248:; "It was so ugly it was unreal. I said straightaway, 'I've got to own that.'" After several years of searching, he eventually tracked the car down by the name of the garage in the background of a photograph of the car, purchased it sight unseen for $ 1,500, and had it shipped to Britain for another $ 2,000. The fiberglass and wood structure of the car proved to have deteriorated terribly from exposure, as well as the interior and plastic windshield.
104:-bodied car that was two years on the drawing board and required three years to build. The high quality of the workmanship was "astounding", particularly in the fibreglass body and the plastic windows. At a retail price of $ 12,000.00, it would have been priced just under the most costly car in the U.S., the $ 13,000.00
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The Aurora is mainly remembered for its appearance, however, and is often cited in lists of the ugliest cars ever, frequently as the single ugliest car. This assessment is largely due to two factors, in addition to the general overwrought "swoopiness" of the car typical of the "futuristic" styling of
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was further complicated by a lack of adequate documentation or even photographs of the car, the absence of the late Father
Juliano to assist as a consultant, and the lack of replacement parts for a prototype vehicle. However, restoration was completed in early 2005, and the car was unveiled to a
198:, which had sat unused for the previous four years. After the inauspicious beginning of arriving hours late for its own unveiling, the car did not inspire the public due to its appearance, lack of performance, and high price, and there were no advance orders.
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194:, which was not adequately tested before the scheduled public unveiling in 1957 and broke down 15 times on the way to the press conference, requiring towing to 7 different garages; mainly due to clogging of the
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proof, was specifically designed for long distance highway travel. The vehicle had a tinted, transparent, plastic "astrodome" roof with adjustable interior metal shades.
97:. He maintained his interest in automotive design, however, which he combined with a belief that there was much which could be done to make current automobiles safer.
171:, both dictated by safety considerations. The bulging windshield was designed to eliminate impact with occupants' heads, in the era prior to
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The company's finances were called into question; Juliano stated that that had been instigated by
General Motors, and compared himself to
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132:, located under the front end, was mounted on a platform which would lower the tire to the ground without manual contact.
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as collateral for unpaid repair bills. It passed through several hands before finally being abandoned behind a
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Juliano had studied art before entering the priesthood, and expressed a lifelong interest in
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The prototype had a fiberglass body over a largely wooden structure built on the salvaged
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Conceived, invented and built by
Juliano, the Aurora was an 18-foot (5.49 m) long
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In 1993, the car was discovered by
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of misappropriating parishioners' donations, and forced to leave the
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85:. His family said that he had won a coveted scholarship from
43:, from 1957 to 1958. The Aurora is arguably the first
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to face rearwards should a collision seem imminent.
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mounted in the frame assisted in tire changing. The
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side-impact bars, and a collapsible steering column
167:the time: the gaping front end and the bulbous
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47:ever made, even before the coinage of the ESV
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20:Cover of magazine featuring Aurora safety car
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277:. Xlibris Corporation. p. 77.
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253:newly re-astounded public at the
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316:How Ugly? Put a Bag on That Car
273:Phillips, Lou (11 April 2011).
244:, in a sketch in a book about
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205:. He was investigated by the
340:Vehicle safety technologies
229:in 1967. Juliano died of a
45:Experimental Safety Vehicle
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255:Goodwood Festival of Speed
106:Cadillac Eldorado Brougham
32:prototype manufactured by
157:served to absorb impacts
360:Cars introduced in 1957
215:Order of the Holy Ghost
108:. The body, said to be
355:History of Connecticut
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135:The vehicle had many
72:Branford, Connecticut
36:Alfred A. Juliano, a
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324:, December 23, 2007
63:engine, built on a
321:The New York Times
318:", Jerry Garrett,
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345:Automotive safety
209:, accused by the
83:automotive design
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231:brain hemorrhage
183:without injury.
161:swivel the seats
149:instrument panel
28:was an American
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250:Restoration
223:repair shop
196:fuel system
181:pedestrians
147:, a padded
124:controlled
91:Harley Earl
334:Categories
261:References
246:dream cars
219:bankruptcy
190:of a 1953
169:windshield
137:car safety
130:spare tire
102:fibreglass
49:initialism
30:automobile
233:in 1989.
145:roll cage
141:seatbelts
122:Dashboard
118:corrosion
76:prototype
173:air bags
95:ordained
57:Cadillac
53:Chrysler
38:Catholic
188:chassis
68:chassis
61:Lincoln
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242:Dorset
177:bumper
116:, and
41:priest
34:Father
26:Aurora
238:Poole
192:Buick
65:Buick
59:, or
279:ISBN
275:Cars
143:, a
114:rust
110:dent
24:The
207:IRS
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