The Worst American Cars - POLL

Forbes ^ | 10.21.02 | Michael Frank

[Jorge]

Nearly anybody can find a few people who've had problems with virtually any car.
The fact remains that Ford Taurus gets generally good reviews, Consumer Guide® says of the 90-95 models;
"We rank the early '90s Taurus/Sable among the most impressive domestic cars: solid, roomy, great to look at, and a joy to drive."
96-99;
"Though not perfect, Taurus is roomy, well-built, and enjoyable to drive. Prices went up for this generation, but Tauruses remained a good value and an excellent choice, new or used."

This car that was introduced in 1984 and has been one of the best selling cars every year since....that 18 years running...
...and YET you asked why it wasn't listed as one of the 10 worst cars of all time.
LOL.

[Physicist]

That actually looks like a tiny propeller at the bumper! Did it actually get turned by the wind as the car drove along or was it connected to the engine and turned by its revs?

It just spun around in the wind. No purpose to it, it was just for nice.

[L_Von_Mises]

How about a Dodge Omni?

I had a 1980 and I think it was in the shop more than on the road. Turn on the AC and lose half the power. Went through two ignitions, a starter (which they had to remove the motor to replace), harmonic balance (the bolts jsut stripped off one night), and finally the engine seized.

[wattsmag2]

I loved my Gremlin. That little sucker would fly.

[Sicvee]

Ditto that on the Caprice. I owned several wagons on this frame, all purchased with over 100k on them. Two of them made it to 200k. They were heavy duty, reliable, cheap to operate and if necessary, cheap to fix. I could carry more weight than I could in my half ton Ford pickup. Great for swap meets, landlords and young families.

My kids eventually got embarrassed and I switched to Chrysler vans. Handling and visibility is much better, and they are generally reliable, but when they crap out it is a big bill.

[Dan from Michigan]

I remember my dad's Bobcat(The Mercury version of the Pinto). It got him back and forth to work so it did its job.

[Dan from Michigan]

Damn, those things are ugly. Makes AMC's non Jeeps look cool.

[Dan from Michigan]

What about the Ford Festiva's(although they are really Japanese)

[Sicvee]

I was thinking about driving my Chevette out on the ice when our lake froze several years ago. And leaving it there. But that would have been an environmental crime.

[DBtoo]

It seems I have heard bad things about Jeeps. Today I bought a Consumer Reports guide to used cars. I haven't looked at it yet as I just got home.

We have lots of potholes here, unpaved roads and lots of snow in winter, so I would like something that would hold up. I don't care about anything fancy, as around here vehicles get beat up pretty fast anyway. I am really leaning towards getting a Subaru. I think I will call car dealerships in Anchorage to find out about getting a used one that is not too terribly expensive. Dependabilty is very important to me. So now I will look into the different models of Subarus. Thanks for your imput, that was helpful!

[Boiler Plate]

The Second generation Taurus with the 3.8L engine was the worst car of the last 20 years. The engine was the small block V8 minus two cylinders so it was a 90 degree v6 that needed all kinds of counter balancing. It also produced way too much torque for the already questionable AOXD transmission. The end result was a drive train that needed replacement more frequently than Pep Boy tires.

[stands2reason]

'84 Audi 5000S. Consumer Reports had to do a retraction after they put it on their "recommend" list. The A/C design obviously never improved. And that was the least of its problems.