Worse car ever put into production?

mespock

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We all have read the post on great classic cars of the past.

But how about the Worse car, the biggest automobile mistake!

What car is it. That one that should never been built or the designer or engineer should have been Executed!
 
Now you have my dander up. We had 2 Pacers.

We had a '68 Firebird when we were first married. By '75 it was pretty tired and we didn't have a lot of money.

My wife wanted a Capri II but I couldn't fit my 6'5" frame into it. I was doing some work at a AMC dealer and I noticed that the doors on the Pacer were huge. I fit perfectly. I told my wife I'd found the car for us. She test drove it and reluctantly signed off on it. Now she tell the story that she wept into her pillow the night we brought it home.

Technically, the Pacer was one of the better cars that we owned. It was great in the snow, had a great turning radius and no blind spot.

I'd vote for the Pacer being one of the ugliest cars but not the worst car ever put into production. IMHO, I'd say the Yugo was the worst I've seen here.
 
barry2952 said:
Now you have my dander up.
I swear. I had nothing to do with it. Honest.
icon10.gif


Being in the car business in the early eighties, there was an over-abundance of finalists to pick from. The Chevette and K-car had to be right up there though.
 
I'd have to say any current offering Honda has, namely The Accord,Element and Insight
(Shamu)(Legocar) &(How in the F*** could Honda make a '91CRX that Fugly?!?)
In reality though, it's probably the genius that created the Volkswagen "New-Beetle" I've heard horror stories on this leper of a car,
I've actually heard that this crapbox was marketed to people who know absolutely nothing about cars, except that, it's so cute,and It has a flower vase in it! (Awww!)That's the engineer I would like to execute!
Or, the fish-fart that decided the Mini-Cooper should be made into a convertible.(Could a car be anymore stereotypically gay?) (It makes a Miata look like a Viper!)
I could go on and on but I'll take up too much space. :zgreenbou
 
I owned a 77 chevette for eight years, it was like a cockroach, nothing would stop it and it was still going fine when I sold it to one of my daughters boyfriends who needed a work car.

The classic loser car would have to be the Edsel. Wrong car at the wrong time and a sorry piece of junk to boot. Just about any english car from British Leyland would fill the bill, you knew your mechanic as a friend of the family.
 
Hmmm I've see a few Vega's with a 350 crammed into them that aren't half bad.

CaptainZilog said:
Chevy Vega? I win :) Car couldn't even make it down the 1/4 mile test track.
 
GrayGhost1 said:
Two comes to mind: 1. AMC Pacer and 2. Dodge K-car

The K-car is what put Chrysler back in business.....cheap....crappy, but not the worst.

Renault Alliance 1984-1987, worst car on the road in those years.....and still is.

Pacer and the K-car are ugly, but by far NOT the worst.......ugly yes.
 
Or how about ANY Buick in the late 70's early 80's with the 3.8 litre V-6 (one of the worst engines EVER built). Or the Caddy 4-6-8 technology (another of the worst engines EVER built).
 
1wykdmk8 said:
Or how about ANY Buick in the late 70's early 80's with the 3.8 litre V-6 (one of the worst engines EVER built). Or the Caddy 4-6-8 technology (another of the worst engines EVER built).
cadillac 4.1
 
CaptainZilog said:
Buick 3.8L V6, a bad engine? HELL NO. Rather, it is one of the greatest ever built.
:I What about the '83-87 Buick Grand National or T-Type or even the all-mighty GNX(the 4-seater Corvette for '86-'87)? Or how about the current GM3800 which is ubiquitous as houseflies, that was based upon the 3.8 (231)V6? I had an '83 Cutlass with a 3.8 and it ran like hell. (If that car didn't get stolen so much),( more than the '84 Eldo I had, oh, by the way this was in '92,too.) I would get another, hell I might get a 3.8 to replace the impossible to find 260(for here) in my'79 Cutlass in my garage.
I also think the Toyota Echo 2-dr is the bass-turd son of Pacer,
look at one up close and see what I mean.
(But, my loopy-butt actually loves the quirky little Pacer.)
Another nominee is:
1987 Ford Escort , everyone who had one, HATES Ford now.
 
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I have to say the AMC Eagle. Geezus, what a P.O.S. Also, thoughts of the 1988 Chevy Nova/Toyota Tercel come to mind. My worst car ever was a 1988 Monte Carlo SS w/ t-tops. I hate that car.
 
All depends on how you measure 'worst'

The K car may not have been much from a gearhead point of view, but it saved chrysler - The AMC Pacer is one of those cars that is so scrwy you almost have to love it. The Geo Metro was a go cart with doors, but they sold many many of them. Same with the pinto. SO, it all depends on your criteria
 
I hate to repeat some others but anyone who knows anything about automotive history knows the K-car put Chrysler back on the map. Thanks to Lee Iaccoca the company sold literally MILLIONS of those little beasts. They were cheap, fairly reliable, cheap to fix.
On the other hand, the Chevy Vega, Chevette, and Citation were JUNK and helped kill GM's reputation. So did virtually any of the early Suzukis rebadged as Chevys, and anything with an HT4100 in it. As for Ford, the Pinto was bad, and so was the Mustang II. And if you want to talk JUNK, you HAVE to admit that virtually ANY AMC qualifies. Any British car ever built.....JUNK! Ok, I'm not going to continue down the list of import crap too. I don't have THAT kind of free time! :biggrin:
 
Hi Katshot

I must take exception to your statement "Any British car ever built....JUNK! OK", I must admit by American standards your every day British car is not very good, that's why I drive a Lincoln but some of the finest cars ever built have been British, Rolls Royce, Lanchester, Lagonda, Daimler, Vanden Plas and Bristol to name a few.

Regards

Dereck
 
Triumph TR-7. Yeah, that wedge looking thing. What a POS. Owned one when I was young and stupid.

Totally agree with the Renault Alliance too. Had a friend who bought one new and had 3 engines put in within 2 years.
 
Dereck said:
Hi Katshot

I must take exception to your statement "Any British car ever built....JUNK! OK", I must admit by American standards your every day British car is not very good, that's why I drive a Lincoln but some of the finest cars ever built have been British, Rolls Royce, Lanchester, Lagonda, Daimler, Vanden Plas and Bristol to name a few.

Regards

Dereck


Obviously you've never had to work on one. I have just one word for you, Lucas.
 
CaptainZilog said:
Buick 3.8L V6, a bad engine? HELL NO. Rather, it is one of the greatest ever built.


The later 80's, not the later 70's early 80's.......they seized on a daily basis....I know, I owned 4 or 5 of them.
 

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