Posted on 07/29/2002 10:41:16 PM PDT by doug from upland
CLICK HERE FOR ENTIRE ARTICLE AND ALL 10 OF THE DISHONORED PIECES OF JUNK
No. 10 - VW Bus
"If everyone had to own one of these as a first car as I did, there would be no traffic jams anywhere. At least half of us would be so turned off by the experience of owning a car, that we would seek alternate means of transportation."
"There was no heat--unless, that is, the auxiliary gas heater caught fire."
"The flower stickers were the only things that held the car together."
"The bus had no heat, blew over in the wind and used the driver's legs as its first line of defense in an accident."
"It was a death trap on the highway-you could never go fast enough. The chances were good that you'd be hit from the rear."
No. 9 - Renault Dauphine
"Truly unencumbered by the engineering process."
"At the time, it cost about half the price of a Volkswagen... which was half the price of everything else. How could Renault do this? Simple. It had half as many parts."
"This car topped out at 45 mph. Since the minimum speed on the Florida Turnpike is 40, patrol cars would follow me, waiting for me to hit a hill so they could ticket me."
"From a historical perspective, it's a shame that the French spent their Marshall Plan dollars on automaking."
"A side impact by a bicycle totaled my Dauphine after only one year."
No. 8 - Cadillac Cimarron
"GM thought they could take a Chevy Cavalier, slap some Cadillac stuff on it, add an extra $5,000.00 and sell a bundle. Tragically enough, they pulled it off-for a while."
"Hands down, worst car for the money spent. Yugos were junk, but at least they were cheap. This heap had a Caddy price tag!"
"A stupid marketing ploy. Nothing more than a Chevrolet Cavalier, which Roger Smith gussied up and called a Cadillac."
"When we traded it in my wife was upset because we didn't keep it long enough for her to buy a gun and shoot it."
No. 7 - Dodge Aspen/Plymouth Volare
"This car began to rust while it was still in the showroom."
"The stalling problem was so bad that I had to take a clockwise route to work so I could make all right turns, and not risk stalling on a left turn in front of oncoming traffic."
"After the floor boards rusted out in the rear, they would fill up with water and freeze. I ended up putting soda crates on the floor in the back to keep people from falling under the car."
"The only useful purpose this car served was as the model for the car used in National Lampoon's Vacation."
"Owning a Volare was total ego death--the theme song, the vinyl Landau roof, the inability to pass another car on the highway."
Nol 6 - Renault Le Car
"I'm convinced that the body metal for this car was supplied by Reynold's Aluminum."
"Like any French restaurant in America, it was overpriced, noisy, moody, and would put you in mortal danger if you had an accident with anything larger than a croissant."
"Our Le Car couldn't climb a hill fully loaded, so the passengers had to get out and walk up."
"I left it unlocked overnight, and it was finally stolen. The insurance check paid for a textbook."
As you can see, the Le Car had the words "Le Car" printed across the bottom of the door. The late Herb Caen, columnist of the SF Chron, was once told by a dissatisfied Le Car owner that he was going to replace the letters "Car" with "Mon," so that it would read "Le Mon!"
My vote goes to the Ford Escort of the early 80's. Ford had commercials year after year touting the Escort as the best selling car in America.
Seen any on the road lately?
I never bought another American made car until just recently.
I still remember the TV commercials for the Pacer, describing the increased visibility of its wrap-around windows and extra space in the rear. It looked like a Gremlin after someone pumped helium into it. Whenever I drive behind one today, it reminds me of being on a crowded beach with a fat woman in a halter top in front of me.
It's been a pleasent surprise from the get go.
He also tells of driving it to the Plaza Hotel for a white-tie and tails reception. The valets had never come across a shift pattern like it and took five minutes to get it in gear.
I've got my own fond memories of VW buses, but not all of them are for public consumption.
There are still a lot of them on the road.
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Au contraire - My wife-to-be got one as a graduation present from college. We were driving in north Nevada when she lost control of the car coming out of a cut when caught by a wind gust. We were going at 60+ mi/hr, and the car went end over end three times down the highway. The car was not totaled. We weren't wearing seat belts, and the only injury that resulted was a broken bone in my wife's foot.
When we poped out the car, the truck driver behind us stopped and behaved as though he was seeing gosts.
It was a bit slow going up a hill, but we could often pass cars on the way down that passed us on the way up.
The worst car we ever had was a 1973 Toyota Carina. It may have been the only model of Toyota that was given the "Do not buy this car" award by Consumer Reports.
Bought a '73 Datsun 240Z. A terrific car, great to drive, easy to tune up and light enough that I can push it on a flat street IF it konks out. Still have it, stored in a heated garage.
If that car was a man, I'd marry it.
The first Chevy Monza (the 2+2) introduced rectangular headlights to North America. I thought it was the coolest looking car in the world.
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