13 WORST American Cars From The 1950s, Nobody Wants Back!

YouTube ^ | Vintage Vehicles

[Leaning Right]

> He restored two Tuckers when I was younger, I had the opportunity to ride in both of them. <

I’m jealous. And on a related note, I had a crush on Dawn Wells (“Mary Ann”) when I was a kid. Please don’t tell me you once drove around with Dawn Wells in a Tucker Torpedo.

[ansel12]

The only paint job I ever did for a car was a totally ugly rebel that I used house paint and a roller and a brush on, and it came out passable.

[Omnivore-Dan]

My dad had a black ‘68 Old 98 Luxury Sedan. This card had everything in it except for a tv. It was like driving your living room, that’s how comfortable it was. An enormous 455 c.i. engine modestly rated at 365 hp. got that 2 1/2 ton beauty cruising nicely. Every door had an ashtray with a cigarette lighter, in front of each passenger was a lighted mirror, there was a button on the floor for selecting the radio station, other options I can’t remember.

[Governor Dinwiddie]

Yeah, the guy who put together that video didn't know what he was talking about. Today all
cars look alike. I like the various different ideas the designers used to have, quirky or not.

[Karl Spooner]

You could tell cars apart easily. Today they basically all look the same

That's what my dad used to say back around 1960 + and -. I could tell what brand it was from a mile away. I thought he was nuts. Now I find myself saying the same thing he did. Has to do with age, apparently.

[Governor Dinwiddie]

I like the way you think—painting a car with a roller! Awesome! If someone doesn't like it … F 'em.

Earl Scheib was only marginally better than using a paint roller.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

I hate it when I miss the “min ewe toobs.” Baaaa!

[hardspunned]

I don’t know about the 50s but I owned a Vega and a Gremlin in the 70s.

[Omnivore-Dan]

I don’t think it has to do with age. If you look at cars from the 30’s and 40’s, they all look very similar to me. Not aerodynamic at all, like a block with a motor, but I’m still in love with them too. Today, they all have that aerodynamic wedge shape for handling and gas mileage, which I think makes them look similar.

[Red Badger]

You are a glutton for punishment.................I had a Pinto.........

[ansel12]

I drove a Gremlin missing the drivers side window during full winter from California to Houston, I sat in an army sleeping bag with one arm and one foot out for operating the vehicle, because wind chill at 75 and 80mph is significant on a cross country winter drive, and of course the heat was useless if it even had one.

[Dr. Sivana]

The only paint job I ever did for a car was a totally ugly rebel that I used house paint and a roller and a brush on, and it came out passable.

I painted a mauve 1966 Dodge Dart Royal Blue for a political campaign in 1996. I used many spray cans of Rustoleum. It was passable. I repeated it for a primered '76 Dodge Dart with Burgundy Red Rustoleum.

Eventually I sprung for a Maaco Burgundy job on a 1999 Buick Century. They did a better job. for $400.

[Right Brother]

Walter White’s choice in automobiles.

[Blueway]

Mr. Blueway had a '41 Ford when we were dating that looked like it had been painted with a broom.
No radio and no heater. Had to take the handle out of the glove compartment to roll down the window.
Sounded the horn by touching a loose wire to metal.
He carried a quart jar of gas because he usually needed to prime the carburetor to get it started.
He had paid $100 for it and I learned to drive stick shift in it.
It was very forgiving, sometimes you could even shift without engaging the clutch.

[ansel12]

Great description, I learned the stick on an old cheap model Rambler.

[Spktyr]

They were not. All the marques mentioned made garbage and foisted it off on customers for far too long and eventually the US consumer wised up.

[Spktyr]

It was cool until you realized that you were actually more likely to die if you unbelted (assuming you even had belts) and dropped into the footwell.

[Spktyr]

They literally all moved to Pennsylvania. Seriously, number one state that bought them. They’re still cheap.

Also, the Aztek is a Montana minivan with different body work.

[Celtic Conservative]

Funny thing is, from a styling point of view they were hideous. But the few owners I’ve talked to said mechanically and ergonomically they were good cars.

CC

[ProtectOurFreedom]

A buddy and I drove from the San Jose, CA area to Durango, CO to go skiing with another buddy during Christmas week 1980. We drove my Jeep CJ7 with the cloth top, wire frame doors with cloth sides, vinyl side windows and a VERY anemic heater. Mid way across Nevada, the water bottle in the Jeep froze solid. We were about as cold as that solid frozen water bottle!

We stopped at a cafe in the middle of nowhere and the waitress brought us a bowl of gravy for the biscuits. I thought out was soup and downed the whole bowl to warm me up! The waitress came back and asked "Where's the gravy?" I sheepishly said "I thought it was soup!"

At least it warmed me up a bit and replaced the calories spent shivering in the driver's seat.

It looked like this except all red paint, white Jackman wheels, and my KC Hilites aircraft landing lights on the front bumper.