Automakers sometimes try and steal customers from competitors with bold cars that stand out and smash preconceived norms. These bold moves can sometimes result in smash hit success stories like the Volkswagen Beetle and the Toyota Prius, but other times, the result is just sad. Here are a few cars that came out on the losing side of this strategy. Some of these cars are ugly and some are just useless, but all of these cars are vehicles that you would never want to see in your driveway. You might say that they should have been sent straight to the crusher...

The Smart ForTwo has been the butt of many jokes and for good reason. It was designed with easy city driving and fuel economy in mind. But a notoriously bad drivetrain, the engine's thirst for premium fuel, and the car's quirky dimensions negate the fuel savings and make it terrifying to drive in dense cities. In most US cities, Ford F-150s and Cadillac Escalades are still prevalent no matter how crowded or cramped the streets are, so driving the invisible ForTwo in between city buses and huge trucks isn't the most life-affirming experience. Besides, the ugly design of the car failed to capture the "cutesy" market that gravitates to the Beetle. For these shortcomings, we'd send the Smart ForTwo straight to the crusher.

You knew there was no way we would leave the Fiat 500L off of this list. The regular Fiat 500 we can live with, because it takes the same recipe as the Smart ForTwo and greatly improves on it. But then some wise guy at Fiat decided to make a CUV out of the car. Mini Cooper managed to do this and make the Countryman, but unlike the 500L, the Countryman stayed somewhat attractive as it went on a diet consisting solely of steroids. The 500L may have utility on its side, but when compared to any other station wagon or subcompact crossover, it ranks dead last on performance, reliability, and of course, looks. For this, and for the fact that FCA could have done better, we'd send the Fiat 500L straight to the crusher.

It's very rare for a BMW to be so awfully as for someone to want to crush it outright. After all, how can the same company that tickles our carnal instincts with fast cars like the M2, i8, and beautiful M6 Grand Coupe make something as bad as the 5 Series GT? It's hard to know for sure, but it may be an unfortunate result of BMW and Mercedes' incessant pursuit of filling every niche that can be thought of no matter how slim it may be. The car is ugly too, and not in a controversial "only a mother could love it" Porsche Panamera kind of way. This car just needs a good dose of the crusher, not only for its unsightly styling, but because it seems like the car was made in a rush to fill a gap that the 5 Series Touring station wagon is better equipped to handle.

The Dodge Dart had it tough from the beginning. Going into a segment crowded with reliability and quality fanatics like Toyota and Honda and fun-to-drive cars like the Volkswagen Golf and Mazda3 meant that the Dart had to have something else going for it aside from a nostalgic name. Unfortunately the Dart did nothing to improve on the Avenger that it replaced. The interior was docked for its cheap quality and its drivability was heavily criticized due to slow acceleration and a weighty feel. Car and Driver even rated the Dart 1.5 stars out of five for feeling more like an appliance than a driver's machine. We'd send this car straight to the crusher, but luckily Dodge has decided to do that for us.