Braking Bad: 4 Villainous Vehicles

CARS.COM — We hope the Fourth was indeed with you last week on so-called Star Wars Day. It was — and then some — at Ford. A USA Today story quoted the automaker’s designers as saying that they’d taken inspiration from the Dark Lord of the Sith himself, Darth Vader, in crafting the 2018 Ford Mustang.

Related: May the Fourth Be With This ‘Star Wars’ Car Gear

Far be it from us to question where the proverbial music makers and the dreamers of dreams get their inspiration from, but frankly, we felt it was a bit of a stretch. We perhaps see a tad of evil Anakin in the lower front bumper area and in the mesh of the upper and lower grilles — but the Imperial TIE fighter-shaped exhaust ports? Hmmm.

There are, however, quite a few cars out there that do resemble sci-fi villains. Here are four we found uncanny.

2017 Toyota RAV4/Stormtrooper

It may not be the head baddie himself, but the 2017 Toyota RAV4 sure looks like it could fall right into line with a squadron of the Galactic Empire’s frowny-faced foot soldiers. And as the stock joke about Stormtroopers’ lacking laser-blaster marksmanship goes, that would make the RAV4 the safest vehicle on the road — because it’ll never hit anything.

2017 Lexus IS/The Predator

This really applies to any vehicle in the Lexus lineup that bears the current incarnation of the brand’s spindle grille. Paired with those furrowed-brow headlights, it looks just like the Predator that Arnold Schwarzenegger faced off with in the 1987 sci-fi action classic, with its four-cornered multifaceted mouth. The 2017 Lexus IS 200t is a fine-looking car, but somehow we still find ourselves saying, “You are one ugly… ,” well, you know the rest.

2016 Ford Focus RS/Creature From the Black Lagoon

From its angry stare to its gaping-mouth grille, the 2017 Ford Focus RS looks like it just emerged from the murky depths to terrorize an Amazon expedition. However, their fishy facial features are where the similarities end: The Focus RS sprints from zero-to-60 mph in 4.6 seconds, while the Gill-man is, well, not exactly built for speed.

2017 Alfa Romeo 4C/The Penguin

The 2017 Alfa Romeo 4C’s pointy, dramatically downward-sloping hood and headlights like ill-intentioned eyes remind us of Danny DeVito’s long, beak-nosed Penguin from “Batman Returns.” Trick it out with an aftermarket top hat, monocle and a cigarette holder, and you’ll be rollin’ like a true Gotham gangsta.