| KarenCaren |
1899-1939
* 1899 Horsey Horseless
* 1909 Ford Model T
* 1911 Overland OctoAuto
* 1913 Scripps-Booth Bi-Autogo
* 1920 Briggs and Stratton Flyer
* 1933 Fuller Dymaxion
* 1934 Chrysler/Desoto Airflow
1940-1959
* 1949 Crosley Hotshot
* 1956 Renault Dauphine
* 1957 King Midget Model III
* 1957 Waterman Aerobile
* 1958 Ford Edsel
* 1958 Lotus Elite
* 1958 MGA Twin Cam
* 1958 Zunndapp Janus
1960-1974
* 1961 Amphicar
* 1961 Corvair
* 1966 Peel Trident
* 1970 AMC Gremlin
* 1970 Triumph Stag
* 1971 Chrysler Imperial LeBaron Two-Door Hardtop
* 1971 Ford Pinto
* 1974 Jaguar XK-E V12 Series III
1975-1989
* 1975 Bricklin SV1
* 1975 Morgan Plus 8 Propane
* 1975 Triumph TR7
* 1975 Trabant
* 1976 Aston Martin Lagonda
* 1976 Chevy Chevette
* 1978 AMC Pacer
* 1980 Corvette 305 "California"
* 1980 Ferrari Mondial 8
* 1981 Cadillac Fleetwood V-8-6-4
* 1981 De Lorean DMC-12
* 1982 Cadillac Cimarron
* 1982 Camaro Iron Duke
* 1984 Maserati Biturbo
* 1985 Mosler Consulier GTP
* 1985 Yugo GV
* 1986 Lamborghini LM002
1990-Present
* 1995 Ford Explorer
* 1997 GM EV1
* 1997 Plymouth Prowler
* 1998 Fiat Multipla
* 2000 Ford Excursion
* 2001 Jaguar X-Type
* 2001 Pontiac Aztek
* 2002 BMW 7-series
* 2003 Hummer H2
* 2004 Chevy SSR
What do you think? |
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| jay |
The Chevy Vega is not on the list, so it must be wrong. :p
And I'll still never understand how Ford couldn't sell the $14,000 Contour, but couldn't build the $35,000 Jaguar X-type version fast enough, at least for this market area. :confused: |
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| jdeanski |
quote:
Originally posted by jay
The Chevy Vega is not on the list, so it must be wrong. :p
And I'll still never understand how Ford couldn't sell the $14,000 Contour, but couldn't build the $35,000 Jaguar X-type version fast enough, at least for this market area. :confused:
I owned a Vega GT Wagon...................mine was one of the best cars I've ever owned..........There are many cars on the list I disagree with but there is definitely some I totally agree with............ |
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| colorider |
| Moved from General to Off-Topic Other Automobiles |
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| robrecht |
quote:
Originally posted by jay
The Chevy Vega is not on the list, so it must be wrong. :p
And I'll still never understand how Ford couldn't sell the $14,000 Contour, but couldn't build the $35,000 Jaguar X-type version fast enough, at least for this market area. :confused:
I liked the Contour! Nice and light, not heavy and dull like the Taurus. |
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| jdeanski |
quote:
Originally posted by robrecht
I liked the Contour! Nice and light, not heavy and dull like the Taurus.
...................I'm heavy...........but never dull!!:7: |
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| Sportymonk |
I think is is difficult to truly assess some of the early cars as "Worst cars". First, by what standard? Second, given their purpose, some were good cars.
Model T, a little before our time but it did make its mark in history.
Crosley Hotshot and Renault Daulphine could be considered by some as neat little cars.
1958 Lotus Elite - What was wrong with it?
1958 MGA Twin Cam - Again ??? Somebody doesnt' like sports cars.
1961 Amphicar If you wanted a car to go in the lake with, this was it.
1971 Ford Pinto - Hey I had a 72 Pinto hatchback in college.Lots of room in back especially with the seat folded down; Good fuel economy; did I mention the back seat folded down? :12:
1974 Jaguar XK-E V12 Series III - Come on, Any XKE is great.
1975 Triumph TR7 - Definitely hates sports cars.
Chevy Vega definitel deserves to be on the list although it did provide a gre3at idea for a holloween costume. Wrap yourself in aluminum foil and pour oil over yourself - instant Vega! |
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| waynerd |
The '75 Nova should be on there, too, though I think most domestic cars in the mid-70's pretty much stunk..
And was '95 the worst year for the Exploder? |
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| krygny |
| I haven't owned any of the cars on the list so I can't say. <persnickety>I assume the OP has owned them all, as well as every other car ever made; otherwise, how could one make a comparison?</persnickety> |
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| LChisum |
Can't be a valid list if it doesn't include the Dodge Omni/Plymouth Horizon!
Larry :o |
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| Shindig78 |
The only one that really caught my eye was the '02 BMW 7-series. Yes, the styling was controversial, but I doubt that anyone who has ever driven one would call it a bad car, let alone one of the 50 worst cars. I would also question the GM EV1 and the Plymouth Prowler.
Other than that, the list looked pretty reasonable. There were a few cars that were noticeably *not* on the list -- the Renault Le Car and Saturn Ion both come to mind... |
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| jay |
quote:
Originally posted by Shindig78
...There were a few cars that were noticeably *not* on the list -- the Renault Le Car and Saturn Ion both come to mind...
For some reason this reminded me of the VW Thing. |
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| hondacuraworld |
Here's the '58 Edsel I had back in college in the early 90s. Someone must have snapped this pic in the college parking lot way back when......I still have the old front license plate :)
http://www.kanjidic.com/Gaz21/Galle...ry2/index5.html
They were decent cars, but working on them was not run of the mill. If you knew how to work on a Teletouch Drive transmission shift system, and lubricate the underdash heater control cables, you were good :)
Mine never left me stranded, but it left me without heat for most of my time of ownership. One stupid dial to control everything, including fan airspeed and temp. Not one of their better ideas....... |
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| dragoncoach |
quote:
Originally posted by LChisum
Can't be a valid list if it doesn't include the Dodge Omni/Plymouth Horizon!
Larry :o
Don't you remember the Omni GLH (goes like hell)? It was fairly fast in a straight line and didn't cost very much. I think that would keep it off the list. At least it had something going for it! Don't think I'd own one regardless. |
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| hondacuraworld |
Funny enough, the reason why the heater controls on an Omni were positioned between the drivers door and the steering column is that the car's designer was going through a divorce, and the one thing he hated about his ex-wife was the fact that she used to play with the heater controls all the time.
True story :) |
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| robrecht |
quote:
Originally posted by LChisum
Can't be a valid list if it doesn't include the Dodge Omni/Plymouth Horizon!
Larry :o
Ha ha. I drove one of those for a couple of months and actually sort of liked it for some no doubt strange but completely unknown reason. Maybe just because it was light weight. :roadtrip: |
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| Shindig78 |
quote:
Originally posted by LChisum
Can't be a valid list if it doesn't include the Dodge Omni/Plymouth Horizon!
Larry :o
I once saw an Omni randomly catch fire in front of my office building. It was about seven or eight years ago. A customer parked it in front of the building and walked inside. A few minutes later -- and completely on its own -- flames started pouring out of the engine bay. It burned for a good 20 minutes before the fire fighters could finally put it out. I feel bad for the poor people who parked next to it -- talk about smoke damage! |
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| Shindig78 |
quote:
Originally posted by jay
For some reason this reminded me of the VW Thing.
I was going to say any car that floats can't be all that bad, but then I double checked and saw that the '61 Amphicar is on the list... :) |
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| dragoncoach |
quote:
Originally posted by hondacuraworld
Funny enough, the reason why the heater controls on an Omni were positioned between the drivers door and the steering column is that the car's designer was going through a divorce, and the one thing he hated about his ex-wife was the fact that she used to play with the heater controls all the time.
True story :)
Maybe the radio controls should have been on the left of the steering column as well! Then his wife wouldn't have access to anything |
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| waynerd |
I learned to drive in a Dodge Omni, and several friends had them, and they were ALL light blue! We called them the "Me too" car in college. "I've got a light blue Dodge Omni." Oh, yeah, me too." "Me too."
I thought they were decent enough for basic transportation. |
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| dgipalo |
A good deal of this depends on how you define 'worst'. Here's my take on the subset of your list I've been around, either having driven, maintained, or owned.
1899-1939
* 1934 Chrysler/Desoto Airflow – This was a car ‘way ahead of its time’. Tried a number of new concepts, and languished in the market for its ‘styling’. In terms of reliability it seemed comparable to its contemporaries (read HORRID by modern standards). Some of the new design features made it prone to the ravages of ‘tinworm’, giving it bad rust problems.
1940-1959
* 1956 Renault Dauphine – The car symbolized all that was French, and all that was wrong with French automakers. Rust, bog-slow performance, a number of ‘death by impalement’ features in a crash. 50K mile “durability”, if you were lucky.
* 1958 Ford Edsel – Another example of not getting the quality control ‘right’ and what happens when design and manufacturing don’t talk and work together. Styling wasn’t any worse (just different) from the other 50’s barges, but it did have bad luck to launch into a recession.
1960-1974
* 1961 Corvair – A classic example of GM’s issue of getting new technology executed correctly. The original ‘vair design wasn’t that bad, but poor manufacturing tolerances and material selection made the car a joke. The 64+, with a ‘fixed’ rear suspension and engine mods was actually a decent car for the money.
* 1970 AMC Gremlin – I kinda liked the Gremmy. It was an example of Dick Teague’s way of doing more with less. The car was no worse than its contemporaries, and in some ways way better. The use of a ‘relaxed’ and relatively large six gave the car decent response, and better driving experience than the GM and Ford contemporaries. The nose-heaviness was a problem, especially with the V8.
* 1971 Ford Pinto – Actually, except for horrid rear crash performance, not a terrible car. Reasonably zippy with the 2.0l (and not terrible with the ancient 1.6. Did show Detroit’s myopic view that small cars were simply to be ‘downsized’ large cars. The packaging compromises necessary to achieve the styling made it more cramped than it needed to be.
* 1974 Jaguar XK-E V12 Series III – Beautiful car ruined by poor construction and ‘beta-test’ grade engine management system.
1975-1989
* 1975 Bricklin SV1 – As a low- volume car, you needed to know what you were getting into. I thought it was a scam by Malcolm to con the Canada government out of some serious coin.
* 1975 Triumph TR7 – Again, a cool design ruined by poor manufacturing and quality control. The ‘flying wedge’ styling is admittedly an acquired taste, but at least it was distinctive.
* 1975 Trabant – Socialism at its worst. Horrid pollution from the 2 stroke. A moving stink bomb.
* 1976 Chevy Chevette – GM’s latest ‘import fighter’, done ‘on the cheap’ from the European parts bin, using obsolete designs. It was a small, cheap car that reminded you of that fact every mile of its life.
* 1978 AMC Pacer – Curious why the 78 was picked? Could it be the funky grille that ruined the hoodline, but necessary to shoehorn the V8?
* 1980 Corvette 305 "California" – Everyone had problems with emissions, and with the 79 gas panic, everyone was looking for better fuel economy. Horrid thing to do to a ‘vette, though.
* 1981 Cadillac Fleetwood V-8-6-4 – Again, GM engineering and manufacturing don’t work together, and a good idea that couldn’t be done effectively with contemporary technology.
* 1981 De Lorean DMC-12 – Way-cool design, running into the brick wall of manufacturing reality. The PRV V6 was a piece of crap; with a decent engine, the car could have succeeded.
* 1982 Cadillac Cimarron – Another expedient response to the early 80’s gas prices and economy.
* 1982 Camaro Iron Duke – What, a bog-slow, noisy, and rough ‘sporty car’ is a bad idea? This was the ‘secretary special’, aimed at folks that wanted to ‘look sporty’. Never mind it was bog-slow; it was relatively cheap, decent looking and not bad on gas.
* 1985 Yugo GV – Another one of Malcolm Bricklin’s idea. Way-obsolete early 70’s Fiat, poorly built, with enough emissions band-aids to ensure it ran like crap.
1990-Present
* 1995 Ford Explorer – Why?
* 1997 GM EV1 – Again, a publicity stunt and a bit of chest-thumping by GM. Rather than use the learning of the electric control systems to apply to ‘regular’ cars or Hybrids, GM trashed it, earning the ire of the very folks that they wanted to get on their side.
* 2001 Pontiac Aztek – The management team that approved that design must have been doing SERIOUS drugs.
* 2002 BMW 7-series – Nice design, horrible execution and reliability.
* 2003 Hummer H2 – Rambo wanna-be, your car is here.
* 2004 Chevy SSR – Show car in production. Never a good idea, particularly when it’s based on a way-tubby chassis. |
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| larryziegler |
| I also had the Corvair in mind. It was a fire trap! |
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| robrecht |
quote:
Originally posted by dgipalo
A good deal of this depends on how you define 'worst'. Here's my take on the subset of your list I've been around, either having driven, maintained, or owned. ...
Wow, you've had a lot of experience of a lot of cars! :roadtrip: |
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| dgipalo |
quote:
Originally posted by robrecht
Wow, you've had a lot of experience of a lot of cars! :roadtrip:
Some of these have been 'casual' encounters via FOF at various auto clubs. Things like EV1 et were decidedly at a distance, as an interested bystander looking at cool engineering and technology.
Back in the 80's I worked with a guy who was a Brit car nut. Being a fellow (somewhat less country-specific) car nut, we shared a few brews while digging into old brit crocks. He had assorted Jag 6's and 12's, along with the odd Rover and Triumph tossed in. Pintos, Gremmies, and assorted cheap domestics were a 'benefit' of a used car lot gig I did back in college. You wouldn't believe the rolling horse apples that were sold for $100 down and E-Z payments of $20/week. Many of which were sold to several buyers that way, with repos after 3-4 mos. If the buyers could do math, they would realize that it adds up to way more $$$ than if you got a decent car with a couple of hundred more down and a bank note. |
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| jay |
quote:
Originally posted by larryziegler
I also had the Corvair in mind. It was a fire trap!
So was the Pontiac Fiero. It should be on the list. |
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| LChisum |
quote:
Originally posted by Shindig78
I once saw an Omni randomly catch fire in front of my office building. It was about seven or eight years ago. A customer parked it in front of the building and walked inside. A few minutes later -- and completely on its own -- flames started pouring out of the engine bay. It burned for a good 20 minutes before the fire fighters could finally put it out. I feel bad for the poor people who parked next to it -- talk about smoke damage!
As the dealer drove my new Omni up to the front of the dealership to deliver it to my wife and me, an air conditioning fitting ruptured, obscuring the car in a cloud of freon. That should have been an omen! As I recall, the doors had no dampers. They just swung open and shut like barn doors.
Larry
:) |
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| KarenCaren |
Thanks for making my thread sticky. Thanks for all the replies. Keep posting!
I know many will not agree with the list. Me too don't agree.
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Alternators | Antennas |
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| jay |
quote:
Originally posted by KarenCaren
Thanks for making my thread sticky. Thanks for all the replies. Keep posting!
I know many will not agree with the list. Me too don't agree.
_________________
Alternators | Antennas
You're thread is far from sticky. It just pops to the top because the list is incomplete at best, wrong at worst, and the afficianad.... car lovers on this board have to comment. :p |
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| evarsallona |
| I owned a 1962 Ford Cortina Mark 1 |
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| acornct_dad |
How about the late 90's Ford Windstar van. Now there was a hunk of junk. I had one. I know. Ford sure threw this one togerther. I will NEVER buy a Ford van again.
acornct_dad |
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| KarenCaren |
quote:
Originally posted by jay
You're thread is far from sticky. It just pops to the top because the list is incomplete at best, wrong at worst, and the afficianad.... car lovers on this board have to comment. :p
oppsss sorry. But still thanks for all the replies. From the data I will get here. I try to create a blog. |
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| bdlfe |
Anyone agree with Chevy Citation as one of the worst? That car (my Dad's, I forget the year) made me not want to get a Big Three product.
As far as design/looks I'd add Ford 500/Taurus. |
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