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> That is the goddamned ugliest vehicle I've ever seen. Let me try to beat that: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiat_Multipla#/media/File:Fiat_Multipla_front_2

> That is the goddamned ugliest vehicle I've ever seen. Let me try to beat that: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiat_Multipla#/media/File:Fiat_Multipla_front_20080825.jpg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiat_Multipla#/media/File:Fiat...

IndrekR 7y ago
I was discussing this the other day with an automotive designer. Yes Fiat Multipla is ugly, but imagine the courage Roberto Giolito (the designer of Multipla) had when he proposed this to the management of FCA! Almost nobody in modern automotive industry dares to match this outside of the concept cars.
- bogwog 7y ago
  I'd guess about the same amount of courage as Homer Simpson.
  - mthoms 7y ago
    Exactly my thought :-) Reference: https://simpsons.fandom.com/wiki/The_Homer https://simpsons.fandom.com/wiki/The_Homer
    - hef19898 7y ago
      Regarding the Multipla, the Cybertruck or both?
- lobotryas 7y ago
  Same amount of courage as it took Apple to remove the headphone jack? :)
pluma 7y ago
I think the Fiat Multipla is distinct in that it is unlovably ugly. I can get behind the ugliness of vehicles like the Cybertruck because it just looks absurd, but the Fiat is just grotesque.
- gnode 7y ago
  I wonder if this is because the curvature of the Multipla makes us interpret it as organic and deformed, like a teratoma; it makes us feel disgust. The Cybertruck is overtly synthetic and brutalist. It's to be admired for its impressiveness, not its beauty.
  - big_chungus 7y ago
    Looks like it was manufactured by the soviets. And oh my gosh I was hungry, but looked up teratoma, and am no longer hungry. Not safe for life. Yike.
    - dmoy 7y ago
      Lest anyone be (like me) confused at how something about a car could make you want to lose your lunch. TIL teratoma has nothing to do with cars. I recommend not looking at pictures.
      - pluma 7y ago
        For those still unclear: it's a type of tumor that basically grows things in places they're not normally supposed to be. "Things" including cartilage, hair and teeth.
- kome 7y ago
  I like the Fiat Multipla! It is cute, it looks like a beluga. De gustibus...
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
rb808 7y ago
Hey I rented one of these and actually was great, drove well, very practical, loads of space and lots of light.
- celeritascelery 7y ago
  But that doesn’t make it beautiful.
situationista 7y ago
The Multipla was also very successful, and also happens to be one of the few Fiats that hold their value. A utility vehicle doesn't necessarily need to be attractive to be successful...
- newnewpdro 7y ago
  The aesthetics of the Multipla didn't look out of place in China, where it was sold as the Zotye Multiplan and Zotye M300 Langyue. As China's economy grew a number of American truck/van designs started looking more weird to western eyes like the Multipla than anything the likes of Dodge had previously designed. Designs target intended markets first and foremost.
dfcab 7y ago
What on earth is that! :)
toddmorey 7y ago
Unlike say the Aztec, this truck is “radically functional” design. No paint and simple geometry make it easier to manufacture and more durable. I don’t think the mandate was “make this look strange” as much as it was “make this thing rugged and fast and powerful and we’re perfectly fine with it looking strange”. We’ll see if they were successful, but I like the ambition. I’ll be curious, too, to see if some of this more radical thinking comes over to the Tesla Semi.
- toddmorey 7y ago
  Also curious to me was the mention of a totally new and customized UI for the truck. Would love to see it!
- lwansbrough 7y ago
  Radically functional... unless your intention is to use it as a work truck.
  - toddmorey 7y ago
    What aspects make you think it’s not useful as a work truck? I’ve done construction and see quite a bit of appeal. Fits 6 people, lockable bed cover, good towing capabilities, rugged body construction, no paint job to ruin, onboard power and compressed air...
    - lwansbrough 7y ago
      Unibody construction means it’ll be a write off if the bed is damaged. Compare this with other trucks where the bed is bolted on, allowing for functional modifications to the truck: flat beds, boxes, or even just towing certain types of trailers. And if you damage the bed on those types of trucks, you can replace it for a relatively low cost. Sure, if you’re just throwing a tool box in the back then you’re fine. Then again you didn’t need a truck to begin with.
      - skyyler 7y ago
munificent 7y ago
What I find fascinating is how strong my negative visceral reaction to that thing is. It's a car. Who gives a shit whether it looks "good"? What even is my internal metric for "looks good"? I have no idea, but, God, this thing is revolting. My hunch is that this is because we use some of the same mental wiring for processing human faces to process the front of a car. (Automotive designers refer to the front of a car as its "face".) So we think it's ugly because some of the same wiring that recoils to disfiguring human faces is kicking in. I just stumbled onto: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26181746 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26181746
- spyder 7y ago
  It looks like two cars on top of eachother and if it's a face then it reminds me of this unsettling face illusion: https://i.imgur.com/5lslbsJ.jpg https://i.imgur.com/5lslbsJ.jpg
  - cr0sh 7y ago
    There's also that Chinese baby a few years back who had a severe form of "transverse facial cleft" deformity...
- crispyambulance 7y ago
  The Fiat Multipla is literally a car with a "muffin-top"! They were fairly popular 10-ish years ago but I don't think Fiat will ever do that again.
- Apocryphon 7y ago
  ah, the Homer https://simpsons.fandom.com/wiki/The_Homer https://simpsons.fandom.com/wiki/The_Homer
outworlder 7y ago
I think the S-Cargo is uglier. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nissan_S-Cargo https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nissan_S-Cargo Also, it has a pun in the name.
buboard 7y ago
ok the multipla is clearly leftover parts from 2 other car models stitched together in the midline. top one was a van, bottom part was a convertible
curious_fella1 7y ago
Only slightly worse: https://media.wired.com/photos/593252a1edfced5820d0fa07/master/w_660,c_limit/the-homer-inline4.jpg https://media.wired.com/photos/593252a1edfced5820d0fa07/mast...
GordonS 7y ago
On the rare occasions I see a Multipla in real life, I actually have feeling* of disgust and revulsion - it really is a hideously ugly car. I think there is something insect-like about the bulbous part that houses the lights - I wonder if perhaps something about the shape is triggering something innate, similar to how we may be hard-wired to fear snakes?

IndrekR 7y ago

I was discussing this the other day with an automotive designer. Yes Fiat Multipla is ugly, but imagine the courage Roberto Giolito (the designer of Multipla) had when he proposed this to the management of FCA! Almost nobody in modern automotive industry dares to match this outside of the concept cars.

bogwog 7y ago
I'd guess about the same amount of courage as Homer Simpson.
- mthoms 7y ago
  Exactly my thought :-) Reference: https://simpsons.fandom.com/wiki/The_Homer https://simpsons.fandom.com/wiki/The_Homer
  - hef19898 7y ago
    Regarding the Multipla, the Cybertruck or both?
lobotryas 7y ago
Same amount of courage as it took Apple to remove the headphone jack? :)

pluma 7y ago

I think the Fiat Multipla is distinct in that it is unlovably ugly. I can get behind the ugliness of vehicles like the Cybertruck because it just looks absurd, but the Fiat is just grotesque.

gnode 7y ago
I wonder if this is because the curvature of the Multipla makes us interpret it as organic and deformed, like a teratoma; it makes us feel disgust. The Cybertruck is overtly synthetic and brutalist. It's to be admired for its impressiveness, not its beauty.
- big_chungus 7y ago
  Looks like it was manufactured by the soviets. And oh my gosh I was hungry, but looked up teratoma, and am no longer hungry. Not safe for life. Yike.
  - dmoy 7y ago
    Lest anyone be (like me) confused at how something about a car could make you want to lose your lunch. TIL teratoma has nothing to do with cars. I recommend not looking at pictures.
    - pluma 7y ago
      For those still unclear: it's a type of tumor that basically grows things in places they're not normally supposed to be. "Things" including cartilage, hair and teeth.
kome 7y ago
I like the Fiat Multipla! It is cute, it looks like a beluga. De gustibus...

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

rb808 7y ago

Hey I rented one of these and actually was great, drove well, very practical, loads of space and lots of light.

celeritascelery 7y ago
But that doesn’t make it beautiful.

situationista 7y ago

The Multipla was also very successful, and also happens to be one of the few Fiats that hold their value. A utility vehicle doesn't necessarily need to be attractive to be successful...

newnewpdro 7y ago
The aesthetics of the Multipla didn't look out of place in China, where it was sold as the Zotye Multiplan and Zotye M300 Langyue. As China's economy grew a number of American truck/van designs started looking more weird to western eyes like the Multipla than anything the likes of Dodge had previously designed. Designs target intended markets first and foremost.

dfcab 7y ago

What on earth is that! :)

toddmorey 7y ago

Unlike say the Aztec, this truck is “radically functional” design. No paint and simple geometry make it easier to manufacture and more durable. I don’t think the mandate was “make this look strange” as much as it was “make this thing rugged and fast and powerful and we’re perfectly fine with it looking strange”. We’ll see if they were successful, but I like the ambition. I’ll be curious, too, to see if some of this more radical thinking comes over to the Tesla Semi.

toddmorey 7y ago
Also curious to me was the mention of a totally new and customized UI for the truck. Would love to see it!
lwansbrough 7y ago
Radically functional... unless your intention is to use it as a work truck.
- toddmorey 7y ago
  What aspects make you think it’s not useful as a work truck? I’ve done construction and see quite a bit of appeal. Fits 6 people, lockable bed cover, good towing capabilities, rugged body construction, no paint job to ruin, onboard power and compressed air...
  - lwansbrough 7y ago
    Unibody construction means it’ll be a write off if the bed is damaged. Compare this with other trucks where the bed is bolted on, allowing for functional modifications to the truck: flat beds, boxes, or even just towing certain types of trailers. And if you damage the bed on those types of trucks, you can replace it for a relatively low cost. Sure, if you’re just throwing a tool box in the back then you’re fine. Then again you didn’t need a truck to begin with.
    - skyyler 7y ago

munificent 7y ago

What I find fascinating is how strong my negative visceral reaction to that thing is. It's a car. Who gives a shit whether it looks "good"? What even is my internal metric for "looks good"? I have no idea, but, God, this thing is revolting. My hunch is that this is because we use some of the same mental wiring for processing human faces to process the front of a car. (Automotive designers refer to the front of a car as its "face".) So we think it's ugly because some of the same wiring that recoils to disfiguring human faces is kicking in. I just stumbled onto: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26181746 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26181746

spyder 7y ago
It looks like two cars on top of eachother and if it's a face then it reminds me of this unsettling face illusion: https://i.imgur.com/5lslbsJ.jpg https://i.imgur.com/5lslbsJ.jpg
- cr0sh 7y ago
  There's also that Chinese baby a few years back who had a severe form of "transverse facial cleft" deformity...
crispyambulance 7y ago
The Fiat Multipla is literally a car with a "muffin-top"! They were fairly popular 10-ish years ago but I don't think Fiat will ever do that again.
Apocryphon 7y ago
ah, the Homer https://simpsons.fandom.com/wiki/The_Homer https://simpsons.fandom.com/wiki/The_Homer

outworlder 7y ago

I think the S-Cargo is uglier. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nissan_S-Cargo https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nissan_S-Cargo Also, it has a pun in the name.

buboard 7y ago

ok the multipla is clearly leftover parts from 2 other car models stitched together in the midline. top one was a van, bottom part was a convertible

curious_fella1 7y ago

Only slightly worse: https://media.wired.com/photos/593252a1edfced5820d0fa07/master/w_660,c_limit/the-homer-inline4.jpg https://media.wired.com/photos/593252a1edfced5820d0fa07/mast...

GordonS 7y ago

On the rare occasions I see a Multipla in real life, I actually have feeling* of disgust and revulsion - it really is a hideously ugly car. I think there is something insect-like about the bulbous part that houses the lights - I wonder if perhaps something about the shape is triggering something innate, similar to how we may be hard-wired to fear snakes?