The Worst American Cars - POLL

Forbes ^ | 10.21.02 | Michael Frank

[Mike-o-Matic]

Sounds like what I do in winter, on ice, with my ATV in 4x4 mode. Haul the handlebars to one side and crunch the throttle... Pure, in-place, non-airborne flat spins! Sustainable until either ya puke or fall off from uncontrollable, exhuberant laughter :-) Yes, it's that much fun!

[Nik Naym]

I remember those gosh awful lookin' things! I always thought they looked like somebody backed it into a dumpster at 50 MPH.

Nik

[alaskanfan]

The list did not include the late model Dodge pickups.

A grave omission. It resembles the old Studebaker in design.

[Tony in Hawaii]

The Pacer was designed around a rotary but never sold with one.

The Chevy Monza was also originally designed to have a rotary, but when that didn't pan out, they shoved a V-8 in it. You needed to raise the engine (or cut a hole in the inner fender) in order to change the spark plugs.

[capitan_refugio]

Hah! Not so. I still have and greatly enjoy my American Motors Jeep Wagoneer. The best 4wd ever made.

(Of course, one could argue that the Jeep Division was never really part of mainstream AMC.)

[driftless]

I bought a 77 Caprice from a friend as an in-between-new-car vehicle. After 165K, It stills rides better than my new 01 Taurus. Steering is tricky though. That criticism is valid. But it must have been a great ride when brand new.

[driftless]

I got over 200k miles with my 92 Taurus. And I'm hard on cars. Did have transmission problems though. But now on my second. The only brand new car I ever bought was a 74 Dodge Dart. Built from stuff taken from Crackerjack boxes as far as I could tell. Terrible vehicle. Ex-girl friend had a 87 Chevy Celebrity. Literally started falling apart as soon as she bought it. GM's reputation far exceeds the reality. They build a lot of awful cars.

[driftless]

You got that right. I had a 74 Swinger. It didn't "swing" very well. The housing for the thermostat was made out of white metal and eventually burst. A large hunk of junk.

[Erasmus]

Looks like one of Paul Bunyan's Nikes.

[Go Gordon]

At college, a guy had a Vega wagon - COVERED WITH ASTRO TURF!!!! Made me laugh everytime I saw it. Then I realized it was probably less expensive than repairing the rust spots...

[Corporate Law]

I thought their car of preference was a Subaru Outback. According to a friend who works in a Subaru dealership, unless you are an engineer (have not figured out that linkage), you only buy that car if you are a lesbian.

[Petronski]

Jeep Cherokee Sport (the cherokee that is not the souped-up 'Grand Cherokee') might be a good candidate. You can get parts at any Dodge dealer, it's 4-wheel-drive, and there's gotta be hundreds of thousands of used models out there to pick from, because they've been making them for decades. Just make sure you get the bigger engine (4.0 liters, or later on, 3.7) and not the little bitty 2.8 or so engine.

The Aztec, on the other hand, is NOT durable, no matter how suited to your needs it might be. It is a laughingstock in the GM servicebays. I wish someone would post that story about the Aztec, about how it was designed by a team headed up by an affirmative-action nincompoop and only went into production to prove she could do it.

[GluteusMax]

I can't believe no one has mentioned the Taurus. Any year. What turd-boxes.

Probably because the Taurus was the #1 best selling car for 5 or 6 years straight, which means few people would agree with you. I've never heard anyone who owned one complain about the quality.

Really? You must not know too many people who have owned them. I own a 1996 I unfortunately purchased brand new and it has been the biggest pile of crap I ever owned next to the Hyundai I once owned. The motor is currently blown. Before that the rack and pinion let go while driving it. The transmission (a notorious weak spot in the Taurus) quit once. I've towed back friends Tauruses with blown transmissions more than once. Every person I know who owns a Taurus has had numerous problems.

The reason it was the Number 1 seller is due to fleet sales.

Period.

[amigatec]

Well I own a GEO Metro, I like mine. I haven't had it very long but it does run good. Only has a 1300 4 banger.

[Weimdog]

It's not that they're a bad car just a "fugly" one.

IMHO, they threw everything in but the kitchen sink trying to make the all-purpose SUV. Only an American manufacturer would build a hybrid SUV with a camper back.

[Revolting cat!]

What? No mention of the worst car for the money, the prettied up low class Chevy sold as a Caddilac (Cimarron)?

[RedBloodedAmerican]

Get a subaru. I owned one and it was great. Over 200k miles and ran like a top, good in snow, too. Don't waste money on the outback, get the twin model, costs less and just as good. Also Audi's are great in snow. For a small SUV, I had a Daihatsu Rocky for awhile. That was one great truck in the snow! But not much power with a load. I hope to have a Tahoe by years end, Lord willing!

[ladyinred]

Hey! The ex had a' 63 Monza Spyder. It was the cutest thing, bought it used in early 70's for $100, kept it about 5 years as a work car, then sold it for $300! Not bad huh?

[ladtx]

I loved my Spyder. I let my sister drive it while I went off to helicopter flight school. By the time I graduated and came back home for leave, she had wrecked it and bought a VW bug. Broke my heart.