Every car has its’ fans, I personally have a soft spot for the Fiat Multipla 
2 Likes
As I sat in a black one at the junk yard today I thought the same thing.
Also the Aztek was an underwhelming execution of a really interesting concept. It could’ve looked much better while still as quirky if not for the corporate cost cutting IIRC.
I think on paper the Aztek was amazing, but like you said, the execution was piss poor. I mean damn, all they had to do was make it look good!!
1997 Mara Kraplya Concept
“All good cars are alike, but every bad car is bad in its own unique way.” - A. Karen Ninna, Gasmean car journalist “Car and Pieces”
An unrealised predecessor to the Mara Zorya city car of the late 2000s was the Mara Kraplya (‘droplet’) concept car in the mid-1990s. Faced with an increased country-wide fuel consumption after an influx of foreign cars due the market liberalisation in 1990, a shortage of fuel resulted and even fuel rationing was on the horizon in Archana. In reaction, Mara developed a concept car with an emphasis on fuel economy above all else.
The concept’s name referred both to the car’s aerodynamic droplet form and to the fact that it only consumed 5.7 l/100km in the standard test cycle. The all-new SOHC I3 1.1 litre ‘Troika’ concept engine produced around 34kW at 5,600 rpm and 79 Nm at 2,400 rpm and was mated to a 4-speed automatic taken from a regular Irena sedan. In the Kraplya, however, the gearing was changed so that it essentially became a 3-speed automatic with an overdrive gear in order to allow cruising at very low rpms at common speeds. The Kraplya accelerated from 0-100 km/h in just under 18s and could reach a (theoretical) top speed of 150 km/h. On paper, this setup indeed allowed driving at standard city and highway speeds with very low revs. However, even small changes in gas pedal depression led to a frantic downshift of the autobox, and every intended speed change essentially required a kickdown, thus negating the increased fuel efficiency potential in practice. While a 5-speed manual may have been a more suitable choice from an engineering standpoint, at the time manual gearboxes were seen as very much out of fashion by the intended city car buyer demographic. A 5-speed automatic was under development back then for the upcoming Zvezda car family but not yet ready for use in the Kraplya prototype. Sourcing an external gearbox was never really considered.
The Kraplya’s droplet-like body shape together with the unique rear ‘kammback’-inspired style was thought to help aerodynamics (hint: at least the latter did not - all it did was making the rear door operation more awkward than necessary) and the same applied to the minimisation of engine cooling through limited grille and ventilation openings at the front. Since it was a car primarily aimed at the domestic market, the concept was geared towards being cheap to produce, and that was a strong factor in the development of all other aspects. A positive side effect of this, however, was the low dry weight of 820 kg.
A second focus of the concept car development was the ability to absorb low-speed impacts and contacts and be cheap to repair. Along with increased fuel consumption due to faster cars, car insurance cases and premiums in Archana had also risen in the 1990s due to an increasing number of small ‘fender bender’ accidents between motorists who were still getting used to their now more powerful cars, compounded by a much more crowded environment on the roads. The resulting repair bills led the Archanan car insurance industry to bribeencourage Archanan car designers to make cars more resistant to low-speed mishaps and accidents. The Kraplya’s designers therefore paid special attention to features such as plastic impact-absorbing bumper bars all round, lamps being recessed or in places far away from areas affected by impacts, and the like. The unintended side-effect of this was that things such a lightbulb change would have been quite difficult since the recessed lamps prevented easy access.
By the time the first prototypes had been presented to the Archanan public, the fuel crisis had disappeared from the horizon, however, and thus the prime need for the ‘droplet’ car had evaporated. The foreign press thus had hardly an opportunity to make the obligatory jokes about the unfortunate naming*. Critics remarked that there should be a new panel material option ‘Partial Plastic’ for this car, or that the Mara engineers should bloody make up their mind where to put the oil - into the tank or onto the car. Nevertheless, the extensive plastic bumper designs were unfortunately carried over to the production versions of the Zvezda vehicle family which debuted in the late 1990s. The lessons learned developing the Troika I3 concept engine also helped Mara produce a more advanced 9 valve version for the Zorya city car in the 2000s. Beyond that, public consensus was that the concept was krap, and so Mara ultimately dropped it.
* The name is indeed transliterated Ukraininan for ‘droplet’.
BDC-AndiD_Mara_Kraplya_-_96_Concept.car (36.6 KB)
8 Likes
For a small price of $12.100, you can get yourself a fine, European hatchback.
here, we have the 1996 Altra Vol, maybe a bit bland French thing.
It does 0-100 km/h, you just have to be patient. It comes with a 1.2L engine and 5-speed manual transmission. Of course, if you’re rich, you can buy a more powerful version with a 3-speed automatic, foglights, and a sunroof. However, that car was just way too good for you guys.
Instead, you get a bunch of funky colors.
A small wheelbase and lack of power steering make it fun and interesting to drive, even in cities!
i have too much free time
6 Likes
Yet we still have Twingo as inspiration?
I suspect there will be a bit of subjectivity in the judging regardless. One’s “cute” is another’s “ugly” and vice versa. I’d put the Mazda 121 “bubble” into the ugly category, but many people put it firmly in the “cute” category… taste is a bit subjective.
Personally, I’d put the Altra Vol’s front in the slightly cute but also ugly category (bulging cross-eyed and awkward toothy grin face), but the rear is more conventional.
I’m as surprised as you are, tbh… That Twingo is well designed and was a sales success so I don’t know why it’s on the list when the Chrysler Crossfire or the PT Cruiser would have been better choices!
1 Like
Please note - an important edit has been added to the post. We will now be using a naming scheme of the form BDC - <forum name>
2 Likes
One quick thing Crypt forgot to mention in their comment, although they added it to the main post above: For people who would otherwise not scroll up to the main post and miss this- If you have already submitted a car to the Bad Car Design Challenge, your car will not need to be resubmitted with a new name. It will be grandfathered in, it’s our fault for forgetting to add a naming convention, not yours!
2 Likes
1997 Radnik WH250
Jaku Motor Co. is proud to present the brand new Radnik WH250.
This is a utility vehicle where reliability and cost is the top priority, but don’t be fooled, it also includes top notch safety and entertainment features. With its comfortable interior and premium cassette player you’ll never be bored at work!
Under the bonnet you can find the bulletproof 2.5L DZ25-ECO engine which puts out a peak of 70 HP and 166 Nm of torque through all 4 wheels. The transmission is a 6-speed manual and the differential has a manual locker. The top speed is 150 km/h, and 0-100 km/h in this 1280kg vehicle can be done in 18.4 seconds.
The car runs on unleaded 95 RON and the average fuel consumption is 11.9L/100km. With all these qualities you might be thinking “I could never afford such a piece of amazing automotive technology.”, but worry not!
The Radnik WH250 starts at an affordable $13 000!
6 Likes
how dare you call the avantime bad
5 Likes
I’m the first one to think it’s beautiful but seeing its sale values, It’s not hard to admit not everyone shares my POV!
1998 Rattlesnake VT
The Shethol Motor Company is not quite proud to present the '98 Rattlesnake VT, their newest entry into the budget sports car market. While Chief Designer Marcus Lottacoke was on an excursion deep in Mexico's deserts*, he had an unfortunate incident involving being bitten by a highly poisonous rattlesnake, with complications resulting in a 3 month coma. After awakening, he became possessed with the idea of drawing inspiration from nature...specifically, in the form of a rattlesnake. Unfortunately, due to the drastic nature of the coma, much of his eyesight was taken from him, which he was unfortunately intent on not preventing him from designing this car.
*Due to ongoing legal proceedings we can neither confirm nor deny Mr. Lottacoke's visit to Mexico was related to his current legal cases involving drug smuggling charges at this time.
Drivetrain
3.0L V6
167 Hp @ 6200 RPM
Front Transverse FWD
5 Speed Manual
Interior
Soft-Top Convertible
5 Seats
CD Player
Performance
0-60 mph in 7.6s
15.66s 1/4 Mile
Top Speed of 141 mph
Economy
91 RON Fuel
16.1 mpg
1321.1 Emissions
Pricing Starts At
$19,600.00
BDC-Warren_Boofit-Shethol_98_Rattlesnake_-_VT.car (52.6 KB)
8 Likes
The 1997 Rivera Stagnade Freeroamer.
It’s a minivan, i guess
what even is this
who let john command the design team while i was gone
why are the headlights circles
when did this ever go through a quality check
how is this a production model
why is the rear end so low
why is the lettering all lowercase
why are there wipers on the side windows god damn it
so apparently this mess does 23 miles per gallon on 91 RON fuel
seats 7 with rotating mid row seats
comes with a cassette player
is rated 49 points by the ASRA (Automation Security Rating Association)
but i still dont see why there’s wipers on the side windows
8 Likes
Seeing these on the road in the winter I must admit, the coolest thing about these are the side windshield wipers!!!
