The Worst American Cars - POLL

Forbes ^ | 10.21.02 | Michael Frank

[Physicist]

Hands down, the worst car I've ever lived through was the Chevy Chevette (the Shove-it, I called it). My parents had one in the late '70's. It was a piece of crap, brand new. Before the new-car smell was gone, the turn signal/high beam/wiper/headlight/horn/dome light/etc lever broke clean off when it got caught in a coat sleeve, a crippling disaster that would be repeated half a dozen times over the next few years. The body rusted instantaneously. The crankshaft broke after something like 50k miles, so they got rid of it. My dad got $100 trade-in for it, no lie.

As a teenager, I came very close to running myself over with it, but I must accept at least part of the responsibility for that.

[AppyPappy]

Fess up, Phys. You told some girls you had a 'vette, didn't you?

[js1138]

As a teenager, I came very close to running myself over with it

And what harm would that have done?

[NoControllingLegalAuthority]

The early Ford Escorts were complete P's O. S. All engines would blow a head gasket fairly soon in their lives. If someone gave you an Escort, it was best to drive it to the junk yard if you could make it that far.

[Petronski]

If you see me driving this, shoot me:

[passport2]

Both of my 2002 Bimmers had round tail lights. Now my all time favorite was my first love. 1960 Bug Eye Sprite.

[Nuke'm Glowing]

"The absolute worst idea that ever made it to production, without doubt is the Pontiac Aztec."

The dealerships and the new President of GM agree with you as do I. That thing is the abomination of all time. I never thought a Pacer or Chevette would look good until I saw one of these lemons. One of my clients who is a dealer said he thought seriously about putting a pad of blank recall and maintenance order forms in the dash with each vehicle to save time.

[BJungNan]

Well, if we are going to start putting up pictures of nice cars...

[virgil]

I had a coworker who had a Renault Alliance back in the 80s. One very cold midwest day while on the highway, the transmission fell out in pieces. There was a trail of parts for several hundred feet.

[virgil]

Don't forget the Plymouth Volare

[Brett66]

I think the '74 GTO should be replaced by the Fiero.

The car had potential, but poor performance, reliability and a tendency to catch on fire doomed it.

[toddst]

I take exception to the Caprice. I've owned several, as well as the permutations of it.

If you took all the vehicles that GM produced on that single RWD platform from '76 until something like '96, I'll bet it was the best selling car of all time. There are still plenty running around.

10-4 on the Caprice. I owned two, both with V8's. Tough (rugged, dependable) cars. While in production they were police cars and taxi's. When I was trading in my '87 4-door I received an offer from some outfit that was shipping them to the middle-east. Seems they were popular there due to engines, room inside and powerful air-conditioning systems.

Both cars served me well for many miles. No complaints, ever. And how did this car get on the "dog" list?

[RightOnTheLeftCoast]

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

Feast thine eyes:

[esopman]

I'm still driving a 1983 Caprice 5 liter. Some of these suckers were even made with, get this, diesel heads. Anyway, the odometer quit at 206,000. That was a year or two ago. Unlike the Chevy, the rest of the wheels on this list are dogs.

[doug from upland]

What were Honda designers thinking? This is the new buttugly Honda Element ---

[Delta 21]

The Matador got my vote over the Pacer for the Uglyest Car EVER.

[willyone]

The Edsel may have been a flop but if you owned one in cherry condidtion you would have few money problems if you sold it. We used to make fun of Superbirds but they go for over a hundred grand now.

[Physicist]

The Matador got my vote over the Pacer for the Uglyest Car EVER.

My dad used to drive a Crosley similar to this one, only it was baby blue. My mom says that when he would unfold his 6' 2" frame out of the tiny vehicle, it was not unlike the entrance of a circus clown. Note the decorative propeller on the front bumper.

[billhilly]

Home run. This vehicle is as ugly as Maxine Waters. Let's just hope it does not have the durability of Hillary or Strom. Not that I don't like Strom, but it is still hard to accept the fact that he was once a democrat.#;^)

[brewcrew]

1971 Gremlin - my first car. Held together with spit, kleenex, duct tape, and a prayer. Purchased used for $200, driven to and from work every day for 6 months, sold for $175. Only one $150 brake job and a $12 oil change.

I'd say I got my money's worth.