WHAT'S THE WORST CAR OF THE MILLENIUM

Car Talk dot com ^ | unknown date | Staff

[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."

[Black Powder]

WHAT'S THE WORST CAR OF THE MILLENIUM?

Whatever car I happen to be driving.

[Vidalia]

My Mother the Car....

[supercat]

No. 9 - Renault Dauphine

I know someone who has a Dauphine that was converted to an electric car. Still not quite sure why...

[blackbart.223]

The aforementioned Yugo. It may have been cheap but it was so for good reason.

[socal_parrot]

"HI! I'm socal_parrot and I owned a '74 Chevy Vega."

"Hi parrot!"

The first step to recovery is admitting you need help.

I got better. My next car was a '78 Trans Am.

[I still care]

I had a Dodge Aspen (Volare). And yes, the article describes it exactly. Every time it rained, it stalled. It was scary to drive. I owned it 10 years, out of which 6 it didn't work at all. But I always thought it was pretty. Of course, a car that is pretty doesn't do you any good if it doesn't get you anywhere....

[doug from upland]

From the article, a Yugo comment:

"I once test drove a Yugo, during which the radio fell out, the gear shift knob came off in my hand, and I saw daylight through the strip around the windshield."

[doug from upland]

Two of the Vega comments:

"As near as I could tell, the car was built from compressed rust.

"My Chevy Vega actually broke in half going over railroad tracks. The whole rear end came around slightly to the front, sort of like a dog wagging its tail."

[socal_parrot]

I feel that the amount of motor oil I put in my Vega directly led to the build up of the Iraqi army in the 70's.

[socal_parrot]

By the way, I also built the Cadillac Cimmaron at South Gate, CA in the early 80's and my sister owned a Chevette. I really suck!

[doug from upland]

I had a Vega for a short time. Yes, you should be ashamed for the Chevette. :)

[jumpstartme]

#10- VW Bus...

But, have you seen the new concept VW Microbus? Due for production and market release in 2005. Here it is:

VW, making a comeback...

[doug from upland]

Chevette: "An engine surrounded by 4 pieces of drywall!"

[gracie1]

What, no Trabant?

[c-b 1]

I once went on a tow call to an accident in town, neither vehicle was going over 20, a le car was T-boned by a 67 Ford Pickup, the right door of the le car was pushed almost to the center of the car, the pick up had some damage but drove away.

[EternalVigilance]

The worst car I ever saw (a good friend had one) was the AMC Pacer...half the car was a glass bubble-like windshield (strange)...and the other half was doors...those doors were so big, the law of gravity assured that they would tend to fall off. The thing ran pretty good, but the body was a disaster waiting to happen.

[Arkinsaw]

I had a Jeep CJ in which I installed 4 rear axles. One broke and I had it done at the dealership. I found that too expensive so the next time it broke I installed it myself. When that one broke I thought I had done something wrong so I had it done at the dealership. The next one I installed myself just to get it in good enough shape to sell.

I also had a Dodge K-Car. When the stop light turned green I stepped on the accelerator. The front bolts holding the seat in place broke. I found myself in the back seat going through a busy intersection. I ended up putting a Domino's Pizza dough tray in the back seat propped up against the head rest to hold it up. If someone had hit me in the rear it would have taken my head off. I guess I can't complain too much. The block cracked so I JB welded it and drove it for close to 50,000 miles. I'm not so sure if thats due to the quality of the K-Car or the quality of a healthy dollop of JB Weld.

[Arkinsaw]

I feel that the amount of motor oil I put in my Vega directly led to the build up of the Iraqi army in the 70's.

LOL.