Top-10 lists are inherently subjective, but Adam Wade’s (2026) ugliest “classic” cars strikes me as being particularly quirky.
On his YouTube channel called Rare Classic Cars & Automotive History, Wade focuses on American cars from 1957-90. His list has some obvious names, but he also throws in some questionable choices.
His rankings are as follows: 10) 1958 Lincoln/Continental, 9) 1958 Buick Limited, 8) 1974 Ford Gran Torino Elite, 7) 1977 Lincoln Versailles, 6) 1957 Mercury Turnpike Cruiser, 5) 1990 Imperial, 4) 1961 Dodge Lancer, 3) 1980 Lincoln Mark VI, 2) 1961 full-sized Plymouth and 1) 1977 Chrysler LeBaron.
A 1980 Lincoln is uglier than a 1958 model?
I can’t tell how much meaning Wade (2026) gives to where each car sits in his rankings. However, it strikes me as backwards if he considers the 1980 Lincoln Continental Mark VI to be the third ugliest car whereas a 1958 model was in 10th place. By the same token, I would consider the 1961 Plymouth to be uglier than the 1977 Chrysler LeBaron, which is the opposite of his ranking.
Another quirk of his list is that nine out of 10 cars come from 1957-80. Only one car — a 1990 Imperial — is from more recently. Why no cars from later in the 1980s, such as the 1981 Ford EXP, 1981 Chrysler Imperial, 1986 Buick Riviera or 1989 Chrysler TC by Maserati?
It’s interesting that Wade also does not include obvious candidates such as the 1958 Edsel, 1961 DeSoto and 1962 Dodge Dart. What’s also notable is that he doesn’t single out any cars from American Motors — even the 1956 Rambler six, 1957 Hudson Hornet, 1961 Ambassador, 1965 Marlin or 1974 AMC Matador sedan.
Meanwhile, he only includes one General Motors car — the 1958 Buick Limited. While I would agree that this may be GM’s all-time ugliest car of the postwar period, the automaker had its share of other questionable designs. As a case in point, how about the 1959 Chevrolet, 1970 Oldsmobile Toronado, 1971 Buick Riviera, 1971 Cadillac Eldorado, 1980 Cadillac Seville or 1986 Buick Riviera?
Is it truly ugly or merely less appealing?
Another quirky aspect of Wade’s list is that he includes cars that, at least in my book, were fairly innocuous looking such as the 1974 Ford Gran Torino Elite. Is he really going to argue that this car is uglier than the Chevrolet Monte Carlo? To my eyes the Elite may be less distinctive, but it is a cleaner design.
By the same token, I am perplexed as to why Wade is singling out the 1961 Dodge Lancer. While the first-generation Chrysler Corp. compacts were decidedly unorthodox in their styling, I think that the Dodge looked better than its Plymouth sibling because of a more conventional grille and taillight treatment.
Wade (2026) goes on to argue that the 1977 Chrysler LeBaron is ugly because it is a “hodgepodge of a bunch of different vehicles and it never really comes together.” I would agree that the styling wasn’t very good, but No. 1 of the top-10 ugliest? At most I would rank it around No. 9 or 10, if it made the list at all.
Also see ‘Adam Wade is wrong that the 1959 Continental flopped’
Wade (2026) muddies the waters by stating that LeBarons “were pretty miserable from a quality standpoint” and “not fun to drive.” Wait, this is more than a ranking of ugly styling? Here we have another example of how this top-10 list has a thrown-together quality. Nevertheless, I would imagine that it will get a whole lot of clicks.
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RE:SOURCES
- Auto editors of Consumer Guide; 1993, 2006. Encyclopedia of American Cars. Publications International, Lincolnwood, IL.
- Wade, Adam; 2026. “Top 10 Ugliest Classic Cars: The Stinkers from GM, Ford, Chrysler & AMC.” Rare Classic Cars & Automotive History.
PHOTOGRAPHS & ADVERTISING:
- oldcarbrochures.org: Buick Limited (1958); Chevrolet Monte Carlo (1974); Imperial (1990)
Adam dislikes boxy styling. Some of the cars on Adam’s list like the Ford Elite, Chrysler LeBaron, Lincoln Versailles, 1990 Imperial, and 1958 Buick have good basic styling but too much gingerbread. My ugliest car list would include most pre-1963 Ramblers, most early 1960’s Chrysler products, 1959 Chevrolets, and 1960 Fords.
Yup, the 1959 Chevrolet would be a particularly good addition if one sought more than one GM entry on the list. I’ve added that to the article.
Regarding the Elite, I was not a fan back in the day, though I would have chosen it based on style instead of the grossly overstyled Monte. How Chevy could go from the beautiful and understated 70-72 Montes to this abomination, I’ll never know.