5 ms·

The Bolt is hideously ugly.

stcredzero 8y ago
No. The Aztek is hideously ugly. The Bolt is nowhere near that ugly. Also, plenty of people don't care if something is ugly, if it's utilitarian. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33AP0JnXSOA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33AP0JnXSOA
- paganel 8y ago
  A link to a Doug DeMuro video on HN, that's nice! Back on topic, I think the Bolt looks cool, I think it has an utilitarian and slightly ahead-of-its-time feeling about it which is just cool (the same as Renault Espace and especially Renault Avantime had back in the late '80s - the '90s, when everyone was hating on them, but now they're cool).
  - stcredzero 8y ago
    What's wrong with a link to a Doug DeMuro video on HN?
    - paganel 8y ago
      Nothing wrong with it, I was not trying to be condescending or anything, quite the contrary, it's just that English is not my primary language so maybe my comment got read the "wrong way", so to speak.
- dabockster 8y ago
  > plenty of people don't care if something is ugly, if it's utilitarian I am one of these people. I live in the Pacific Northwest, where it rains 7-8 months out of the year. A nice car will be totally ruined in a few weeks of rain around here. So everyone just drives ugly Honda Accords and AWD Subarus. Related side note, a teacher back when I was in HS about 10 years ago told a story about how she saw Bill Gates driving a beat up mid 1990s Accura around Seattle after he was crowned the world's wealthiest individual.
  - dpark 8y ago
    > A nice car will be totally ruined in a few weeks of rain around here. What are you talking about? PNW rain isn’t going to hurt your car unless you leave the sunroof open. Tons of people in Seattle drive late model luxury cars.
  - brett40324 8y ago
    Whether this is true, rumor, or else: this. You could buy 20 cars like this for under the price of a model 3. Really, at the end of the day, everything is about just getting from point A to B!
- mikestew 8y ago
  We own an original Scion xB (lunchbox on wheels), a Nissan Leaf, and a VW Vanagon (which arguably could be a matter of taste). Utility uber alles at our house. And even we make fun of the Aztek, given that it lacks the utility to offset the hideous asthetics. But I don't think I'd have to try really hard to convince the wife to get a Bolt. It sure as hell is better looking than anything else we own. And despite owning way more TSLA than is healthy for our portfolio, I'm not terribly impressed by the looks of the 3. It's not ugly, but it doesn't stand out, either.
  - stcredzero 8y ago
    I'm not terribly impressed by the looks of the 3. The front of the Tesla 3 keeps reminding me of this guy. (You see, when I look at the front of a car, there's supposed to be something there, but there's something less than what I expected.) https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/6e/Hannibal_Lecter_in_Silence_of_the_Lambs.jpg https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/6e/Hannibal_Lect... Someone should make a luggage rack for the Scion xB that looks like a handle from one of those old-school lunchboxes.
- aidenn0 8y ago
  I actually saw an Aztek in person for the first time in a while recently. One thing I noticed is that it looks less weird compared to when it first came out (a lot of cars share a vaguely similar shape to it now), but no less ugly. Apparently the desgin was both ahead of its time, and bad.
  - stretchwithme 8y ago
    Maybe people got used to seeing it on Breaking Bad. It's still badly broken in the looks department if you ask me.
- tempestn 8y ago
  I just did some googling to remind myself how ugly the Aztek is and found this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZ4llaTn-hk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZ4llaTn-hk Video of a guy transforming an Aztek into a reasonably attractive sports car. Pretty impressive!
  - mcguire 8y ago
    I don't get the "Aztek is ugly" thing. The front end is a little odd, but the back is Prius-ish and it is overall a generic small SUV crossover.
mywittyname 8y ago
The Bolt is as boring as cars get. It's far from "hideously ugly," or even "ugly." It's basically as inoffensive and anonymous a car as you can get.
aphextron 8y ago
>The Bolt is hideously ugly. It truly is. It's easily the fugliest car GM has ever produced, and this is from someone who owns and loves a Nissan Leaf. Whatever their next-gen purpose built EV may be, I hope to god it's not the same platform.
- kalleboo 8y ago
  Can you explain how it's uglier than other generic GM hatchbacks such as the Chevy Sonic/Holden Barina?
- dpark 8y ago
  GM made the Aztek. The Bolt just looks like some generic little hatchback that’s trying a little too hard to look cool.
FussyZeus 8y ago
The bolt is a freaking work of art compared to many vehicles, the ones that immediately come to mind being the Juke, the Aztek, and the newer versions of the GMC Sierra.
- icc97 8y ago
  Saying that it's less ugly that absolute eyesores doesn't stop it being ugly.
chaostheory 8y ago
I think you're confusing that with the Nissan Leaf before its recent redesign. The Bolt doesn't look great but it's not ugly.
icc97 8y ago
I don't see why you're getting down voted so much. Other than it's a pretty vacuous comment with nothing to back up the statement. Nevertheless I do agree. I get really frustrated at how people are willing to accept cars that are so ugly. The Bolt is better than others, but I personally think it's still a really ugly car. It's a complement to say that it's only as ugly as most regular cars are, but still it's ugly. I'm impressed by the new leaf, it actually looks like a nice car. But the front of the first leaf looked ridiculous. Tesla somehow figured out that people who want to buy electric cars, like cars that look nice too. It's the most obvious piece of advice, yet no car company could think of it. Nice looking cars add something to the road scenery, bring pleasure to those who pass by them. What I'm most impressed about is that Tesla have done what almost no luxury sports car brand has done and try and sell a mass market car and keep the nice looks of the brand. I'd liken the Model S/X to more like a Porsche/Aston Martin than a BMW. It's actually a bit simialr to the Porsche Boxter but that only makes up 10-20% of sales [0]. Personally the major attraction for me is that for $35k (when it comes in 2035...) you can get a car that has similar styling to a luxury sports car. Making nice looking cars is worthwhile. The new Mini achieved it, the Fiat 500 managed it. Beauty is something to be cherished, and when you're going to make a million of the things and you only have to design it once, why not make it beautiful. [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porsche#North_American_sales https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porsche#North_American_sales
- Coincoin 8y ago
  I never understood the obsession of all car makers to always design EV and hybrid cars with ugly shapes and black plastic all over the body. Can I just have a regular car that works on electricity please? Spare me the tacky from-the-future look please.
  - JoeAltmaier 8y ago
    I think its to disguise the ultralight frame? Has to be plastic; sketchy frame means it has to stick out to cover all the bases.
- dingaling 8y ago
  I'd argue that no car is actually 'ugly', as in repulsive. Awkward perhaps, like the early versions of the Fiat Multipla and Ssangyong Rodius. But I'd rather look at something odd than something bland. You quote the new Mini and 500 as nice looking. To me they are bland and unadventurous, and the Mini looks ridiculously bloated. I'd walk past them in a carpark to look at an Aztec. Compare a 500 with a Panda on the same platform. The latter has much more internal volume and looks just as ... bland.

No. The Aztek is hideously ugly. The Bolt is nowhere near that ugly. Also, plenty of people don't care if something is ugly, if it's utilitarian. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33AP0JnXSOA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33AP0JnXSOA

paganel 8y ago
A link to a Doug DeMuro video on HN, that's nice! Back on topic, I think the Bolt looks cool, I think it has an utilitarian and slightly ahead-of-its-time feeling about it which is just cool (the same as Renault Espace and especially Renault Avantime had back in the late '80s - the '90s, when everyone was hating on them, but now they're cool).
- stcredzero 8y ago
  What's wrong with a link to a Doug DeMuro video on HN?
  - paganel 8y ago
    Nothing wrong with it, I was not trying to be condescending or anything, quite the contrary, it's just that English is not my primary language so maybe my comment got read the "wrong way", so to speak.
dabockster 8y ago
> plenty of people don't care if something is ugly, if it's utilitarian I am one of these people. I live in the Pacific Northwest, where it rains 7-8 months out of the year. A nice car will be totally ruined in a few weeks of rain around here. So everyone just drives ugly Honda Accords and AWD Subarus. Related side note, a teacher back when I was in HS about 10 years ago told a story about how she saw Bill Gates driving a beat up mid 1990s Accura around Seattle after he was crowned the world's wealthiest individual.
- dpark 8y ago
  > A nice car will be totally ruined in a few weeks of rain around here. What are you talking about? PNW rain isn’t going to hurt your car unless you leave the sunroof open. Tons of people in Seattle drive late model luxury cars.
- brett40324 8y ago
  Whether this is true, rumor, or else: this. You could buy 20 cars like this for under the price of a model 3. Really, at the end of the day, everything is about just getting from point A to B!
mikestew 8y ago
We own an original Scion xB (lunchbox on wheels), a Nissan Leaf, and a VW Vanagon (which arguably could be a matter of taste). Utility uber alles at our house. And even we make fun of the Aztek, given that it lacks the utility to offset the hideous asthetics. But I don't think I'd have to try really hard to convince the wife to get a Bolt. It sure as hell is better looking than anything else we own. And despite owning way more TSLA than is healthy for our portfolio, I'm not terribly impressed by the looks of the 3. It's not ugly, but it doesn't stand out, either.
- stcredzero 8y ago
  I'm not terribly impressed by the looks of the 3. The front of the Tesla 3 keeps reminding me of this guy. (You see, when I look at the front of a car, there's supposed to be something there, but there's something less than what I expected.) https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/6e/Hannibal_Lecter_in_Silence_of_the_Lambs.jpg https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/6e/Hannibal_Lect... Someone should make a luggage rack for the Scion xB that looks like a handle from one of those old-school lunchboxes.
aidenn0 8y ago
I actually saw an Aztek in person for the first time in a while recently. One thing I noticed is that it looks less weird compared to when it first came out (a lot of cars share a vaguely similar shape to it now), but no less ugly. Apparently the desgin was both ahead of its time, and bad.
- stretchwithme 8y ago
  Maybe people got used to seeing it on Breaking Bad. It's still badly broken in the looks department if you ask me.
tempestn 8y ago
I just did some googling to remind myself how ugly the Aztek is and found this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZ4llaTn-hk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZ4llaTn-hk Video of a guy transforming an Aztek into a reasonably attractive sports car. Pretty impressive!
- mcguire 8y ago
  I don't get the "Aztek is ugly" thing. The front end is a little odd, but the back is Prius-ish and it is overall a generic small SUV crossover.

mywittyname 8y ago

The Bolt is as boring as cars get. It's far from "hideously ugly," or even "ugly." It's basically as inoffensive and anonymous a car as you can get.

aphextron 8y ago

>The Bolt is hideously ugly. It truly is. It's easily the fugliest car GM has ever produced, and this is from someone who owns and loves a Nissan Leaf. Whatever their next-gen purpose built EV may be, I hope to god it's not the same platform.

kalleboo 8y ago
Can you explain how it's uglier than other generic GM hatchbacks such as the Chevy Sonic/Holden Barina?
dpark 8y ago
GM made the Aztek. The Bolt just looks like some generic little hatchback that’s trying a little too hard to look cool.

FussyZeus 8y ago

The bolt is a freaking work of art compared to many vehicles, the ones that immediately come to mind being the Juke, the Aztek, and the newer versions of the GMC Sierra.

icc97 8y ago
Saying that it's less ugly that absolute eyesores doesn't stop it being ugly.

chaostheory 8y ago

I think you're confusing that with the Nissan Leaf before its recent redesign. The Bolt doesn't look great but it's not ugly.

icc97 8y ago

I don't see why you're getting down voted so much. Other than it's a pretty vacuous comment with nothing to back up the statement. Nevertheless I do agree. I get really frustrated at how people are willing to accept cars that are so ugly. The Bolt is better than others, but I personally think it's still a really ugly car. It's a complement to say that it's only as ugly as most regular cars are, but still it's ugly. I'm impressed by the new leaf, it actually looks like a nice car. But the front of the first leaf looked ridiculous. Tesla somehow figured out that people who want to buy electric cars, like cars that look nice too. It's the most obvious piece of advice, yet no car company could think of it. Nice looking cars add something to the road scenery, bring pleasure to those who pass by them. What I'm most impressed about is that Tesla have done what almost no luxury sports car brand has done and try and sell a mass market car and keep the nice looks of the brand. I'd liken the Model S/X to more like a Porsche/Aston Martin than a BMW. It's actually a bit simialr to the Porsche Boxter but that only makes up 10-20% of sales [0]. Personally the major attraction for me is that for $35k (when it comes in 2035...) you can get a car that has similar styling to a luxury sports car. Making nice looking cars is worthwhile. The new Mini achieved it, the Fiat 500 managed it. Beauty is something to be cherished, and when you're going to make a million of the things and you only have to design it once, why not make it beautiful. [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porsche#North_American_sales https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porsche#North_American_sales

Coincoin 8y ago
I never understood the obsession of all car makers to always design EV and hybrid cars with ugly shapes and black plastic all over the body. Can I just have a regular car that works on electricity please? Spare me the tacky from-the-future look please.
- JoeAltmaier 8y ago
  I think its to disguise the ultralight frame? Has to be plastic; sketchy frame means it has to stick out to cover all the bases.
dingaling 8y ago
I'd argue that no car is actually 'ugly', as in repulsive. Awkward perhaps, like the early versions of the Fiat Multipla and Ssangyong Rodius. But I'd rather look at something odd than something bland. You quote the new Mini and 500 as nice looking. To me they are bland and unadventurous, and the Mini looks ridiculously bloated. I'd walk past them in a carpark to look at an Aztec. Compare a 500 with a Panda on the same platform. The latter has much more internal volume and looks just as ... bland.