Spoilers are kind of a weird thing. Sometimes they really define the overall aesthetic of the car while other times they can seem like an awkward, tacked-on afterthought. Since I am dangerously close to 40 years old I remember a time when every 5th Honda Civic on the road had some giant and practically useless wing on the back. The effects can be even weirder when automakers design a car to have a useless and odd piece of areo straight from the factory.
Don’t get me wrong, there were a few cars during the 1990s and early 2000s that came with iconic spoilers such as the Toyota Supra and WRX STi. During that time even some of the domestic brands tried to get in on the action. Dodge and Eagle rebadged a few Mitsubishis but for some reason didn’t translate the same cohesive styling compared to their Japanese counterparts.
The Eagle Talon, which was the mechanical twin of the Mitsubishi Eclipse, had an interesting take on the rear spoiler, especially for the second-generation car.
It wasn’t subtle but it worked, as it did kind of look like a talon.
However, DaimlerChrysler’s take on the larger sports car didn’t fare so well in the styling department. Unlike the more respected Mitsubishi 3000GT, the Dodge Stealth’s rear spoiler is well...yeah.
I have an irrational aversion to the Dodge Stealth’s rear wing. I don’t see these cars often, but when I do it elicits bad feelings. The only explanation I can conceive of is that the folks at Dodge ordered rear-wings that were too small and someone also drilled the holes on the wrong side of the trunk. Naturally, in typical Dodge quality control fashion, someone probably said: “Yeah that’s good enough.”
Is there a worse offender for factory-applied areo? Show us in the comments