How many other cars are featuring this butt ugly grille?

[Ghoste]

Yes, yes I know some people love it.  I also know it has beeen beat to death around here because of the Charger connection.  All I want to know is how many, if any, other cars are using it?  I thought there were more than these three but I can't seem to recall what they were.  I hate this cavernous maw.
It comes from an after work conversation earlier today.
Who came up with it first btw?

[Fred]

Geez it looks like it's gonna swallow up whatever is in front of it.
Wouldn't that be great, get rid of all those road hogs.

[stripedelete]

Here's one......

[Ghoste]

So those three are essentially it today then?  I thought for sure there was a Subaru model but I cant find it and I thought there was another import that used that same Audi looking front.   Was Audi the first one to use it?

[Bob T]

Its rampant over here too.
Plastic and un-appealingly black nothingness of style and design cues for Holden and Ford Australia

The Veyron one and those Alfa's are done differently with a bit more style though, although the Veyron's one could also pass for an entrance to a Hobbits Hole

[Iceyone]

I think the Ford focus has that type of grill too.

[Aero426]

I think Audi started with the big maw grille.   At the time, it looked a lot like the old Auto Union race cars of the 1930's.    On other cars, I think it's a bit of an acquired taste, or worse.

[sportony]

I don't necessarily think its ugly, but the big open grill was a trademark of the early Chrysler 300s (57 - 59)

[Dino]

Whoever invented it should be shot, whoever copied it should be shot twice, whoever thinks about copying it...you will likely be shot also.  There...

[twodko]

They look like the air intake on old Soviet Migs.

[Ghoste]

I saw a Cadillac today which also had a pretty similar one.  Not as blatantly as those first three in the thread but it was there.

[Brock Samson]

in a word?.. Audi.

[471_Magnum]

I made a pretty good living for a long time manufacturing some butt-ugly grilles.

Being involved with early development and quoting, I'd see some of these coming years in advance. A lot of the cost is factored on projected sales, and styling obviously impacts sales. I'd see some real turds coming down the pipe and just cringe at the project sales volume the customer wanted to amortize tooling against.

Ugliest one in recent memory was the Acura TL. Prior to that was probably the Jeep Commander. Two vehicles with horrible [grille] styling that never met their sales targets.

I don't miss that world....

[John_Kunkel]

Let's face it, gang, they ran out of styling ideas thirty years ago.

[Dino]

Let's face it, gang, they ran out of styling ideas thirty years ago.

1982?  The Delorean DMC-12...yeah I think that's about right.   

[GOTWING]

The new Charger grill is being called a BASS MOUTH among car guys.

[Ghoste]

From a catfish to a largemouth bass. 

[Fred]

I think Audi started with the big maw grille.  

That's right, I remember seeing the first one's thinking how ugly they looked and it steadily got worse. But I'm used to them now and don't even notice them now.

[Fred]

Its rampant over here too.
Plastic and un-appealingly black nothingness of style and design cues for Holden and Ford Australia

The Veyron one and those Alfa's are done differently with a bit more style though, although the Veyron's one could also pass for an entrance to a Hobbits Hole

The mrs. loves the Alfa grille best of all.
Can't complain about the Commadore wagon though. Put off buying a new car for the mrs. for years because we couldn't find anything she liked the look of until the new style wagon came along. She's happy as Larry with it (performance and aesthetics)

[69CoronetRT]

Who came up with it first btw?

Ford with the 72 Torino.

[Ghoste]

Ford did use a smaller version of that.  lol  But at least they didn't see the need to extend it to below the bumper and black out part of the bumper to give the illusion of an enormous gaping cavern on the front of the car.

[Dino]

2nd gen camaro had the big gaping grille as well.  Z28 with split bumper.

[Ghoste]

It wasn't nearly the size of that abomination though.  The version on the SRT, Audi and Mitsu just looks like someone kicked the cars face in.

[Kern Dog]

As the owner of a classic, I might be expected to have a jaundiced eye toward these late model Chargers... BUt I REALLY like these! Wow... That grille looks really cool to me. Yeah, call it a catfish, a suckerfish, whatever. I'll agree that it is a love it or hate it thing. I have no need for another car payment, and since the wife and I have no kids, I doubt that I'd ever need a 4 door car. Still, I enjoy seeing those on the road.