’s old electric razor.
I’m kind of on the fence with this one. While it reminds me of something my 8-year old self would’ve loved because of its alien-ish appeal, it’s definitely something I wouldn’t want to be caught along EDSA traffic in today. Sbarro Autobau? I might just pick a Sbarro deep-dish over this one.
1999 Corbin Sparrow
Let’s start with some pros. First of all, it’s electric, meaning it’s probably slightly better for the environment. Second… uhhhhh… oh forget it, it looks like a GIANT TOE.
So next time you find yourself stuck in C5 traffic, look on the bright side: at least you’re not stuck in traffic in one of these rides. If you HAD to choose one of the five as your main means of getting around, which one would you choose?
-EJ, Product Marketing Padawan
P.S. Don’t forget to download the TrafficDito iPhone app!
