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10 Worst Cars of All Time
thestreet ^ | 6-2012 | ted reed

Posted on 06/13/2012 9:59:05 AM PDT by doug from upland

DETROIT MainStreet) -- For me, it is the Chevrolet Vega.

I was living in Toledo, Ohio, in the late 1970s and working as a reporter for The Toledo Blade. One day, I was preparing to drive a friend's Vega. I sat down in the driver's seat and put my foot on the floor in front of me, about to step on the gas. And guess what happened?

It's not a tough question if you were ever in a Vega. My foot went right through the rusty floor. And for the ensuing three decades, I have had my own story about the worst car ever made.

Events like my Vega experience make a big impression on drivers, says Edmunds.com Editor-in-Chief Scott Oldham. "Everyone I know who had a Vega has a story like that," he says. "Even now, GM(GM_) is still paying for the ill will towards the Vega. A lot of the people who bought Vegas won't buy a GM car, and their kids and grandkids won't buy GM cars either."

Yet as bad as the Vega was, it is not the worst car ever, according to Edmunds.com. About two dozen Edmunds.com staffers spent a couple of months refining a list of the 100 worst cars ever. They started with individual lists of bad cars, compiled them and put the cars in order, accompanied by lots of discussions, emails and meetings.

Our list is limited to Edmunds' top 10. We will tell you right now that the Vega is ranked as only the fifth-worst car ever built and that the competition to be the worst car ever was extremely intense:

10th-worst: 1979 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme Diesel The Cutlass was once among the best-selling U.S. cars. In the late 1970s, GM decided to take advantage of its popularity and develop a diesel version. The 4.2-liter Olds diesel engine was sold only in the 1979 Cutlass.

Unfortunately, GM hadn't yet mastered diesel technology. "GM was trying to market a technology that wasn't ready for prime time," Oldham says. "The cars never really ran properly. They were underpowered. They blew up. They broke. It was a warranty disaster for GM."

The engine "reached 90 horsepower before shattering into shrapnel," Edmunds.com wrote.

The failure of the Cutlass diesel "turned Americans off to diesel," Oldham says. "It is one of the reasons why diesel is still a bad word in this country."

Ninth-worst: 1957 Trabant Capitalists aren't the only people who sometimes make bad cars.

Edmunds.com calls the 1957 Trabant, a two-cylinder, two-stroke engine compact from East Germany, "one more reason why communism is evil."

The car was common in its home country, given the lack of competition, and was sometimes exported. It was East Germany's answer to the Volkswagen Beetle, and in some ways it was comparable, with the major difference being that the Beetle was a worldwide success and the Trabant was a spectacular failure.

"Over the years, the Trabant has become an underground poster child for bad global cars," Oldham says. "It was produced for a long time, but never got better, never [embraced] any technology improvements" despite 30 years in production.

Eighth-worst: 1982 Cadillac Cimarron The 1982 Cadillac Cimarron was a symbol of what was wrong with GM in the 1980s, an effort to compete with BMW by redecorating the front-drive, four-cylinder Chevrolet Cavalier and calling it a Cadillac.

Edmunds.com called it "a self-inflicted wound that nearly killed Cadillac."

The car was an embarrassment from the start, Oldham says, and "the press was all over it." It underscored the difference between BMW and Mercedes, on the one hand, which understood what luxury car buyers wanted, and Cadillac, on the other hand, which did not.

Cadillac "was on the downswing, almost to the point of extinction" until cars such as the CRS and SRX began to revive the brand, Oldham says. Now, Cadillac is trying to further redefine itself as a viable competitor with the ATS.

Seventh-worst: 1958 Edsel Corsair Ford's(F_) Edsel brand became a symbol of a manufacturer's failure to judge the market.

Not to say the every Edsel was bad, but the styling wasn't what people wanted -- the marketing of a brand that allegedly competed with Buick and Oldsmobile was way off and the production was often flawed. Edsel was "the legendary flop of all automotive flops," Edmunds.com says.

The 1958 Edsel Corsair "was rejected by the marketplace," Oldham says. "It was reviled for being unattractive, starting with an unusual vertical grill" and horizontal tail lights, opposites of what car buyers wanted.

You simply cannot make a list of the top 10 bad cars and not include an Edsel.

Sixth-worst: 2003 Saturn Ion Saturn got off to a good start. Many reporters trooped to Spring Hill, Tenn., in the late 1990s as GM showed off the new symbol of its ability to compete. Every company with the slightest connection to Saturn felt it had something to brag about.

But by the start of the millennium, Saturn needed to be refreshed. Unfortunately, it came out with the 2003 Saturn Ion.

Oldham recalls that he drove one of the first Ions, at a GM press event. "I was astounded by how bad it was in every way. I said, 'I think this is the worst car I've ever driven and GM should be embarrassed,'" he recalls. "And history has proven me correct."

The Ion was uncomfortable and noisy and production quality was poor. It was tough to drive and had "a stupid interior to match," Edmunds.com says. "Kick it and your foot could get stuck in the gaps between the plastic body panels." Moreover, the competition was extremely tough at the time because Toyota(TM_) and Honda(HMC_) had excellent products in the small-car market.

The Ion "was far behind the competition on the day it was introduced," Oldham says. "It was the second-worst car of the millennium and was so bad it killed Saturn." Saturn, once an inspiring symbol of the U.S. auto industry's ability to compete with the Japanese, shut down in 2009.

Fifth-worst: 1971 Chevrolet Vega The Vega preceded the Ion as a symbol of GM's failure in the small-car market.

It wasn't just the rust. The Vega had "an engine that couldn't hold oil in a car built with contempt for its buyers," says Edmunds.com. "It's the car that invited Americans to buy Toyotas and Hondas." Perhaps fifth-worst car of all time is too good for the Vega.

Oldham expresses some sympathy for the automaker. "GM was running the world back then, but there was an oil embargo at the same time as there was increased regulation. It was a tough time for the automobile, a tough time globally. U.S. automakers weren't ready for the fuel crisis, and new safety regulations came in simultaneously. They had to build small cars that their hearts weren't in."

"The Japanese were poised to pounce," Oldham says, and that is what they did.

By the way, Oldham mentioned that John Pearley Huffmann, who wrote Edmunds.com's story on the worst 100 cars, is also a former Vega owner. "He wanted the Vega to be No. 1," Oldham says. "He said he had one and he could watch it rusting around him."

Fourth-worst: 1987 Yugo The Serbian-made Yugo shows up frequently on worst-car lists. Edmunds.com ranks the 1987 Yugo as the fourth-worst car ever made, but Oldham says it was a contender for No. 1.

"The Yugo was terrible in every way -- terrible quality, terrible performance, and it fell apart around you as it went down the road," he says.

The 1987 Yugo was a Serbian-made version of the Fiat 127, under license from Fiat.

For a time, it was sold in the U.S., with 141,511 sold here between 1985 and 1991 -- "a Serbian-made version of the Fiat 127 that couldn't possibly be as awful as its low price suggested," Edmunds.com says. "But it was!"

Third-worst: 1955 BMW Isetta Perhaps you did not expect to find any BMW products on this list. But BMW "built the atrocious, single-cylinder, 12-hp, one-door Isetta for 7 years," Edumunds.com writes. "The whole car was a crumple zone."

Ranked as the third-worst car ever, the Isetta was in the running for worst ever. "It's such a ridiculous automobile," Oldham says. "It has one door, five horsepower and is very narrow in back, almost like a three-wheeler. We can't understand why anyone would want one."

In particular, Oldham says, he cannot understand why the Isetta has become a collector's item that sells for around $50,000.

Historically, the car reflects an effort by a German manufacturer to get back on its feet after World War II. "Fuel was hard to come in Germany at that time, and they made a very small, very economical car," Oldham says.

Second-worst: 1974 Ford Mustang The Mustang is an iconic car with a rich past, but Ford stumbled in 1974 and created one worthy of being called the second-worst car in history.

Certainly in retrospect, the concept of a Pinto-based Mustang does not make a lot of sense.

"The car was popular in its day, but it was almost immediately looked upon as a mistake for Mustang," Oldham says. "When you look back at Mustang history, which is very glorious, [this car] should not have existed and should not have been called a Mustang. It was not attractive, not powerful in the least and didn't measure up to its name."

In Ford's defense, Oldham says, the 1970s were a difficult time for U.S. automakers trying to adjust to rising fuel cost, intensified regulation and tough competition from Japan.

"Thankfully, Ford didn't turn away from what Mustang should be," he says.

The worst: 2001 Pontiac Aztek Our winner is not only extremely ugly, but also has a singular distinction: it destroyed an 84-year-old automaker.

"Only hours before we went live [with the list] did we settle on where the top three would settle out," Oldham recalls. "We decided that none of the other 99 cars on the list had such a negative impact on such an established and successful brand. The Aztec became such a punchline for a bad car that Pontiac was damaged goods. After the Aztec, GM couldn't save Pontiac no matter what they did."

The car is hideously ugly, Oldham says, adding: "The joke is that the styling is its best feature."

-- Written by Ted Reed in Charlotte, N.C


TOPICS:
KEYWORDS: aztec; cimarron; vega; yugo
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To: doug from upland

Don’t forget the Yugo station wagon - known in the South as the YallGo.


41 posted on 06/13/2012 10:28:41 AM PDT by ComputerGuy (HM2/USN M/3/3 Marines RVN 66-67)
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To: doug from upland
IMO, Cadillac erred badly in '81 with this God-awful body style:


42 posted on 06/13/2012 10:28:47 AM PDT by ScottinVA (Buying Drain-O requires photo I.D... yet voting doesn't???)
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To: DonkeyBonker

My wife had a 72 Chevy Vega when we got married. Drove it from Texas to Oregon and back with absolutely not problems. The engine was easy to work on and never needed to do much with it. May have been the only Vega that never had any rust.

Biggest complaint was that fully-loaded log trucks could pass us on the hills in Oregon.


43 posted on 06/13/2012 10:29:07 AM PDT by Larry - Moe and Curly (Loose lips sink ships.)
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To: doug from upland

The BMW Isetta is still made.. it’s now called a Smart Car..


44 posted on 06/13/2012 10:29:16 AM PDT by Darksheare (You will never defeat Bok Choy!)
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To: billorites
On a quiet night, outside our student residence we would sit, hold hands and listen to the Pinto rusting.

While listening to the melodic "Drip drip drip" of the oil leaking from the Vega?

45 posted on 06/13/2012 10:29:20 AM PDT by commish (Freedom tastes sweetest to those who have fought to preserve it.)
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To: doug from upland
Why does the 1974-78 Mustang II get such a bad rap when it was such a terrific car? We invite your feedback.

• Get a Free Quote • Find a Local Dealer

The 1974-78 Mustang II has always gotten a bad rap - but why? When it was introduced in the fall of 1973, it was the most advanced Mustang Ford ever did. It had nice body structure refinements that got it high marks and even Motor Trend's Car of the Year for 1974. Mustang II had the Mustang's first bolt-on fascia courtesy GM's Semon E. "Bunkie" Knudson, hired away from GM by Henry Ford II to run Ford Motor Company. Bunkie brought the bolt-on fascia to Ford. He also brought hidden windshield wipers to Ford - which ironically the Mustang II did not have. The Mustang II's greatest engineering feat is what Ford called the "toilet seat" due to its shape. The toilet seat was the engine/transmission front subframe, which isolated engine vibration and road boom, making the Mustang II the quietest and smoothest Mustang ever. And would you believe the Mustang II was more advanced than even the 1979-04 Mustang to follow because it had engineering refinements that went away in 1979?

Mustang II had a suspension system on a par with GM's Camaro, Firebird, and Nova - which also had a front subframe for good vibration isolation and handling. These are refinements Knudson brought with him from General Motors. Sadly and unfortunately, Knudson didn't survive Ford's political mill and was let go long about 1970. That's when Lee Iacocca became President of Ford Motor Company.

Mustang II was a great car for its time. Criticisms include mostly the absence of power and overdrive in the 1970s. Emission control systems caused stumbling and poor driveability in those days, making the Mustang II something of a dog performance wise. Being someone who drove new Mustang IIs in the 1970s, these cars were great fun to drive because they felt good. They handled very well and had a nice tight feel. Inside, they had the most elegant Mustang interior ever - even better than the 1965-66 Interior Decor Group (Pony Interior), which is a matter of opinion. The 1974 Mustang II's steering wheel felt better than the 1975-78 wheel to follow.

When the history books say the Mustang II was the right car at the right time, this is true. Mustang II was perfect for its time - and still great fun to drive today in an age of overhead cam engines, fuel injection, and McPherson strut/four-link suspensions. Had the Mustang II been fitted with more power and fuel injection, it would have gone down as one of the nicest Mustangs ever.

Read more: Mustang Blog

46 posted on 06/13/2012 10:29:45 AM PDT by central_va ( I won't be reconstructed and I do not give a damn.)
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To: lack-of-trust

The truth is that most cars, whether foreign or domestic, tended to rust. Rustproofing wasn’t terribly common until the 1980s. Cars like the renault Alliance and the Le Car rusted badly. Toyota even had some rustbuckets in the 1970s.


47 posted on 06/13/2012 10:31:26 AM PDT by Army Air Corps (Four Fried Chickens and a Coke)
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To: doug from upland

Can’t believe a Renault or Fiat didn’t make the list.
A friend had a Dauphine back in the 50s. Slower than a VW beetle. And that was saying something.


48 posted on 06/13/2012 10:32:16 AM PDT by Vinnie (A)
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To: Puppage

Pinto, yes. Smart car, nope. Love the car. It is very ugly, but the gas mileage is great, have taken several long trips in it, not a single problem. However, I can’t get it past 95 mph.


49 posted on 06/13/2012 10:32:27 AM PDT by jrg
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To: doug from upland

There must be a minimum threshold based on the number purchased by the general public to be considered. No other explanation for the Volt not being on the list.


50 posted on 06/13/2012 10:32:45 AM PDT by WinMod70
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To: doug from upland
I'm surprised this one didn't make the list -- the 1973 Mazda RX-2. That early rotary engine concept was horrid. Once the internal seals failed, so went the engine... usually within the first 50K miles.


51 posted on 06/13/2012 10:33:13 AM PDT by ScottinVA (Buying Drain-O requires photo I.D... yet voting doesn't???)
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To: GeorgeWashingtonsGhost
There are many other cars which could have taken the place of Saturns on this list. I know two young people who drive old, OLD Saturns and still going strong. I personally witnessed a car smash into the side door of a Saturn and when the tow truck driver came to dislodge the other vehicle from the Saturn, THERE WAS NO DAMAGE DONE TO THE SATURN. Even the tow truck driver rechecked the Saturn because he couldn’t believe he couldn’t find a scratch on the car.

Just don't do that on a day when it is well below zero. All the commercials showing things bouncing off the Saturn door must have been done on warm days. The plastic just shattered when a van backed into my car. Fortunately, the body shop just had to get a new door panel and mirror and it was as good as new.

52 posted on 06/13/2012 10:33:24 AM PDT by KarlInOhio (You only have three billion heartbeats in a lifetime.How many does the government claim as its own?)
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To: doug from upland

Diesel Cutlass? ‘T ain’t nothin’. We had a 1978 diesel Chevette. Look it up somewhere. It really existed. It sounded like a bus and rattled like hell, but it got 44 mpg hwy. No kidding! I’m glad my dad was cheap. That came in handy back in the late ‘70s oil crisis.

Oh yeah, my HS friend had a Vega with “splash around.” Eventually he put his foot through the floor.

Another friend had a ‘68 Newport. You could hold your let’s out straight in the hack without touching the front seat.

Good times.


53 posted on 06/13/2012 10:34:10 AM PDT by St_Thomas_Aquinas (Viva Christo Rey!)
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To: billorites

LOL! Actually, my wife had a pinto - when she graduated college, I sold it for more than she paid for it.

Only done that with two cars - her pinto, and the old truck I drove. Sold both for more than we paid.


54 posted on 06/13/2012 10:34:21 AM PDT by patton (DateDiff)
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To: gorush

It’d be funny to see updated, retro productions of these cars made with electric motors so they can be even worse than before!


55 posted on 06/13/2012 10:34:34 AM PDT by Jack Hydrazine (It's the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine!)
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To: Future Snake Eater

The funniest part of that scene was the little *ping* sound right before the explosion.


56 posted on 06/13/2012 10:34:34 AM PDT by dfwgator
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To: doug from upland
Growing up we had a Chevy Vega and the author is absolutely correct, that car was built by GM with full scorn for it's customers. The thing rusted and fell apart. GM basically denied any responsibilty for it which led to the author's completely correct statement that, A lot of the people who bought Vegas won't buy a GM car, and their kids and grandkids won't buy GM cars either." That statement is wholly true of our family.

Notice how GM dominates this list? My Dad was a GM man and I basically saw him get ripped off after years of buying these crappy GM cars. It is why I have never ever purchased a GM product.

57 posted on 06/13/2012 10:35:01 AM PDT by Obadiah (2008: Hope & Change -- 2012: Fear & Destruction)
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To: Joe 6-pack
It could also be argued that for decades, the American Car industry was the boldest in throwing out new concepts to be accepted or rejected by the consumer. For every one of the failures noted above, there have been a number of eminently practical or downright impressive models.

It would be interesting to chart the creativity and innovation of auto companies against the safety and fuel consumption regulations. I would bet that is what is killing quality design.

Another thing is whether or not car guys are running the company as opposed to the finance guys. I remember a story about some engineers at Dodge in the early sixties that were building hotrods on their own time and using their tools and data from work to make them go as fast as possible. The head of the Dodge division found out what they were doing and put them to doing it for Dodge. I think it was this bunch that designed and built the Max Wedge.

58 posted on 06/13/2012 10:36:40 AM PDT by Cowman (How can the IRS seize property without a warrant if the 4th amendment still stands?)
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To: Andy'smom

so did I, I now own a Honda.


59 posted on 06/13/2012 10:36:52 AM PDT by brivette
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To: doug from upland
le Car

'nuff said.

60 posted on 06/13/2012 10:37:26 AM PDT by Feckless (I was trained by the US << This Tagline Censored by FR >> ain't that irOnic?)
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