Does redo make Nissan's 'ugliest' car worse?

When automotive designers make a terrible mistake, they often retreat back to the safety of a banal look, something that won't offend, or for that matter, impress.

So you have to admire the brash designers at Nissan who, after absorbing three years of criticism over the look the Juke, have decided to double down. For the refreshed version being shown this week at the Geneva Motor Show, the small crossover gets a makeover that makes it even more, to use Nissan's terminology, "polarizing."

The new one is sure to raise the question: Can an ugly car get even uglier?

It doesn't happen often. When Subaru launched the B9 Tribeca with a big, ugly "nose" of sorts for a grille, it toned down the front to make it more plain for the refresh, just before the whole model was killed. Ford botched the redesign of its breathtakingly beautiful original Taurus in the 1980s, going to a "jelly bean" look with rounded sides like an old Coke bottle. For the third generation, the car got a forgettable appearance that made it the mainstay of rental car fleets.

Then there is Juke. It has been a frequent target of top-10 ugliest car lists. Test Drive's James R. Healey sounded almost complimentary in 2011 when it referred to Juke as "mutt ugly." Why? The whole vehicle has an odd shape with a weird front end. The headlights are where the foglights should be. The parking lights are where the headlights should be.

Customers must like it. It hasn't sold badly overall, although small crossovers have become a hot segment.

To amp up its uniqueness, Nissan designers have played more heavy on a V-shaped design on the front. Those little lamps on top of the fenders now have LED daytime running lights, at least for the European version.

Nissan loves the Juke as well. At the Geneva Motor Show, Executive Vice President Andy Palmer referred to Juke as a "true segment pioneer" with "tons of personality."

We'll see if the extra personality continues to play well when it comes to the U.S.