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2008 ugly car of the year award

Started by howardt , Jan 02 2008 14:37

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154 replies to this topic

#1 howardt

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Posted 02 January 2008 - 14:37

A thread inspired by Buttoneer's latest post in the Toyota thread.
In anticipation of the forthcoming car launches, what is / will be the fugly F1 car of the year* this year?

Toyota & Renault are the bookies' favourites, but Honda are in strong contention and Force India could be a dark horse. Also Williams are past winners and may be seeking alternative routes to some silverware this season.

*Note - the award does include design and livery, but very little design has been different/remarkable enough to be worthy of comment. Walrus nose & viking horns spring to mind. I hope that there will be some design innovation this winter, but my hoping may be in vain.

#2 quasi C

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Posted 02 January 2008 - 14:45

Honda if they don't change the livery too much from this year. Super Aguri probably too. Otherwise pretty hard to tell until we see the cars.

#3 Man of the race

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Posted 02 January 2008 - 14:50

Renault is a very strong candidate.

#4 wingwalker

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Posted 02 January 2008 - 14:51

I'd like BMW to go into the more metalic feel one of the paintings of their 2007 had - I can't find the picture, but it made everyone go "WOW", and it keeps all the colours they already have. If Renault is not going to change their painting they pretty much will walk it. EVERYTHING, including Honda (which doesn't really look bad, rather out of place, is better than this. And it is not only about the car, garage shots with walls and mechanic covered in that yellow/orange shitness hurt my eye.

#5 Beamer

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Posted 02 January 2008 - 14:52

Originally posted by howardt
...what is / will be the fugly F1 car of the year* this year?

Toyota & Renault are the bookies' favourites, but Honda are in strong contention and Force India could be a dark horse. Also Williams are past winners and may be seeking alternative routes to some silverware this season.

Actually I quite like the (interim?) livery of force india....

http://gallery.autos...ge/l__mg_1903-3

My bet is toyota for the 'Most Boring livery & car', Renault for the messiest livery...

#6 Scudetto

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Posted 02 January 2008 - 14:53

I rather thought the Honda livery was bold. If nothing else, it was certainly different than what we were acustomed to. Kudos to Honda on those grounds even if the execution wasn't perfect, though it remains to be seen if the novelty hasn't worn off already.

Nor would I consider the Toyota "ugly" in the strictest sense...it's just "old." Monotonous. There must be a creative way to meld white and red swaths each year without it appearing to be a Xerox from last season.

I'd put Renault in the lead at this point. Although the initial shock of the R27's livery had worn off by the end of the season, it was, in my eyes, a horribly disjointed design. Shame, because that awesome blue they sported in pre-season testing was one of the prettiest colors I've seen on a car in years.

#7 wingwalker

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Posted 02 January 2008 - 14:57

Oh yeah, honda just just run black cars, like they did in pre-2007 testing. It looked great. Renault should switch to that Jordan-a-like anniversary car (i know it is impossible because of ING) and Jordan should simply come back!

#8 Suntrek

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Posted 02 January 2008 - 15:04

Honda will walk this unless they change the livery. I admire the idea, but in reality the 2007 Honda looked like a car covered in baby puke.

Toyota, BMW and Williams liveries are plain boring. I expect they will continue to be so.

The Renault is...

hmmm...

unusual.

But kind of pretty nevertheless! :kiss:

#9 kar

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Posted 02 January 2008 - 15:11

Renault or the Honda.

#10 wingwalker

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Posted 02 January 2008 - 15:11

You and I must must be from the two other end of visual taste. I find Honda painting really well made for what it is (although the idea is pretty laughable, but it's another story) and Renault a complete miss. I don't even know what they were going for. Kindergarten, maybe.

#11 Certified Half-Wit

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Posted 02 January 2008 - 15:19

The McLerrari should be interesting...

#12 Suntrek

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Posted 02 January 2008 - 15:25

Originally posted by wingwalker
You and I must must be from the two other end of visual taste. I find Honda painting really well made for what it is (although the idea is pretty laughable, but it's another story) and Renault a complete miss. I don't even know what they were going for. Kindergarten, maybe.

Oh come on, it's not that bad! It's colourful and...

colourful..!

http://www.autosport...uart_avant_1d-2

But what on earth (no pun intended

) is this? A moss-filled pond or has someone been sick?

http://www.autosport...ge/l_yy2z1742-2

#13 Chiara

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Posted 02 January 2008 - 15:33

Originally posted by Certified Half-Wit
The McLerrari should be interesting...

I'll bet armchair experts everywhere already have their magnifying glasses, rulers and protractor's at the ready ;)

#14 ensign14

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Posted 02 January 2008 - 15:39

You know an infinite amount of monkeys given an infinite amount of time will come up with the works of Shakespeare, da Vinci, Rembrandt and so on?

Renault's design last year = 3 monkeys, 10 minutes.

#15 Buttoneer

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Posted 02 January 2008 - 15:39

An inspired thread idea Howard! :lol:

I liked the Honda for its novelty and for the fact that it allowed the team to run with huge numbers on the nose and on the wing endplates. For too long the car numbers have been relegated to small decals of no consequence hidden among the messages from our sponsors.

Perhaps with the Toyota it is livery fatigue that is annoying, but it was never really an inspired design to start with. The 2003 car. The 2007 car. Apart from the obvious form changes that have occurred over the years, nothing has really changed. They moved the words around to make sure the decals can be applied cleanly.

And if fatigue really is the issue, why are we not bored to tears by the Ferrari's and the McLarens?

The Renault really is on a completely different crap-design planet. I can see how they managed to get from this to this when I examine the two side by side. The yellow and blue forward of the driver are the same on both cars and reflect 'Renault colours'. But it just doesn't work with the ING orange and white as well. Just paint the whole car orange and white FFS! Don't pretend you actually care about anything other than the sponsorship cash. If you really cared about Renault history you'd be using black and yellow anyway.

I like the Force India interim colours but, like the McLaren Orange, the Williams dark blue and the Honda black I'm worried that this is the best we will see from them. Maybe they'll go for colours that reflect the Indian flag - that could be done quite well, and the design team were responsible for the (IMO) smart looking Spyker. Have to reserve judgement.

No, I think the Renault and Toyota cars won't change their livery and will be 2008's fugly sisters.

#16 Mika Mika

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Posted 02 January 2008 - 15:48

I don’t think he Toyota is ugly, it's it blandness and mediocrity which is annoying...

I love the Ferrari with it's new "Candy Apple Red" and the Mclaren looks even more stunning in the flesh with it's silver... I did prefer the older West McLaren colours personally however.

Is Honda keeping the "earth" thing?????

#17 Suntrek

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Posted 02 January 2008 - 16:02

Originally posted by Buttoneer

I liked the Honda for its novelty and for the fact that it allowed the team to run with huge numbers on the nose and on the wing endplates. For too long the car numbers have been relegated to small decals of no consequence hidden among the messages from our sponsors.

That goes for the Honda drivers' outfits as well I think, it was quite refreshing to see a driver that didn't look like a walking advertisment agency. Those plain white overalls were very nice.

#18 jonpollak

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Posted 02 January 2008 - 16:08

The Honda SWAMP,a phrase coined by Bob Varsha, shows us what happens when you allow the manager of Boy Bands to design a livery.
What was it Villeneuve said about boy bands a few years ago?....
Jp

#19 alg7_munif

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Posted 02 January 2008 - 16:09

This thread is worthless...

without PICS!!! :cool:

#20 BunnyK

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Posted 02 January 2008 - 16:10

Originally posted by Scudetto
Shame, because that awesome blue they sported in pre-season testing was one of the prettiest colors I've seen on a car in years.

Edit: hires image

#21 Mat

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Posted 02 January 2008 - 16:10

Originally posted by Suntrek
Honda will walk this unless they change the livery. I admire the idea, but in reality the 2007 Honda looked like a car covered in baby puke.

Since when does baby puke look like the Earth!?!?

Am i one of the few who can say that the Renault scheme grew on me throughout the year?

#22 Risil

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Posted 02 January 2008 - 16:14

I've always thought that if an F1 fan was transported 15 years into the future, they'd assume the Toyota was a Mclaren, and that Ron Dennis had truly lost his touch and his marbles...

I would like to put an outside bet on BMW for this one, that they might put a big pink stripe across it.

#23 Slowinfastout

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Posted 02 January 2008 - 16:16

To me honda is ugliest by a fair margin. Maybe it would work on a tin top but not on a F1...

I wouldnt say Renault's design grew on me, but its not that bad.

It clearly is compared to that dark blue shot above though.

Too bad there isnt a Repsol F1.. that would look awesome..

#24 F12007

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Posted 02 January 2008 - 16:19

Definitely Honda

#25 UPRC

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Posted 02 January 2008 - 16:47

I actually liked the '07 Renault livery.

I'm putting my eggs in the Toyota basket though. I think Honda will smarten up for '08.

#26 Zarathustra

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Posted 03 January 2008 - 01:13

Originally posted by Buttoneer
I liked the Honda for its novelty and for the fact that it allowed the team to run with huge numbers on the nose and on the wing endplates.

That's the only redeeming feature of the Honda livery for me - the numbers on the rear wing look great.

#27 J2NH

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Posted 03 January 2008 - 02:19

Testing Renault with the Dark Blue, thanks BunnyK for the photo.
Ferrari. Classic
McLaren. Bold
Honda. Different but I wouldn't mind seeing the basic black.

BMW / Williams. Clean if uninspired.

Toyota. This one bugs me the most. If its gonna be red and white there HAS to be a way to jazz this thing up.

#28 genespleen

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Posted 03 January 2008 - 02:30

I dunno if it's just me or what, but the Toyota red & white has, to me, always managed to make the car look ungainly and heavy.

#29 former champ

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Posted 03 January 2008 - 02:38

Originally posted by genespleen
I dunno if it's just me or what, but the Toyota red & white has, to me, always managed to make the car look ungainly and heavy.

It just looks boring, uninspiring and all that. It will be between Toyota and Renault again.

#30 repcobrabham

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Posted 03 January 2008 - 02:40

it's not just you - toyota is bland as. i'm not sure it's just the duco, tho': their cars do generally look bulky. is this just because of the white colour scheme or is there an engineering aspect to this perception?

#31 Owen

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Posted 03 January 2008 - 11:08

Probable order of the launches: Looking forward to seeing this lot, but I suspect many will simply be 'evolutions' and will change further prior to the first race. Feel free to fill in the blanks!

Ferrari: Jan 6, Fiorano
McLaren: Jan 7, Stuttgart
BMW: Jan 14, Munich
Toyota: Jan 10, Cologne
Red Bull: Jan 16, Jerez
Honda: Jan 29, Brackley
Renault: Jan 31, Paris
Williams: ?
Toro Rosso: ?
Super Aguri: ?
Force India: ?

Hopefully some will have live streaming or video.

#32 SennasCat

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Posted 03 January 2008 - 13:39

Originally posted by repcobrabham
it's not just you - toyota is bland as. i'm not sure it's just the duco, tho': their cars do generally look bulky. is this just because of the white colour scheme or is there an engineering aspect to this perception?

Thanks Repco :up:

You've finally made me understand why the toyota is, and always has been, so fugly :rotfl:

Yes, their butt's definitely do look fat in red and white, (reminds me of a certain sydney rugby league player, quite a portly chap, who played in red and white. He always looked, a bit, piggy-like. He then went to a team who had the 'classic' renault colurs - not last year's ones who looked like the explosion in the crayon factory. He didn't look half as chubby in the renno colours) - but colour alone isn't why the toyota always looks bad. Despite the bad colour scheme, they just like like one of those Biante/any other type of metal scale model cars - they are a bit too bulky where they shouldn't be, and the curves aren't just quite right.

Sight unseen, you could safely say the apple never rolls that far from the tree. So I would have to say that Toyota, on previous season's form, would have to be red-hot favourites. Renno just couln't look any worse than last year, was a huge fan of the original blue and yellow livery, even the dark blue looked great. Honda, as was best summed up earlier, looked like baby sick or a lake gone bad, however I think that somehow coulnd't be as bad this year, Williams and BMW have, and Red Bull to a much lesser extent, have the tidy, corporate shades of blue/white or dark blue. They usually all three look good whether or not they suck. Disregarding the hideous Walrus. McLaren and Ferrari always look tidy, Bond St and Cosmopolian Italian, always a good look. Leaving as posted earlier, superduperForceIndia as a dark horse. It just conjures up images of the good/bad indie vs serious teams, where they had prequalifying. Generally as a rule, the lower down the prequalifying pecking order they were, the more and more of increasingly cheesy and clashing stickers got.

To summarize, Toyota red-hot favourites. Force India best thing out for a close second place.

#33 Owen

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Posted 03 January 2008 - 14:16

I think I may open a new thread; 'Toyota - does anyone care how they do this year?'
I've yet to hear anyone have a strong opinion about them.

#34 vlcc

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Posted 03 January 2008 - 14:22

Originally posted by quasi C
Honda if they don't change the livery too much from this year. Super Aguri probably too. Otherwise pretty hard to tell until we see the cars.

i thought aguri's livery was great :clap:

#35 Risil

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Posted 03 January 2008 - 17:18

Originally posted by Owen
I think I may open a new thread; 'Toyota - does anyone care how they do this year?'
I've yet to hear anyone have a strong opinion about them.

Haha. I think they got 0% of the FIA/AMD survey of participants' favourite teams...

#36 Scudetto

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Posted 03 January 2008 - 18:22

Originally posted by Risil

Haha. I think they got 0% of the FIA/AMD survey of participants' favourite teams...

It was actually 1% in the September '06 survey, last only SA's 2%.

Curiously, in spite of the apparent passion of BMW owners, the team netted only 3%.

#37 fastlegs

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Posted 03 January 2008 - 23:03

If Honda really wants to go green, then I think they should apply Chia technology to their cars and really make a statement.

#38 Jones Foyer

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Posted 04 January 2008 - 00:00

The Honda scheme works OK in a car show when the car is sitting on a stand, but when it is driving on a road, it is essentially camoflauge! The decals don't quite have the glossiness of a real paint job either. The 07 Renault was ungly, but it looked like a real race livery at least.

I'm not calling 08 until I see some cars, but if Renault has the same sponsors, they'll probably have the same sponsor vs. manufacturer color battle ruining their car again.

#39 luskiiimj

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Posted 04 January 2008 - 03:28

My guess is that the SA will be pretty bad. I also think Renault will improve only slightly. However, my addition to the discussion is in reference to Honda. I have a source in the Honda-Marketing arena who says that the livery will be different. That's all they told me and all they knew, but I'm hoping that means the earth car is gone, at least in the form that we know it. To me, that is great news because I'm not necessarily against the earth car, just the way it was executed. So whether it's a completely redesigned Earth Car or a new Honda livery, I will be happier....hopefully.

#40 LostProphet

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Posted 04 January 2008 - 11:25

Ferrari - Beautiful new colour, and iconic to boot
McLaren - looks gorgeous and shows off the aero nicely
BMW - simple, clean, understated
Renault - No. It's just about alright but ... could easily try harder.
Williams - Very nice. Very clean, very smart, very Williams.
Toyota - Boring. Terribly uninspired, just like the shape of the car
Honda - Kudos for being different, and the tiny backend looked good. Shame it didn't work
Super Aguri - Minimalist. Looked OK, but not great
Red Bull - A good looking car with a nice blue. The pinstripes were a nice touch too
Torro Rosso - I liked it, not much more to say as it seems a lot of people don't
Spyker - Didn't like it, and the car looked pretty bad too. The Force India livery is much nicer though.

#41 Showty

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Posted 04 January 2008 - 14:16

Looks a fake to me

Posted Image

#42 Scudetto

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Posted 04 January 2008 - 16:05

Because it is fake. It's a rendering from a graphic artist posted back in May. He used the same model to render a Peugeot F1 car.

His gallery

#43 Buttoneer

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Posted 04 January 2008 - 16:29

Originally posted by Showty
Looks a fake to me

Is the Ferrari your nomination for the Fugly 2008 award then...?

#44 LostProphet

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Posted 04 January 2008 - 17:16

Maybe a fake, but definitely good looking! Ferrari should definitely go back to black endplates, though the car will never look like that - for a start it's using the McLaren/Red Bull design philosophy and the Ferraris of the 2000s have all shared a very similar lineage - and it's successful so why change?

#45 Showty

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Posted 04 January 2008 - 18:01

Originally posted by Buttoneer

Is the Ferrari your nomination for the Fugly 2008 award then...?

It´s my nomination for the best fake 2007 award :lol:

#46 Showty

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Posted 04 January 2008 - 18:01

Originally posted by LostProphet
Maybe a fake, but definitely good looking! Ferrari should definitely go back to black endplates, though the car will never look like that - for a start it's using the McLaren/Red Bull design philosophy and the Ferraris of the 2000s have all shared a very similar lineage - and it's successful so why change?