Funky Cars You Love to Hate

http://autos.yahoo.com/articles/autos_content_landing_pages/629/funky-cars-you-love-to-hate/

Funky Cars You Love to Hate
By Lauren DeAngelis, U.S. News

You won't hate these cars because they're beautiful. Ugly ducklings like the discontinued Pontiac Azteck and Subaru Baja have given way to sleek shapes such as the Infiniti G37 and Cadillac CTS. But there are still a few duckies on lots waiting for their turn to become swans. Check out our picks for the oddest, wackiest and weirdest-looking autos in production today. And make sure to look closely, because behind those strange exteriors are often some of the most useful cargo areas and spacious cabins in the business. For some cars, beauty really is on the inside.

Chrysler's PT Cruiser has developed a cult following for its one-of-a-kind retro design. With looks reminiscent of 1930s and 40s hotrods, the wagon attracts praise despite its cartoonish feel. Motor Trend says it's the "hottest looking retro rod anyone can afford. No matter where you go, people stare at the PT like it's a Ferrari." It may look quirky to some, but the PT's exterior isn't just about looks. The tall roof provides tons of headroom for passengers and the wagon's cargo capacity rivals that of a minivan.

Chrysler may have thought they had the market cornered with the PT Cruiser, but since Chevrolet introduced the HHR in 2005 the retro-inspired crossover has given the PT a run for its money. Short for "Heritage High Roof," the HHR is inspired by the 1949 Suburban and looks part old delivery truck, part hearse. U.S. News reviewer Rick Newman describes it as "sorta cute, sorta homely, with a bit of gangster chic thrown in." The HHR's old-school exterior conceals a versatile interior -- virtually every seat folds flat and the cargo bay is especially deep.

Petite Doesn't Mean Pretty

The tiny Smart Fortwo definitely made a splash when it arrived on U.S. shores earlier this year -- but not just because of its diminutive size. The little car's unique, almost-disproportionate styling is one of its most distinctive traits. About.com aptly sums up, "It's still hard to look at it and think of it as a car. I'd look at all the vehicles parked on my street and think 'Car, car, car, Smart, car, car.'" And speaking of parking, the Fortwo's short, clownish shape translates into park-anywhere capabilities.

In a class full of sporty, streamlined sedans, another small car, the Volkswagen GTI, sticks out like a sore thumb. Its hatchback design means it's taller and quirkier than its other upscale rivals. MSN notes that the GTI "has an especially ungainly appearance, with an overly aggressive-looking front end and chunky shape." However, the GTI isn't funny-looking for nothing. The hatchback configuration provides much more cargo space than its top competitors from Audi and Acura, giving it a rare shot of practicality for its class.

The Cubism Movement

When it hit dealerships in 2003, the Scion xB made quite a style statement -- and not necessarily in a good way. Its boxy, toaster-like appearance went against the emerging trend of increasingly sleek, rounded vehicles. But while some people hated the statement, others embraced the ugly yet functional look. Why? Because the cabin is downright cavernous. MSN calls headroom "astounding," while Cars.com says "there's more room in the xB's backseat than in some midsize cars."

If the Scion xB is boxy, the Honda Element (introduced the year before the Scion) takes cubism to a whole new level. Its utilitarian shape and reverse-hinged rear doors set it apart from your typical SUV. While the xB is often compared to a toaster, Car and Driver bills the Element as a "rolling breadbox." If that's the case, the Element can hold a heck of a lot of bread. Those unusual rear doors make loading cargo easy with an opening that's larger than most minivans. And the Element's height allows plenty of room for even the tallest passengers.

Teenage Mutant Ninja...Trucks?

With large cabins and small truck beds, Sport Utility Trucks (SUTs) look strange no matter what. The Honda Ridgeline boasts one of the most controversial exteriors of all. "The Ridgeline reminds me of the old Rodney Dangerfield joke about how he was so ugly as a kid his parents had to tie a pork chop bone around his neck so the dog would play with him," criticizes the Detroit News. But despite an exterior ranking at the bottom of its class, the Ridgeline has plenty to offer. Its cargo bed may be short, but that means it fits easily into most garages. It also features an in-bed trunk complete with drain plugs for converting into a cooler. The Hummer H2 SUT looks just like a Hummer -- only with the two rear windows chopped off and a teeny-tiny truck bed in their place. Sound pretty? Well, not exactly, but it is pretty muscular and imposing for a pick-up. U.S. News reviewer Rick Newman calls the styling "military chic." Plus, the combat-inspired SUT is the ultimate truck for hauling versatility. Its rear midgate allows drivers to convert it from a five-passenger SUV with a small truck bed into a two-person truck with a six-foot bed.

2008 Smart Fortwo Test Drive

http://www.popularmechanics.com/blogs/automotive_news/4232419.html

November 19, 2007
2008 Smart Fortwo Test Drive: A Slow but Solid American Start

Smart already has the kind of hipster, enviro-concious image other car companies spend millions to cultivate. These small-on-the-outside, large-on-the-inside rides, designed by Daimler (Mercedes-Benz), have been a hit in Europe for almost 10 years and will start rolling onto United States streets in January. The Smart Fortwo (as in for two passengers) will create a new, sub “B” car class in the U.S. market. It’s a vehicle specifically designed to comfortably and efficiently transport its occupants through the worst areas of urban congestion. The micro-size dimensions make it over 2 ft. shorter than a Mini Cooper. And at just over 5 ft. across, the Fortwo sits as wide as it does tall. You can park this Smart widthwise across a conventional parking space. So, yes, it’s quite petite. We recently got a chance to take the Fortwo on a two-day spin around California’s Bay Area, from Silicon Valley to San Francisco. Here’s what we learned.

The first thing you notice about this car is exactly what you thought would be the Smart’s biggest drawback: its size. It’s actually big inside, with two fullsize adults driving comfortably for hours. Fortwo was designed with a minimalist mentality—no center console here, just a cup holder and gearshift dividing the driver and passenger seat. The entire dashboard design has an open, airy feeling thanks to that big bubble of a windshield. And there’s loads of legroom so you quickly forget that the rearend of the car’s frame is a mere 2 ft. behind you. It’s odd, but on the highway the Smart seems somewhat larger than its two closest competitors—the Mini Cooper and Honda Fit. And that’s probably because it towers over the Mini by 5 in.

Okay, that’s the good news. The bad news is that the relatively (and we mean relatively) tall design makes for an awkward and sometimes wobbly feel at higher freeway speeds. This probably isn’t the first car you’d choose for a trip across the country.

Speaking of speed, the 1800-pound Fortwo really doesn’t have a lot of it. Power comes solely from a rear-mounted, 70-hp 1.0-liter three-cylinder mated to a five-speed automatic that drives the rear wheels. Punch the throttle and hold it wide open for a while and the Smart will reach 90 mph—eventually. The trip from 0-60 mph takes an estimated 12.8 seconds. That, folks, is slow. Then again, in metropolitan areas, when does the speed limit ever exceed 55 or 60 mph? This is, after all, a basic commuter car. Once underway, we could easily thrust the little tyke into the 70-80 mph range. And the transmission’s auto-manual shifting ability makes it kind of fun—especially with the paddle shifters. But the shifts aren’t exactly butter-smooth in automatic mode. Unfortunately, like most cars, the fuel consumption is directly related to the pressure exerted by the right foot. And since the Smart revs relatively high at freeway speeds, economy appears to plummet in proportion to speed more quickly than on some small cars. But drive, ahem, smart, and you’ll get 40 mpg in the city and 45 on the highway. Although this car wasn’t built to challenge Porsche 911s or Corvettes, it’s a solid, economical ride.

From the beginning, Smart, as a company, has been environmentally conscious. During production, the entire bodywork is powder-coated rather than painted, which not only uses 40 percent less energy but also has zero solvent emissions and water consumption. Plus, Smart collects the powder overspray, because 98 percent of it is reusable.

Since the original was built for the European market and didn’t meet U.S. safety standards, Smart redesigned the Fortwo and achieved a four-star crash rating from NHTSA. The little automaker that could also opened up a bigger trunk for the U.S. model that fits a set of golf clubs. And for winter sports, the passenger seat folds flat, leaving enough room for a pair of skis. Plus, with an electronic stability program, traction control and anti-lock brakes, the Fortwo makes a descent foul-weather friend.

The Smart Fortwo will be offered in three models: Pure ($11,590), Passion Coupe ($13,590) and Passion Cabriolet ($16,590). And, of course, one of our favorite standard features is the aux input jack for external audio players (aka iPods). Hey, we need our tunes, man. The convertible is fun, especially once we learned the top could be lowered (or raised) at any speed. Sadly, even though the three-model fleet will hit dealerships in January, wait for a Smart car is looking like six months to a year—ouch. But it’s worth the wait when you consider constantly rising gas prices and overpopulated urban sprawls; the efficient Fortwo simply makes a lot of sense. —Brittany Marquis