Why were most 80's cars so ugly?

I was born in 67. In 87 I had this exact 82 Camaro Z28 http://images.classiccars.com/classifieds/59009_405513_1982_Chevrolet_Camaro%2BZ28.jpg I loved it and its holds some of the best memories of my younger days. So I'd have to disagree. When I think of 80's cars I specifically think of this one.

You forgot the Chevy Chevette! My sister had one and had gotten pulled over for speeding...the cop came over and told her she was doing 80 MPH..and then paused and looked at the car...in a Chevette! LOL He didn't give her a ticket just told her to slow down.
https://www.google.com/search?q=chevette&tbm=isch&imgil=4gS4Ac-cC-ifcM%253A%253BCkrjofJBMTgrkM%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fwww.roadandtrack.com%25252Fcar-culture%25252Fentertainment%25252Fvideos%25252Fa28258%25252Fmr-regular-chevrolet-chevette%25252F&source=iu&pf=m&fir=4gS4Ac-cC-ifcM%253A%252CCkrjofJBMTgrkM%252C_&usg=__JCtP65kL3sGFaYK95YLSYC4X-JE%3D&biw=1280&bih=587&ved=0ahUKEwjyvN2D68fMAhUC4yYKHQ_IDVMQyjcIMw&ei=Qc4tV7KYIILGmwGPkLeYBQ#imgrc=4gS4Ac-cC-ifcM%3A

Don't bother sweating over your bills, in the end we all wind up in the hole!

Overall I have to agree with the OP. Although there were a few timeless cars made in the 80s, the majority of them were either boxy behemoths with powerful engines, or boxy little economy cars with good gas mileage and no sex appeal.
And even the 80s Camaro, Trans Am, and Corvette models are widely considered to be disappointing designs by most car enthusiasts. The few models that stood out for me were the Toyota Supra, the Nissan 300ZX, and the late model Pontiac Fiero.
That being said, the 70s seemed to start the trend of truly ugly cars. It seems like it's only been in the last 20 years that manufacturers have rediscovered that cars should be beautiful as well as functional.

During the time, to me as a kid, the cars of the time didn't seem ugly to me. The 70's cars, though--sheesh.

The 80's cars, though, haven't aged well at all.

During it's time, it wasn't. I use to think the E28 BMW and 1978 Mercedes 450 SL coupe was ugly growing up, my dad had a E28 BMW and I hated it. And now I think the E28 is gorgeous and now I own a 1978 450 SL Coupe. As a car guy, I can look at it and understand the engineering and design of an older car. Cars evolution has to be done slowly. Too much of a change from model to model would loose the appeal of the older car and bring resale value down. If resales are not good, people might not want to buy that particular model anymore.

State champ in martial arts, trained with firearms, I eFF'n dare you!

Didn't you like Uncle Marvin's DeLorean? I was hoping he would be driving a Yugo the second time he appeared on the show.

I agree with the OP to a point. Not all cars in the 80s were ugly, but a large number of them were especially in the early to mid 80s. The unions were really hurting the auto industry with their impossible demands and a lot of American cars became cheap and poorly made to compete with the growing foreign market. Many cars were either based on the American 1970s designs or were base on those god awful fuel efficient foreign death traps from the 70s. The problem is they just got cheap looking and largely didn't add anything that made them cool. They were largely a step back. Designs got better by the late 80s and many people were finding that foreign cars and truck were becoming more reliable, even though they usually lacked the luxury features the American cars had.

Too boxy.