The Worst American Cars - POLL

Forbes ^ | 10.21.02 | Michael Frank

[rickmichaels]

DODGE - The supreme POS.

[job]

This thread has absolutely no credibility because it left out that wonderful marriage between austinrover and honda that created the Sterling. It was quite possibly the worst car I ever owned.

As an aside, when the Ford Explorers first came out, we were talking with a friend of ours, telling them we were thinking about buying one. She replied that her husband didn't like fords b/c he had a ford one time and had bad experiences with it. Which one, I asked. "It was a Pinto."

[FlaFreedom]

I had the misfortune of owning a Chevy Citation. What a total piece of %*%#!. ......But I had a friend who owned a Vega....Even WORSE!

[Bonaparte]

"...the nifty-looking Corvair...."

Ever see what happens to a fiberglass body in a collision?

[GnuHere]

I have one, and did not know that. Should I be expecting a call from Rosie?

I've been pretty happy with it...the L.L. Bean Outback.

[Dusty Rose]

What went wrong with your 2002 Accord? I've got a '96 with nearly 120,000 miles on it. Nothing's ever been defective, except for an SRS light on the dash that failed to turn off. That was our only repair. I'm considering another Honda.

[Darksheare]

I still remember the company car my father was plagued with when I was little. It was, of course, a Ford. And it needed a major repair every other week or so. By major repair they meant over 500 dollars. This does not take into account the several thousand lesser repairs that were needed every day just to keep the car from imploding on the road.

And the kicker was: The car was brand new to the company fleet. (Fairmont? I seem to remember it being a Fairmont..)

So my wife wanted to buy a Ford... I told her I'd divorce her.

[Long Cut]

It IS interesting to note that the majority of these vehicles were designed or built ("designed" is, I think, giving too much credit) during that period from about 1972-1986, when American cars had a justifiably bad reputation for styling and quality.

Part of it was the onerous and useless federal regulations on everything from safety to emissions, which took some years for the notoriously slow-to-adapt U.S. car manufacturers to deal with. Another part was the Japanese competition, which, along with higher-end stuff from Europe, set the quality/economy/service bar ever higher.

I guess, bottom line is, the American companies, having been so stodgy and slow-adapting, couldn't cope with the realities of the market in those years. Fortunately, the worm seems to have turned.

I just bought a new car, well, actually one a year old (let the OTHER guy eat the depreciation cost for that "new car smell", says I), a Chevy, and I must say that I was treated with great politeness and service at the dealership whence I bought it. My EVERY concern was adressed, the price was in line with the book, they shaved a few bucks off to boot, and it was an overall pleasant buying experience. Best yet, the car has all the indications of being the best I've ever owned. It's WAYYYYY fun to drive, handles like a dream, EVERY system works flawlessly, and it's got an easy-to-care-for motor. And since this thread has indeed shown some UGLY rides, in the tradition of those threads where ugly or homely people are discussed, and FFeepers post pics of beautiful ones for relief, allow me to post this one of MY "beauty" (or at least one just like her):

The boys in Detroit are figuring things out. My PREVIOUS ride was a '91 Mustang LX 302-powered coupe that I bought brand new and put 130,000 miles on. It is, in fact, STILL in my driveway, awaiting a new owner.

[Corporate Law]

We had to do a marketing case study on that one in business school (a "what were they thinking?" study).

[Darksheare]

I forgot the new Mercury Cougar!
My God, that thing is a design nightmare! They finally figured out that the tranny was overheating because of it's design, so they finally made a revision to it... but it's still a Ford with a 'sexy cool' 'kitty-kitty' badge on it...

[jimt]

You're thinking of the late fifties Lincolns. That back sloping rear window rolled down, by the way, making for some neat seating with your feet in the back seat, your butt on the trunk lid, and your arms leaning on the roof.

[billbears]

I had a friend in high school that had a '78 Mustang II. Admittedly it wasn't the prettiest thing but somehow Ford had jammed a 302 block in that compartment. HP to lbs that had to be one of the most powerful cars (at that time) I had ever ridden in. Probably came the closest (at that time) to giving me the experience of what it was like to ride in an AC Cobra. 0-60 in under 5.5 and geared for a top end of 130 or so

[Woodman]

Yes it was fast and fun, but it was a poorly built 70's rust bucket. Most of them (not sure what engine) required a new camshaft at 50,000 miles which was about a $500 repair at the time.

[Bonaparte]

That is a very slick Camoo.

[IYAS9YAS]

Can you say 1983 Peugeot 505s. Worst damned thing I've ever owned...Paid way too much for it (two year's worth of mowing my Dad's lawn...with his mower, even).

Electrics were out so windows wouldn't open. Seat back broke with no humanly possible way to fix it other than a stick welder...

Brakes were the worst...master cylinder leaked like a sieve in cold weather, bled the brakes three times and put new pads on once, still wouldn't stop. It was slightly faster than a elephant seal out of water and just as hard to stop.

Peugeot...French for "I can't believe those stupid Americans bought these pieces of merde from us."

[billbears]

I had an '89 302 myself. Ran it to about 145,000 miles. Totaled it back in '94 and bought a '95 convertible. Don't get me wrong, I love my '95(just had the engine rebuilt) but for some reason I miss that 'late 80s body style

[IdeashaveConsequences]

I will NEVER buy a Ford again for the rest of my life.

I second that, and my problem wasn't even with the vehicle, it is was with the company. They refused to cover the parts they freely stated in the warranty were covered. It took me several dozen leaps to go through the hoops they created to get them to stand up for it and in the end, the dealer paid for the repairs, not the company.

NEVER BUY A FORD.

[BureaucratusMaximus]

I got the model wrong: it's the 200SX.

That was nothing...I thought the B-210 was uglier...my father had one of these:

[Don Carlos]

Edsel, oh yeah! I always remember a joke my dad brought home just after the Kennedy/Nixon election. "Three time loser = pregnant prostitute, driving an Elsel, with a Nixon bumper sticker".

Dad was a hard-core democrat. He passed away in '87. Were he still here to see what his beloved party has become, he would be enraged!