Best, 2007 Subaru Legacy Gt Limited wagon, 2000 Toyota Tacoma TRD Offroad 4x4, 1992 Nissan Maxima SE.
The Sube’s just a great car, still have it, love it. Fast, roomy, practical. I wish I’d kept the Tacoma, it was practically good as new with 172k miles, never a minute’s trouble out of it. The 92 Maxima was a very solid car, rattle free and trouble free, I’d go so far as to say it was overbuilt for it’s market segment, another one I wish I’d kept. If it weren’t for the stupid mandated automatic electric shoulder harnesses, I would have. Hated those things. Not Nissan’s fault, most cars of that era had them.
Worst: 1980 AMC Spirit, 1976 Ford Mustang II, 1996 Maxima SE.
The AMC Spirit was bought for me so I shouldn’t complain but it was an awful car. Unsafe, it would swap ends on wet pavement very easily, the rear was very light. The 4 cylinder engine was best described as agricultural. The electrical system was scary, hit a bump or pothole at night and flip a coin as to whether the headlights would cut out. The Mustang II was a disguised Pinto, just heavier and slower. The Maxima was a surprise, I’d had such a great experience with the 92 that I bought another. The new one was looser driving off the lot than the 92 with 150k miles. The transaxle was a constant issue, it would get locked in reverse and have to be towed. The interior was flimsy compared to the one I traded and the A/C was weak.
WORST: 1973 Chevy Caprice Estate Wagon. The thing weighed about 10,000 pounds and got 5 gallons to the mile - but in its defense if you got in an accident the other guy would die in a crumpled heap of aluminum, and you might suffer a small scratch on the bumper. :)
Best - 2003 Buick Century. They made them for rental cars. Not great at anything, but good at everything.
Worst - 1979 Honda Accord LXi. I think they didn’t put oil in it at the factory. Went to fill it up the first time and checked the oil. Dry dipstick. Should have driven it through the dealers front doors. Radiator blew up. Paint bubbled and peeled.
1981 black t-top Camaro. Handled like a dream and plenty of power.
best: 1986 VW GTI , car drove like it was wired into your brain.
2nd best 2003 MBZ C230 Kompressor , unbelievably competant car in all conditions
worst: 1978 Cutlass 305/turbo200/2.29 gears , slow slow slow because it had the infamous sbc camshaft problem (worn lobes because chevy too cheap to heat treat/temper the cam)
2nd worst: Chevy Cavalier ,, rust rust rust ,, clunky , slow and not too economical. cheapest interior ever.
Best is easily a 2010 Cadillac CTS, 304 horses, quiet and smooth ride while the sporty handling is a dream. Honorable mention to my trusty 1995 Chevy Lumina for reliability that saw over 220k miles of hard city driving all over DFW and was a solid value. Definitely understated. Worst would be my high school/college transportation,a lemonesque Ford Freakin Escort, which ultimately caught on fire due to electrical problems, but only after a string of mechanical failures. It just might be the worst car to roll off an assembly line.
1969 AMX
390 V-8
4-Speed Manual
0-60mph -- never timed it. Never cared to.
The ONLY American car made at the time that could beat the Chevrolet Corvette out of the factory.
Speedometer went up to 140 and I can tell you factually it could do it -- easily.
Worst car ever owned: 1976 Mercury Comet. Had a 250 Inline 6 Cylinder that threw a rod while idling at a stop light. Took the 250 Inline 6 out and dropped a 302 V-8 in and turned that lemon into lemonade. Became my Friday Night money maker. Car looked like complete crap with surface rust all over the rear quarters, but it was light and fast as hell with the 302 in it. That car ended up helping pay my college tuition.
Coming from a family full of awful cars, it’s hard to pick a (least) favorite. The really bad ones predated my actual car ownership.
Worst of all time was a Sunbeam Rapier my dad “drove” when I was a kid. Seemingly, every day he would leave for work, then return home a few minutes later, cursing, and grab my mom’s car to get to work. Then a tow truck would deliver the Sunbeam.
After that was a Rambler Classic with a three on the tree. The gear shift linkage would regularly jam and my mom would have to jump out of the car, lift the hood and free the gear shift linkage in traffic.
My personal best car was a 1990 Corolla. It was also the first car I actually owned. It was trouble free for nearly 200k miles. I regretted trading it in for a newer Corolla which was something of a lemon and my personal worst car. My current SUV is far nicer than my first Corolla, but that car got me through my first two jobs and into a real career on the cheap.
Best? My 75 MGB. Second Best? My 1998 Mazda MPV (before the makeover)
Worst? My 1973 Ford Pinto.
Nastiest: '70 Ford Country Squire station wagon [9 passenger], black with the wood grain on the sides, 429 4/v, C6 auto, only passed once. Even the guys with their hotrod GTO's and Camaros they thought were unbeatable wanted nothing of this one, har! Just stab the gas pedal if you want to leave two long black streaks on the pavement, fun on demand, what a grin! A nasty piece of work by FMC, and I got it from my boss for a c-note!
Worst? How about we call it PITA [pain in the ass] instead? My 1st motorcycle was a '73 Kawasaki S3 triple that fouled the #3 plug in short order, I learned to carry a ratchet and spare plugs. And 2-stroke oil. Etc, etc, etc. Great thread, and I knew the GTO/goat ref was coming! ;)
Sold it to buy my wife's engagement ring in 1958.
Now have a custom 36 Chevy 3 window coupe so that when I get alshimers I can look at the registration and find out how old i am! Never bought a"worst" car!
Best: 2004 Audi allroad, 2.7 twin turbo;
Runnerup 1986 BMW 528e
Worst: 1977 Chevy Caprice Classic, with vinyl pinstripes
Most fun: 1953 MG TD first car, chick magnet-that was Fun with a capital “F”;
Runnerup 1970 Fiat 124 Sport Coupe
Best: 2009 GMC Sierra w/ ~660HP modified Duramax/Allison. 25MPG HWY. 12s 1/4 mile.
Worst: ‘80 (I think) Mercury Zephyr.
I would have to say my best was a 2001 Jeep Cherokee. Fit me well, fun to drive, had some comfort, good reliability, had some creature comforts to it.
1956 Buick Century...POWER, Luxury and a transmission that was the smoothest ever conceived...Dynaflow!