[wallcrawlr]

Go and vote. At the time of posting:

The ultimate dud car was . . .
Edsel
	83 votes (9%)
Chrysler TC Maserati
	38 votes (4%)
Chevy Corvair
	55 votes (6%)
Ford Maverick
	51 votes (6%)
Chevy Citation
	71 votes (8%)
Cadillac Eldorado
	18 votes (2%)
Renault Fuego
	97 votes (11%)
AMC Pacer
	182 votes (20%)
AMC Gremlin
	158 votes (17%)
Pontiac GTO
	13 votes (1%)
Chevy Chevette
	98 votes (11%)
AMC Eagle
	31 votes (3%)
Chevy Caprice
	16 votes (2%)
911 people have voted so far

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[newgeezer]

This will likely be one of those hit-and-run (read no one else's posts) threads but, just in case...

Not that we think the Maverick is necessarily as bad as what came afterward--the abysmal Fox-platform Futura/Fairmont

Funny; they didn't bother to mention the fact that today's Mustang is still built on that same, abysmal Fox platform. (Which is one reason why the seating position remains so abysmal.)

[narby]

You've got to add the late 90's Ford Ranger with the 1970's vintage 2.3 liter 4 cyl.

I had one of those pieces. They updated the ignition and injection with recent stuff, but the idiots that wrote the software for the controller did a lousy job of it. It would run OK cold, but after a minute, it would suddenly loose 20hp.

Then at 20k miles, it started pinging like it was running on white gas. After the girl dummy maintenance clerk tried to tell me it was "normal". They finally took it in the shop to "fix" it. Turns out, she was right, it was normal. You "fix" it by pulling a jumper out of the wiring harness that reprograms the engine controller with even less spark advance, giving even less HP, and less gas mileage. I guess the 70's vintage engine can't take modern gas after a little carbon builds up.

When the "check engine" light came on at about 25k miles, and I took it to an independent garage, they basically cut the wires to the idiot light, because there wasn't anything wrong. Another owner of a Ranger had the same experience. I guess Ford programs the light to come on so they can make money in their service depts. and maybe sell you a new car while you're browsing through the showroom waiting on a bogus fix.

I will NEVER buy a Ford again for the rest of my life. Own a Toyota Tacoma with not a single problem at 85k miles, and love it.

[chilepepper]

There are a few important omissions:

o the Chevrolet VEGA made the Chevette Mercedes-reliable in comparison o any Chrysler Aspen/Volare: cheap metalwork would rust immediately

Also, i would dispute the Corvair and the Gremlin - these cars had their problems but were fairly solid, particularly the later Corvairs. The Gremlin was basically a chopped Hornet, which was *really* solid (at least mine was)...

[Psalm 73]

I voted Pacer, but what a great line this was:
"Were the designers at AMC blind? How could they consistently turn out so many hideous cars?"
I often wondered that myself - what the hell were they thinking? Anyone know of a good book on the AMC debacles?

[Phantom Lord]

What, no Mercury Comet?

[RightOnTheLeftCoast]

The Pacer had a rotary engine? Naaah.

And anyone who thinks it's the ugliest car ever made never saw the original Nissan 280SX. I could stare at that car for hours, marveling at its breathtaking ugliness, at all the hincty little details, at the sheer audacity and fussiness of its nightmarish design. It was a rolling train-wreck, the likes of which we'll never ever see again.

The big Mazda with the power opera window was butt-ugly, too, but that original 'SX wins the prize.

[PoorMuttly]

The Oldsmobile DYNAMIC 88.

I win. Still have nightmares about exhaust routed through bumper...which of course rusted out from the top, from condensation. Sometimes had to start it by setting fire to paper on top of carb. It worked. This car is no doubt used as a taxi in hell.

[BJungNan]

They left the worst ones off the list (all GM):

- Chevy Vega (aluminum cylinder walls that wear out at 50,000 miles and the engine consums a quart of oil per 100 miles driven. Real smart GM)

- Oldmobile Cutlass (350ci gasoline engine converted to diesel. Engine blows up at 35,000 miles. Real smart GM).

- Caprice Classic (They had to do something with the vega transmissions. Nylon reverse gear goes out if trany put through to much stop and go driving. I know it is on the list. Real smart GM).

- 1984 z28 camero (anyone that owned one knows what went wrong with these things - everything. Real smart GM).

GM does not stand for Good Merchandise.

[Uncle Miltie]

What about that Aztek?

[kidd]

In the early 1980s American Motors Corporation (before it was absorbed by Chrysler) and French-maker Renault teamed up to make some really awful cars ...

I agree completely. I had a 1984 Renault Alliance. A complete POS. Had to have the front axle replaced three times because of a poorly designed CV joint...I spent more on repairs than the original cost of the car in less than four years.

[rockfish59]

I think the Gremlin looks pretty cool. Hell, drop a pumped 283 in it and C-YA!!!

(I have a '78 Malibu) =0)

[SW6906]

I remeber reading one of those magazine retrospectives (Life Magazine?) on the 70s and they had 1/2 to whole page mini-stories on all kinds of things from the 70s. When it came to the Chevy Vega, all they said was something like "There's something disconcerting about a car that rusts on the showroom floor".....

[Cobra64]

Cadillac Cimarron, and Chevy Vega. Both crap.

[LeftIsSinister]

Woo hoo! A "worst car" poll that DOESN'T include the Chevy Vega! Finally! :)

[GluteusMax]

I can't believe no one has mentioned the Taurus. Any year. What turd-boxes. Or the horrible Dodge/Chrysler/Plymouth offerings: TC3/Shelby(really)/Omni/Horizon/Mizer clones..They put the UGHH in ugly and leaked every fluid when they ran.

[The Great Satan]

Have to agree about that '86 Eldo. Talk about devolution. Here's two earlier editions, from before the rot set in:

 

[Cobra64]

All French cars. That's why they cannot sell them here. They are all merde.

[Freedom4US]

Had an 82 Citation sedan w/ V6 and put 140,000 miles on it with no problems other than a fuel pump at around 100K, had a lockup torque converter and got phenomenal gas mileage. While the series may have been dogs, this particular car was very good.

[AxelPaulsenJr]

Has anyone mentioned those ugly Chevy Caprices in the 1980's that looked like upside down bathtubs?

[rdb3]

I'm glad I didn't see the Electra 225 (or "Deuce and a Quarter" or "two dollars and bus fare"). That's the car with which I learned to drive.

Anyone have a '71 El Dorado convertible for sale? I'm looking for one. I've always wanted a Cadillac from my birth year.