Article Comments

Worst cars ever made

No Chevy Corvair?

72 Nova. You step on the brakes and go through the window. You turn a corner way too fast and if you don't end up doing a donut, the alignment gets royally screwed up or the frame gets bent. It was not easy to idle it at 35 -- it either went too slow or fast because it only had hi and low gears. It sucked gas bad. The exhaust rusted too easily. The defroster was worthless. You also came out of the vehicle smelling like antifreeze during winter days.

Cool list, but you could have put so much more work into this! There are many more awful cars then the ones listed here. Maybe you can keep this as a regular discussion on your site?

pacer, gremlin, reliant k, amc eagle

I owned a 1975 Chevy Vega GT. It has been one of the best American cars that I ever owned. I see your list includes only the 1970 - 1974. Maybe things were fixed by 1975.

@nitro re: corvair
It's not a list of the most innovative cars, it's a list of the worst cars.

For purely esthetic reasons, there really is no reason why the Pontiac Aztec is not tops on this list.

@jason re: Aztec

Hear, hear! The Aztec is *much* uglier than that Fiat.

PLEASE don't forget the aztec!

Let's not forget automotive negligence history....THE CORVAIR!
CC: Ralph Nader

I HAD A CORVAIR ONCE it was pretty cool a convertbn
le with a turbo charged engine. We had a balast in it ... I traded it for a new diveway .

I did not mean to make so many spelling mistakes , guess it will teach me to slow down
Any way we did have a BLAST in it and we went all over the country in it.

I've had a Ford Pinto, a Chevy Vega and a KIA Sportage. The KIA Sportage is the worst car made hands down! It had a "built in navigational system" which directed me to the service department each week.

i like Peel Trident :)

What, no Edsel?

I drove my 76 Chevy Vega to the east coast and the car would only go 35 mph up and down the mountains! Never made the drive in that car again.

What about the AMC Matador. Those things should have barf buckets in the console. Imagine some kid in one of those today with 22" wagon wheels and a sheet metal spoiler on back.

What about the AMC Matador. Those things should have barf buckets in the console. Imagine some kid in one of those today with 22" wagon wheels and a sheet metal spoiler on back.

The Chevrolet Cavalier was a maintenence nightmare. They were always broken. I am talking about at least 20 that I was personally aware of.

I concur with the Aztec being at the top of the list. Ugliest car ever made in america hands down. Number 2 - AMC matador. Glad I'm not alone

VEGA -- again. Had mine for 102,000 miles; replaced everything in it at least twice -- other than the transmission and battery. Oh yeah, it was an automatic that started in every gear -- something about the neutral safety switch that was faulty (nine times).

I owned a Chevy Camaro once....and, it was the worse car I've ever owned. It always kept breaking down, from the Engine to other major parts in the car. I felt like I lived at the Mechanic where I took. And, I think I made him Rich too.

Hey, remove the Fiat. It's not that bad.
Rust bucket GM's Chevrolet Vega, Pontiac Aztec The Ugliest (Grand Am ugly cladding and mechanical disasters not far behind), and last but not least a junk named Pontiac Sunfire/Chevrolet Cavalier should top the list.

Ditto. Pontiac's line of ugly junk earned high spots
among the worst.

My friend had Pontiac Grand Am and she hated it.
She got rid of this poorly made car and is happy with her awsome Civic.

Ditto ditto.

Detroit's been selling us sh*t for so long is a wonder they are still in business. I'll take my 20 year old Honda over anything they make any day. Let them all go out of business

Yea, those Chev-Pontiacs are of notoriously
bad lineage. I'm scared to even look their way after all the horror stories I know about them.
Terrible reputation clearly places them as the all-time
picks at the bottom, or, in this case, at the top of the worst cars list.

Had a 1974 ford torino--god, what was I thinking..car would die everytime it rained--the hood was so long and the engine so weak-I can understand why Ford is having a problem selling theses days ,would never buy a Ford again--by the was the chevy Vega was a hot little number if you had the GT package..

If you never owned a Corvair you would have no idea how fun they are to drive. I've owned three. Lots of fun.

Aztec, Aztec, Aztec, Pontiac the UGLY IS #1!

Obviously everybody is overlooking the Ford Taurus.....Mercury Sable...probably the worst piece of scrap to make it to the roads of America since the AMC Pacer.

Oh....and don't forget the AMC/Renault Encore.....

mid 90's Chevy Lumina are also bad

when the yugo's were made they were sold new with a tool box

what about the trabant, made in east germany, with its cardboard body ? i understand they are collectors cars now if you can find one

Chevy-Pontiac made tons of corroded junk.
After Japanese totally buried them, now Chinese will ship cheaper (read: costing less) and better cars.
They learn fast; does it make GM a slow learner?

Your picture of a Chevy Vega at the top of the page is really another Ford Pinto. Whoever created the montage of cars labeled the yellow 1971 Pinto incorrectly. Notice that it closely resembles the other Brown 1973 Pinto.

I submit Cavalier, the worst purchase of my life.

Cheap-Jack Pontiac: Give my money back for Grand Am, top honours :-( for problems with it.

How was the Fiero overlooked?

Honda Element and the Scion equivalent are hands down two of the ugliest pieces of crap ever made. Who in the world would want to be seen in either of those? ICK.

Oh yes, Fiero The Fire Ball.
Put it in top 5.

Hey dude, they are Honda and Toyota. It means good breed and character. Lighten up your star.

I have to admit that I have previously owned both a 1972 Chevy Vega and a 1974 Ford Pinto. You have brought back bad memories. Everytime I filled the tank in the Vega, I had to add a quart of oil. And on a windy day, I opened the driver side door of the Pinto and the wind blew it off!!! It was that rusty, and the car was only 5 years old!!!

Darkstar, Re: your comment.
I love my Element and everybody I know shares the opinion. It's Honda.
What do you drive? A lovely hahaha Aztec?
Hand off Scion xB. My girlfriend owns one. She has good taste.

We have a Cavelier and it keeps running with just a little electrical tape and gum. The previous owner gave it to us thinking it would die in about 6 mths-that was over 6 yrs ago!

Does Darkstar (*!) know that Honda Element has probably the most refined and proven four cylinder engine on Earth?- Accord's fame. Ignorance is bliss for some. I thought it might shed some light (*!).

Darkstar knows all about Hondas and Toyotas (Scion), et. al. They're both still butt ugly and there's no getting around it. The Aztec ranks right up there too - no doubt about that. No, I don't drive an Aztec.

Aztec is the ugliest beast on wheels ever made.
Besides, it's a Pontiac with suspect Grand-Am relationship and that's baaad.

My few cents here.
Beauty is in the eye of a beholder.
Aztec is truly ugly and Element and Scion don't belong there. They are utalitarian and boxy to the point of beautiful. And they will last forever.

Remove Fiat, place in Aztec. I find that Fiat somewhat cute.
Enter Pontiac Fiero---the burning disaster.

I like the Fiat too. Was it reliable?

I had a 1975 Vega Station Wagon. This was designed
as a throw-away car. It was the worst piece of
crap ever designed and built by the U.S. Auto industry. No wonder GM is going down the tubes. The management of General Motors should have all gone to jail for screwing the public with this sorry excuse for an automobile

The Chevy Vega , was '70-'77 , in '75 , they added steel sleeves to the aluminum block , to stop the oil burning ,,, but it was to little to late , to save the Vega , i owned a '74 , white w/one yellow fender ,, the only differance between a GT an the reg model , was a 2 barrel carb , instead of a single barrel carb ! an diff. wheels too ,,, no pic of a Vega , on this page !

Stangely enough, some car owners, despite of wasting their money on Chevy/Pontiac still advice their friends to buy them. What is it???
Anyway, my vote is for Pontiac Fiero. Definitely Chevy Vega is at the top with the worst.

My 80's Ford Escort was no good. As quick as I fixed one thing something else would break. Finally gave it away when the fuel pump, which was inside the gas tank, stopped working: a $500 repair and the car wasn't worth half that.

I feel like I have found the support group I have been looking for since the day after purchasing a Chevy Vega. It is great to feel like I'm among friends who know my shame and pain.

Anything made by AMC--Pacer, Gremlin, Matador, etc--should be on this list. Ugly isn't enough, the car needs to suck on many more levels. AMC mastered this art.

Was AMC a GM division or affiliated wit GM?

1998 and newer Intrepid with the great 2.7 engine. Chrysler should recall all the junk and repay all the purchasers for every expense paid and then repurchase the car.

Honda Accord............SIKE!!!!!!!!!!


Honestly, it was the Chevy Citaaaaaaaaaaaaaation! Anybody remember that commercial besides me?

LTFOL re: the Kia Sportage...

1981 Dodge Omni-So much reapirs, that it saved Chrysler. 1981 Ford Cougar, $1200.00 for the carb, and it only got 9 miles/gallon. 1983 New Yorker, worst electronics in history. 1980 Ford Escort, rolls can hardly, rolls down one hill, can hardly get up the next, scary on the highway. Tempos and Topazs, garbage. Skoda! Junk! Lada, I put 4 inches on my chest trying to park it, wow, what a steering system. I could go on and on....

Oh, and I had a 1983 Jeep CJ7, loved it, but you knew what you were doing on Saturday, turning wrenches. You had to wear mittens in the winter, and drive with the window open, no defroster. We put a candle on the dash sometimes to clear the windshield. Could not light a cigarette, the wind would blow the lighter out. Park it when it snowed, and you would have to shovel it out in the morning. Don't forget the KCars, they were horrible. How many people died in the GMC trucks with the exploding gas tanks? Our family suffered through years of American junk, all Japanese vechicles now, and never a complaint.

AMC Pacer - Neat idea but terrible implementation. Some folks say it's responsible for sinking American Motors Corporation.

don't you wished you still had your ugly cars, just to put in the parades on the 4th of July

Whose memory can be so short they don't recall the Ford Fairmont, and it's evil cousin, the Mercury Zephyr. I was amazed they recycled that name so soon and stuck it on a Lincoln. A prophecy perhaps?
My father bought a pair of Fairmonts--one with standard, the other with automatic. We quickly renamed them The Beastly Babies.

Whose memory can be so short they don't recall the Ford Fairmont, and it's evil cousin, the Mercury Zephyr. I was amazed they recycled that name so soon and stuck it on a Lincoln. A prophecy perhaps?
My father bought a pair of Fairmonts--one with standard, the other with automatic. We quickly renamed them The Beastly Babies.

Whose memory can be so short they don't recall the Ford Fairmont, and it's evil cousin, the Mercury Zephyr. I was amazed they recycled that name so soon and stuck it on a Lincoln. A prophecy perhaps?
My father bought a pair of Fairmonts, God only knows why--one with standard, the other with automatic. My brother and I quickly renamed them The Beastly Babies.

Don't forget the 1996 Ford Escort. Worst car I have ever had.

First of all,everything AMC did was GREAT....The first year Fiero had a problem but was recalled and are great cars too...as for Corvair,it was a tire inflation deal and a great car and yes we love our ugly cars for more that just the 4th of July...Classic cars are where its at,I'll take them any day...even the so called ugly ones...

I once had a fleet of Mercury Topaz' (Ford had a version too)...a pin the trans would break and the car would free wheel on the freeways....transmission gears made of plastic would look like hour glasses after a few thousand miles....junk...

When I think worst, Reliability is it, and it should have been designed in, it wasn't in so many cars, Datsun electrics, (right there with Lucas electrics), engines, I think of Vega, it needed the olds aluminum V8 of the early 60's, the un supported cylinders with out sleeves would not take sustained load. Saw many blow up going up Vantage or Grapevine grades on a hot day.

I cant say anything about the vega, My uncle had one which he replaced the engine in. He gave it to me and it ran and ran for years. I would have to say the Kia is a cousin of the yugo. I work as a mechanic and the average life of a sophia is 20k before major repair is needed, maybe cheap but not even worth the money.

Piece of crap American car. My neon kept breaking down. This car is good for only 60K miles. Then you have to throw them in the junk yard. Jap is the way to go.

I agree with comments on Aztec, Honda Element, and Scion. They all look like a hearse.

i had a 93 pontiac lemans... it had no power going up in the mountains (on the east coast), horrible gas mileage, and everything was manual, and when i tried to sell it the blue boook on it in 01 was $0!

if honda and toyota are so good, how come they
can't make a truck that'll get unstuck from the mud? my chevy silverado 4X4 got enough torque to strip the paint off them and pull their little aluminum chassis outta the mud... YES the little CIVICS and TERCELS have been a blessing for you folks all caged up in the concrete jungle... but for us hill folks, we need something with a little more umph to get up and down the holler with! ain't seen an import truck worth putting in the mud!

Had 2 AMC's, I had a 72 Gremlin for 100,000 miles,a 76 Hornet for 250,000 miles. Great cars.
The Pinto and Vega were some of the worst cars ever built. The Chevette was also a crap box. On the other hand, I have had 3 Chrysler made cars. Great cars.

Let's see:

1. Blew clouds of vile choking smoke
2. Sounded like a prisoner's death rattle
3. Build by Jewish Concentration Camp Slaves
4. Order designed and built by Hitler

Of course - The VW Bug

How was the LeCar by Renault left off. A death trap.

i heard a slur on that list concerning the chevy corvair!!! well to this day i would give a right arm for one of those little cuties!!!! an old beau had a brand new one back in 1963 that we cruised around in and i loved it--also noone then had a brand new anything either!!! he got his from some law suit money !!!!! and i thought i was hot stuff being only 15 and riding in a brand new ride!!!! so viva la corvair!!!

ahh yes--the ford pinto--believe it or not this was the first new new car that my dear pop ever bought back in the 70s!!! he loved that car but alas it ended up on many trips to the garage owned by the sisco brothers--so the family running joke was that the "sisco pinto" was in the garage again--and it was known as that forever more!!!

My first car was a Corvair. It was a 68 convertible
110horse powerglide.When i first got it it leaked oil very badly. I replaced the orings around the pushrod tubes.I never had a problem with the car after that.I really enjoyed that car.It was a blast!

I've got a Pontiac Bonniville, 2000,Can't keep the thing running and nobody knows what is wrong with it.The damn sensors will kill you! Still no help! Piece of JUNK!

Yea, those Pontiacs are junk. They can't get anything right. Waste of money.
What about coolant antifreeze flooding engine oil in Grand Am. Can't they make decent gaskets, or maybe their engine blocks suck? Probably both. Old pushrod crappy engines and gas thirsty. I'm glad they didcontnued those rental cars. Is replacement any better (Pontiac G6?). I DOUBT.

Ralph Nader teamed with Ford to kill the Corvair. They used Ford drivers ona Ford track to claim it was unsafe and likely to loose control on corners. The result was a career and reputation for Ralph Nader and elimination of a car that was more advanced than anything Ford would produce for another 10 years.

I am surprised you did not mention the Lada. It is a Russian car.

--------------
Kaizenlog
http://kaizenlog.blogsome.com

The fiat multipla is a fantastic car! We had one for several years and it genuinely was one of the best cars we have ever owned. Not only was it extremely reliable there are lots of little touches that just make you smile - such as faces in the dashboard!

WRONG! 1973 Vega; Black w/red interior, Crager Wheels, oh yeah! Fogged up many a windows in that sex machine!

That's right. Pontiacs are rental cars.
No quality in them.
Pontiacs? Never. Never. Never.

I love cheese

Pontiac Fiero anyone?
Notorious for catching fires. Burning baskets.
You needed two extinguishers if you get one of those.
Pontiac Aztec: THE UGLIEST.

The VW Bug (as mentioned earlierby the Historian) should not be on the list. Long live the People's Car!

I had a 77 Vega and it was an awesome car and it had no corrosion at all. It had well over 100K on it and it was in great condition when I totalled it in '86. I still miss my Vega. BTW, I saw a 78 Vega Kamback on the road in original condition just the other day.

I would say the 1991 Mercury Capri was pretty bad.

As a finn i have experience of russian/east European makes from communist -era. IFA, SKODA, TRABANT, MOSKOVITCH, VOLGA and such would win this competition with ease.

Fiat Multipla ugly??? Maybe the americans are not used to such an unconventional design, but this is the coolest car to be seen on the roads of Europe.

I still say Pontiac Fiero.
Burning to the ground notoriety is a winner in bad books.

Had 2 Vegas....cause the first one had problems,got the second new one for 500.00,dealer made a mistake while working on it.spindle snapped off!And they were rust buckets.I did like the styling!

Re: Aztec

Or, as my circle of friends call it, the "Asstek."

Thank you Jonathan and bogdan77.
I also think Fiat Multipla is OK.
Some people are just clueless.
Please remove the Fiat from this list. It doesn't belong here.
For sure Aztec does.

No bogdan, the car is ugly as shit. Look at it. Can you honestly say it looks ˝good˝?

Pontiac Aztec (Asstek-good name) is truly butt ugly.

I had a 1964 Corvair Spyder.That car was so much fun to drive.The sound of the turbo engine used to give
me goose bumps and make my eyes water.I wish I had
one now!

No "mak", it is different, but you will not understand.
Maybe ugly Pontiac style ovesized cladding is your thing.

as for the vw bug--back in hischool they advertised it as a dollar a pound car!!! u could buy one brand new for 1200 dollars!!! that was about 1963 or so---of course the hrly wage was $1.59 roughly so it is all relevant--but they sure were fun to drive--i used to have an old one with a hole in the ba
ck floor near the battery and if it rained you were shit out of luck cause if u hit a puddle there went the battery!!!!!

My History:
'73 Vega, Banana Yellow - I ended up hanging upside down by the seat belt in '75 and it was totalled. At least the seat belt held.
'72 Pontiac Grand Safari Wagon - Aircraft Carrier with Jaws tailgate - Transmission wore out slowly b/t '76 & '78
'90 Ford Taurus Wagon - Coolant leak inside the engine took 3 head gaskets in 3 years. Sold it in '96.
'73 VW Squareback - drove it from '79 to '88 and gave it to my brother in law. He drove it for 4 more years and sold it for $600.
'86 Corolla - bought used after it was in a bad accident. I straightened out the back end and repaired the body panels, drove it for 5 years and sold it for what I bought it for. Never a mechanical or electric repair.
'86 Jetta - Amazing car. Drove it from '86 to '02. Only 3 repairs. Most expensive was $600. Still going strong when I traded it in.
'02 Jetta - a few electrical and window problems fixed by VW for free. Dealer sucked but car is good.
Conclusion - American cars self destruct either through bad handling or poor design. Toyota's and VW's are FAR safer and more dependable. Sorry america, but we are losing this battle, and it is not just because of lower labor costs overseas.

2006 prius what a piece of junk...milage poor rattles and poor construction

I like Fiat Multipla. Apparently they are reliable, functional vehicles.
Bad cars: Pontiac Sunfire/Chevrolet Cavalier. Cheap cars, zero trade-in value in no time. Junky rust buckets.

.79 Plymouth Horizon...shudder....

The Ferrari Mondial, any model year. Comparitively, this car could cause more grief to an owner than all the others combined.

Another piece of junk is virtually any V12 BMW except maybe the 850CSi and, even then, it's no pinic.

The Jaguar XJS is a nasty piece of work along with its cranky brethren, the XJ6 and, especially, the XJ12s of the 80s and early 90s. Gawdawful cars, all.

The Nissan Pulsar was despicable as well.

Late model Pontiac LeMans. There were made by Daewoo. They are as crappy as the Yugo. The also inspired the design of the Aztek.

BTW, I also drove my great aunt's '66 corvair monza for a while. It was a decent car with some innovative design features. My dad inherited it and sold it to a friend in '77. The engine caught fire a few months later and it was toast. I give it a mixed review, but it should probably not be on the list of worst cars.
My all time worst - I had a friend who owned a Reneault Fuego, I think it was a 1986 model. In all ways - electrical, mechanical, body panels, instrumentation - This was the worst car that I had ever seen (and I have been to Russia and had friends with Ladas and Zhigulis) Everything needed repair in the 2 years that I lived across the street from this monster.

What I find curious about the photo accompanying the Yugo car is that although the place is covered in snow, there is a perfectly clear are around where the car is. That's cool.

To Mak

If I had the money, I would definitely buy a MacPro and then a Fiat Multipla (the first generation, not the second, which looks so bland).

Or a Saab...

yeah... a computer first

I drove the Fiat Multipla a few years ago when I had my Fiat Coupé serviced. It’s an absolutely astonishing drive. The interior is amazingly practical. The car has an excellent visibility in town due to the low windows, huge amounts of space despite a reasonable length (think parking in European cities...), etc. The 1.9 JTD Diesel engine is reliable and fuel-efficient and the car is really fun to drive on open roads. You may not like the Multipla’s shape but it’s 100% functionality.

Of course the Cavaliers and Sunfires are crap, they're the cheapest cars they make! Come on, stop comparing the cheapest cars that American automakers build, with the most expensive cars that foreign automakers build. I drive a '90 camaro that has 170k miles on it, most we've put into it is for stuff that wears down over time (brakes, etc.) and oil changes.

I would like to encourage you to see the Malaysian.. Proton Cars..

Anyone remember the first generation Hyundai's? What was the name of the 4 cylindar car they made, was it the accent? That car was the butt of all jokes. Also the Chevy Geo, a 3 cylindar 75hp motor that was a piece of crap too.

Quote from Wikipedia:

The exterior and interior design of the Multipla was unique and had a polarizing effect—some people love it, many hate it. Nonetheless, the Multipla was displayed at the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in New York during its "Different Roads - Automobiles for the Next Century" exhibition in 1999.

Make a test: try to sell old Chevy Cavalier/Pontiac Sunfire twin (or whatever it was called before).
People will laugh at you. Nobody wants this trouble for free. What a joke of a car!!!

Ahhh, the Véga.
In Québec,it was nicknamed "Dégât" (mess); and the Chevy version "Astre" was naturally nicknamed "Désastre" (disaster).
This was a committee-designed car (why it didn't look like a camel???). According to Z. De Lorean ( in "On a clear day, you can see General Motors"), the car was designed by a joint effort by the competing divisions (Chevy, Pontiac, Buick, etc.) prodded by big-brass insistence to "rationalize". Of course, none of the divisions would commit their best engineers to the effort, so here was the half-baked result.
Reportedly, the prototype broke in two on it's maiden run on the company test track. Interestlingly enough, the problem of vandalism while shipped in open tri-level railroad cars had prompted the engineers to design the car to be able to be shipped nose down so no fluids would leak. The idea was to use special box-cars with folding down slides (much like you peel a banana) that turned out to be ramps on which the cars were driven, then the sides were closed up with a fork-lift truck.
Needless to say, the vandalism problem was subsequently tackled by simply enclosing the railroad cars...

I had a 1974 Vega. I did all my own maintainace. I had to do some work on the head in '80 but otherwise I had no unusual problems with it. I had the engine rebuilt around 110,000 in 1983 and it never really ran right again. I always thought it was more the mechanics fault.

What about the Renault Fuego? I drove in one of these in the early 80's and the thing was literally falling apart. Had to wire the car to get the egnition started and the door on the passenger side broke.

70-ish Plymouth Valiant.

If you were heading East and wanted to plot a Northerly course you'd start cranking the all-too powerful power steering over a few yards before you reached the corner... a couple of full turns of the wheel would get the machine heeled over a good 30 degrees or so, everything not strapped down (including passengers) would tumble to starboard and only then would the thing begin changing course.

When you got to NNE it was time to reverse the process and if you timed everything just right you'd be wallowing along your new course in short order.

The thing actually ran pretty well but wow did it (and others of it's ilk) handle badly.

Pontiac Grand Am 99 GT, piece of junk.
3 front brakes/rotors sets replaced first year, 2 next year, front wheel bearings first year, engine gasket blew and coolant got into oil pan, electrical nigtmare-engine shutting off on highway, dollar store quality "serpentine" belts.
This are problems all owners face. Now I would not want one for free.

I had a 77 MGB and it was undoubtedly the biggest piece of junk made!

By far the Saturns are the worst, had 3 and had to change 3 head gaskets. Driving down the highway in winter the top of the window frame would open up and it was impossible to stay warm. The best 1986 Benz 300D 409K miles and still going strong. Did not see any German cars except early bug(Hitler's car)on the list Hummmm?

WTF!
The Fiat Multipla is a GOOD car! It might look different, but if you had actually used one you wouldn't have put it on the list you hack.

I was also unfortunate enough to own a Pinto. Biggest iece of junk that Ford every put on the road!! I ot rid of the Pino after a few months and was I ever glad to see it gone. The Vegas were just as bad. Nobody has mentioned the other big loser that GM put out - namely the Olds Diesel which has effectively killed off the Diesel car in this counry while they are very popular in Europe. We would have much less dependence on foreign oil if our cars were just as efficient as Diesels.

BTW, I am driving a Honda with 128,00 miles on it and I am NEVER going back to American junk! Is it any wonder tht the auto industry in the US is in such trouble?

My '99 chevy cavalier keeps running and running. 200k+ miles and no major service needs.

Learn how to spell check buddy boy.

Man, talk about pulling the boneheads out of the woodwork (re: the comments). It seems all of the japanese foreign-car lovers flocked to the comment section because anyone who made a negative comment about a Honda or a Toyota quickly got flamed. I find it interesting. :)

Different designs will appeal to different people, that is fore sure. The Aztec, Element and Scion's of today appeal to certain groups of people, and they sell. You don't have to like every car design out there, but, obviously, someone's buying them to make them profitable enough to be produced. :)

Oh, and the 70's American cars were the worst. After the gas shortage, American manufacturers cut corners everywhere, including in design and quality. heh.. I remember the talks about wanting a "Wednesday car" vs a "Monday" or "Friday" car.

Beyond that, you're always going to get a lemon in the bunch.. especially if you are making millions of cars.

Just for the record, the Vega's are awesome mod cars. You can take one, mod the firewall, drop a small block V8 in it, and have a great little drag car.

I couldn't even sell my NEW Sunfire after just 1 year of use!!!!For me, that's #1.

Hey I resent the suggestion of the Reliant K. It's pretty much the same thing as my 1984 Dodge Aries K which I still drive daily. It is more reliable than my 2000 Volkswagen Jetta, gets about the same fuel economy, and is much cheaper to fix on those rare occasions when it does break.

The Pinto also got a bit of a bad rap. That was a terrible design flaw, but ultimately it is easy to fix. I had one of those myself. Fixing the safety issue was easy, and after that it was quite and efficient little commuter.

Some cars were just plain bad all around, and they deserve a lot more attention. Any Americans that have ever owned a Renault are probably nodding their heads in agreement right now. I know a lot of people drink the Volkswagen kool aid but my experience with a late model VW has been that it will make me stop cracking jokes about British cars being made so poorly.

SuperMike: The 72 Chevy Nova was a very good car in 1972. Unlike the Vega. Sorry, but your Nova must have been worn out and repaired by amatuers.

I tried giving it away for free; but it ended up back to de dealer, and a bad credit for me!!

Sounds like a kid wrote this article. Where's the emotion? Where's the witty remarks? If you can't put some decent effort into your writing...don't bother at all.

Chevette!

You lost the list's credibility by adding the multipla. Acknowledging that there is nothing wrong with it besides your personal dislike of the design makes me wonder why this list should be considered anything more than a perosnal rant...

Wow, for the record. i have owned many of the cars on the list at one time or another:0( I will say the the Corvair was a great car. Nader was trying to get elected so he went after it because he like most of the idiot public didn't know how to drive a RR car.. There is nothing wrong with that car period. You must jam the gass to the floor when you begin to understear in a corvair/porche 914/volkswagon carmen!!!! If you let off the gass you will be punshed!!!!! if you floor it you will be rewarded with a faster lap time than anyone else! :0) The Vega was indeed a huge POS.

Wow, for the record. i have owned many of the cars on the list at one time or another:0( I will say the the Corvair was a great car. Nader was trying to get elected so he went after it because he like most of the idiot public didn't know how to drive a RR car.. There is nothing wrong with that car period. You must jam the gass to the floor when you begin to understear in a corvair/porche 914/volkswagon carmen!!!! If you let off the gass you will be punshed!!!!! if you floor it you will be rewarded with a faster lap time than anyone else! :0) The Vega was indeed a huge POS.

1989 Ford Tempo. Every month something new broke. Incidently, my ak47 was made by Zastava, makers of the Yugo, and it works flawlessly...

http://www.archive.org/details/Corvairi1960

plymouth cricket! i had mine a year before everything began to fall apart. by year two i had to push it and pop the clutch once it was rolling to get it started. fortunately i lived on ahill. unfortunately there were very few hills in our city. couldn't afford the estimated repairs-- cheaper to get a new car, which i did eventually.

NO PACER OR GREMLIN? This thing is rigged...:)

BH

"For purely esthetic reasons, there really is no reason why the Pontiac Aztec is not tops on this list."

Ditto...

I have to agree totally with the CHevy Vega being on this list. I had one and would put a quart of oil in that thing everytime I drove it and it was only 3 years old. I hated that car! an aluminum block engine....

I was told by a very reliable source that the latest C6 corvette body design was done by the same guy who did the Pontiac Aztec. I almost fell over - I think the New vette is one of the best looking vettes since the mid years (mid 60's). The Pontiac Aztec? Well I really wonder how anyone in their right mind - like management at GM - would allow that thing to be produced. The only valid opinion is it is stupid ugly!!

where is Pontiac Aztec?
THAT's some ugly car

Honda's are cheap jap crap and only faggots looking for anal drive that POS

:) you see - i'm not the only one
30 seconds apart

HONDAs? last few years design - i have to give it to you, but Acuras - the best looking cars at any price (up 100k)
and quality.. can't even touch it by NASA - THE BEST

I bought new Pinto '72. Outfitted it with Fire Stone tires. (Which left me in the wilderness many times)The tires picked up a whole wrench one time. I had 12...12 new tires put on. They were fully garnateed. The tires would go out at anytime. I was an accident waiting to happen. Exploding fuel tank, exploding tires. I traded the car and tires in...when the Pinto would not steer (the steering wheel did not turn). Thank goodness the car saleman did not test drive the Pinto.

How about the '85 Pontiac Lemans.....should have been named "Lemons". It was ugly and undependable.

The Chrysler K car platform and anything made in France tops my list, especially the French motors chrysler dropped into a few cars in the late 80's/90's. The cavelier and all its variants is a terrible car as well, not to mention they have rattles when they are brand new even.

I wish manufacturers would emphasise quality over features and come up with some inexpensive well built cars for those just starting out. One of the few available now would be a Toyota Corolla.

Let's not forget the LeCar also......total French Crap made in the early 80's.

I would say the Kia Sportages are a crap shoot - I've got a 2001 4-door/2WD and its a great little beater for getting me to work and back and hauling the dog around.

I'll probably buy something else when I hit 100K miles in this one, but I've been happy with it (and bought it with 5 miles on the odometer).

Dacia 1300 - based on a 1950s Renault model, it was still being manufactured up to 1990. (40 year old design!)

mutipla = good call! who wants a fat bulge on your car.

Ford Maverick. Biggest POS I have ever driven. The carborator fell off at 41K.
I only drive Japanese now, Honda or Toyota...

haha the Yugo. I remember back in college the dillweed who thought he knew everything drove one of those. A group of us guys hated him since he was such a dork and gullible girls like him because of his spikey hair. We would get together late a night, go to the parking lot where we had parked our cars ahead of time on either side of him and since the stupid car was so light weight we could actually move it sideways between two other cars so he couldn't leave. Idiot, Yugo driver. I've been waiting 20 years to talk about that!

haha, i remember my moms nova back in the day. it always had this plastic smell to it never could get rid of it.

You should include that at one time, Yugo dealers were allowed to offer "Buy one, get one free" deals.

Lets not forget the ford fiesta! I always wanted a pinto to modify into a Toy convertible. had Vega sport, Ford Fiesta, and my 87 Honda Accord LX lasted forever.but my opinion of the best small vehicle of ALL time is Datsun Pickup.I miss it.

All those braggin about Honda & Toyota must not have owned some of the late '70's rust buckets. I saw Civic's that rusted so bad their front struts shot through the hood while driving down the road.

Death traps.

I owned a Vega ikn early 1970s. Ran very well, never needed any major work for 140000 miles. HOWEVER it was vital to check fluid levels. If it ran dry, the aluminum engine would score cylinder walls and forever after it would burn oil like there was no tomorrow. As long as you checked oil now and then, though, and water, particularly on hot drives with A/C on, it would run ok. The engine was much easier to get to than the old Corvair (I had one of those also, and carried the obligatory spare fanbelt in the trunk and enough tools to install it if needed in the bush.) As I recall it was offered with extra rustproofing as an option, which I got. I did not experience any worse rust than I have now on my Honda Civic. It was said though that in that era cars built on Wednesday tended to be better-lasting than others which were supposedly the same. I may have just lucked out.

Attn: "Hondasuckassandsodoyou"
Your name matches your opinion.
Suggestion: change it to 'I_am_clueless_and_arrogant and_ignorant_and_uncivilized_on_top_of_it'. Sorry.
ShezNet: YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE. "30 seconds" Ha Ha Ha. GOT YOU!!!
Good thing is that by buying Hondas people improve their standard of living. Life gets better when you actually schedule maintenance on your car, instead going there every few weeks against your will.

I'm surprised at all the animosity towards Pontiac and GM in general. As a spare car I have a 1984 Parisienne (Caprice) and it's all original and still runs and looks perfectly. And it's a New England car. Not a spot of rust or burning oil and I've done nothing except tune it up fr the last ten years. As far as Jap cars being so great, fine. But seen any Datsuns around lately? How many mid 80's to 90's Jap cars do you see running around? They're almost all completely gone. All cars wear out when not taken care of. One more thing on Pontiac.... I'm thinking of buying a Solstice. Gorgeous car.

Multipla rocks.

Chevy Cav, Dodge/Ply Omni/Horizon, Pinto, LeCar, Ford Ranger & Escort any Mitsubishi V6 engine from the early 90's...They ALL had some bigtime issues that a chimp on acid could've dealt with better than the car companies.

American auto makers have pumped out a number of junk vehicles over the years but all this hype about jap cars is just that. Toyota? I had a 1990 pick up that blew the head gasket and warped the head 3 times in 80,000 miles. And the bed had rot holes in it when it was 3 years old! American cars have always used better steel with the exception of the vega of course. Honda builds great motors but the rest of the car is nothing special.Nissians are are junk period. The truth is cars built today fall apart afters 5 years unless you buy one of their best models (most expensive). Oh by the way, I'm a mechanic and I've worked on all of these junks for years. I currently own a 2000 honda civic si (junk), a 93 gmc truck(good), and a 98 dodge truck(junk).

FORD TAURUS... A large number of brand-new 1987 models shipped to dealers with rusty radiators! What didn't go wrong with these cars?

It's funny that the engine from the Pinto has lasted for for over 25+ years in production and is considered as one of the best motors ever bilt, Along the lines on the Chevy 350 and the VW flat 4 etc. Image is every thing and kids today or just so plastic barbi dolls

Ok, I own a 2003 Kia Rio--70k miles in three years and not a prob. The first Kia's sucked, like the first Hyundais...speaking of which, hellooo!--any of the first Hyundais should be near the top of this list.

I am surprised at animosity towards Honda. It's a biggest engine manufacturer in the world and simply best at it. They refine them to the point of perfection. They build cars around them with same best-of-breed approach across entire lineup.
Either you buy basic or luxury version, same good DNA is there. Example: Honda Civic 99, when upgraded, become Acura 1.7.
I guess GM and so on dieharders get just green from envy and deny, deny, deny. Sorry for them.

I personally like the aztec.. lol.. everyone thinks i'm crazy tho..

dodge/chrysler sundance.. first week my mom had one,the ignition somehow attached itself to the key and came out with it.. for about 2 weeks you had to start it with a screwdriver... then the rear bumper fell off, with no warning.. lol

Wait, a worse car than the valiant Valiant:

Chrysler Imperial, 70's vintage. The car had the mythical handling of the Valiant plus it was huge, heavy, and got terrible milage (of course hi-test was US$0.40/gal...). The one I'm thinking about had a good 3 feet of purely cosmetic superstructure in front of the radiator, just empty space surrounded by steel.

But the real reason that I humbly submit the Imperial for inclusion in this list is that despite being gigantic on the outside it had absolutely no room on the inside: you could sit three across with no problem but nobody had legroom and, my favorite, the trunk was about 18" deep and you'd be lucky to get 2 suitcases in it.

The only good thing about this car was as long as you didn't have to change course it rode like a hovercraft (come to think of it it cornered like a hovercraft, too).

Attn: elofun, I have owned several hondas and worked on many more. Their econ boxes are better than most but are still junk.

99 turbo passat should be on your list for its known oil overheating problem that causes deadly oil sludge. VW doesn't honor the warrantee for this either

Biggest piece of crap I ever owned was an 84 Toyota 4x4 PU $1000 me to death, best car was my 67 Goat.

What about the Chrysler Sebring? I don't think there is anything that functions properly on that POS and Chrysler thinks apathy is the best way to fix it.

What a stupid list. Most American cars suck! Read about the recent Ford plant closings. Hmm... Wonder why. For the uneducated, Datsun is still doing extremely well. They're known as Nissan you idiot! The Nissan's G35/350Z kick the livin' shit out of Ford's Mustang and gets better fuel economy. Can't wait for the 3 big domestic automakers to go under. They've been scamming the public for decades! Yes, the Solstice looks nice... just no hp. You're better off getting a Honda Accord!

Attn: Mike
Are you stuck in the late seventies? Sounds like it. With this thinking you fit sqaure into Grand Am type of crowd...
You probably work on at least 20 year old cars and don't deny it. Nothing lasts forever.
And NO, recent Hondas are not econoboxes. Even new Civiv is nothing but. Try Accord, Pilot and Odyssey, then graduate to Acura TL. Honda S2000, still hard to beat for driving experience.
Mike, tell us about your experience with shitbox Grand Ams please and comment on Sunfire-Cavalier.
Tell the truth.

Dodge caravan, I know 5 people who oned one, all 5 owners had their transmissions replaced twice. Then recently, I met someone from work who had their tranmission replaced 4 times in 2 years!

This is from another site:
"2001 Pontiac Sunfire affectionately known as "Jinx the Bastard"

I had a '90 Cavalier that just refused to die, it seemed like no matter how badly I took care of it it just kept running, and it was 12 years old when I got it. The newer (mid 90's and up) Cavs though, I would never buy one. Deathtraps, they disintegrate on impact and break down all the time.

I have to disagree with the above comment on Saturns...maybe I haven't owned enough of them to be "in the know," but I picked up a Saturn SL-1 about 5 years ago, it had 50,000M on it and I paid ~$5000. It now has ~170,000M on it. I've dropped about $300 on the exhaust and another $200 on brakes. Oh, yeah, I forgot, I dropped about $300 on a decent set of tires for it a couple years back. It uses a little oil now, but I still get 30-40MPG. How can that be crap? I've put 120,000 miles on it, and I STILL get better gas mileage then most of my friends.

attn elofun. I told you the truth, honda is good but not built to last. The new accord is made out of tin foil. I hardly ever work on anything built before the mid 90's any more. The sunfire/ cavaliers were junk econo boxes, the motors held together for a while, but the rest of it fell apart. And quality control during production wasn't there, evident because some of the cars would run forever and others had endless problems. Grand ams were junk too, neons, fiero, ford probes, toyota tercel, corrolla, all come to mind when I think of junk cars. The truth is I know what I'm talking about and not just buying the hype, unlike yourself.

elofun stop licking the balls of the honda corp and go fuckyourself. hondas are crap. you are a ass licker.

This belongs on the list.
Cadillac Cimarron. That was car Cadillac built on a Chevy Cavalier body. It looked just like a Cavalier also.

I'd be hard-pressed to decide which is uglier: The AMC Pacer or the Pontiac Aztek.

Best car I've had: 2000 Chrysler 300M, 125,000 miles, total repairs = $300. You can't generalize about American cars so much. Worst cars I had for reliability and cost: a Mazda and a Porsche. If I generalized myself: German and Japanese engineering sucks.

I drove a YUGO for 6 months - Total POS! Door handle fell off, had a wheel fall off, the list can go on and on. If you drove the YUGO - Hands down it was the worst car ever made.

ZASTAVA 101 is No.1!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Chevy Citation.

"elofun stop licking the balls of the honda corp and go fuckyourself. hondas are crap. you are a ass licker."

Ahh, I see the wonderfully perceptive, intelligent and thought-provoking children from digg.com have made it over to this page.

HOW ABOUT THE CHEVETTE. THEY NAMED IT RIGHT BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT I DONE MOST, SHOVED IT. IT KNEW WHEN PAYDAY ROLLED AROUND AND TOOK MOST OF IT.

What, are most people touting the japanese cars twelve? Acura? built here. the TL, etc etc. Nissan? Titan, built in MS. News Flash: MOST Japanese cars sold here are MADE here, so they can avoid the import duties. So, before talking about "Japanese quality", remember that the same people making your Honda make Dodges.... (i.e. AMERICANS.)

So get over the Japanese elitist nonsense. For every car that's made, there's a lemon in that model. Depending upon the design, there may be more than another brand. They are made by HUMANS. So people who rave about their lovely Hondas can bet there are quite a few people who are pissed about brake recalls and leaking head gaskets.

So, IOW... grow up. Buy the best car you can get for the money.... and don't be a slave to a brand...

That said, the Renault Fuego was a P.O.S. ;)

Ugliest cars:

Pontiac Aztec
The Scion xB
Honda Element
Simca 1000
Daewoo: Tico
Chevy Astro van (worst pait schemes)

In Montreal, french people used to name the "Vega"-"Dégat" (damage) and the "Astre" "Desastre" (Disaster)

How about the VW combi box(like a van) of the 60's, blew a hole in the head at 30K, tore the transmission up from using it for brakes(brakes hardly worked) at 50K, wheelbearinggs had to be replaced, windshield wipers broke, heater had to be hammered into on from underneath the car. I think the Germans must of imported them from the Yugo factory??

VIVA FIAT MULTIPLA!!

All time Ugliest cars:
Daewoo: Matiz
Daewoo: Matiz
Daewoo: Matiz

what about the adobe? German engineering and Mexican know how!

old Citroens are butt ugly
Renaults suck
the Eagle Talon - just say no
the Gremlin
anything by DaeWoo

Thankyou MR. T!!!!!

The Ford Taurus/Merc Sable has got to be one of, if not the worst car ever built. nothing on that car worked right for me.

the hood release snapped off in my hand, the car's electrical system fried my stereo, the power steering pump blew up, the brakes caught fire, the motor mount broke if you went over a speed limit, it would stall if it went into overdrive on the highway, the engine ate almost as much oil as it did gas, had to get a new tranny at 60k miles, etc, etc, etc.

The Aztec maybe be ugly, but the Taurus is truly the poster child for the *bad* car.

speed bump not limit

Hyundai Pony anyone?

NEDIRAJTE YUGA-SHINA DA VAM NE BI JEBO MATER KRVAVU U GNOJAVI CMAR MAJKU VAM AMERICKU

Remove Fiat Multipla from the list!

My dad's business had a Vega panel truck. We went out to start it one morning, and it would not go into gear. When we investigated, we found the drive shaft had been stolen! Why would someone steal a drive shaft, you may ask? We found out when we went to order a new one from Chevy: Vega drive shafts were not available as a replacement part! My family also had an American Motors Pacer; my mom was driving it down the hill from my dad's shop one morning when it came to a screeching halt because the drive shaft--fell off! I didn't see the Pacer on this list but it sure as heck should have been.

My fiero was great, v6 5-spd, got it with 100K on it for $1000, put 40K on it, all I had to do was a radiator and a clutch (~$500). The 1984 4-cyl ones were the bad ones, they fixed that but the stigma remained.

As for pushrods beeing old gas guzzling technology; OHC motors have been around just as long if not longer. Get a late model corvette with a 6spd and your looking at 29mpg!

Worst <> Ugly
I used to take taxis in Rome regulaly a few years back and was pleased when I got a multipla.

The room in the back and fact that due to the boxy shape you can see out the windows makes it a great cab.

Ugly, Ugly, Ugly
but *not* bad

I laughed out loud when I saw the genX's fixing up the AMC gremlins. When I was a kid my mom got one for her divorce 'conselation prize'. The only thing worse than having your dad leave is owning an early 70's AMC car. Ugly, unreliable, and inefficient. Someone was just getting a paycheck when they did that to us all. I buy toyotas now exclusively as a result.

Yugo is great car, and all you americans get get on yours knies and su.k my dick. All that US cars are nothing but petrol spenders.
Mine yugo goes from 0 to 100 for less than 6.7 sec. Better than much expencive UglySA or euro cars
And also one of the best serbian cars is fiat 850. Go and see for yourself sport version of that car. http://img511.imageshack.us/img511/436/sscn21890
sm.jpg

This is yugo: http://www.leksikon-yu-mitologije.net/files/juju
juju%20029.jpg

Don't forget the Pontiac Aztek

YUGO is a best car ever!
YUGO legendo!!!

The Chevy Cavalier. Bought for $1,500 bucks and lasted about 2 years with no problems.

Then it happened,the crap hit the fan:
The Alternator went.
The Brakes went going down a hill.
The door handle broke.
The Radio stopped working.

The last straw was the tranmission. It finally started to act up{lag putting it in either Park,Reverse,Drive and Neutral}

the funny thing is it never burned oil.

Also add on the list the Daewoo,the incarnation of the yugo.

I once had a '74 Pinto in high school. Ok, left stock it stank on ice. But by the time I was done with it, it was winning bracket races at the old Ontario Motor Speedway. (I won't mention the street races. Now about that Nova I won...)

Let's not forget the Oldsmobile Diesel. Lovely car. Comfortable. Air conditioner that could power a freezer. Over 20 miles per gallon. But the engine could blow head gaskets like bubbles and the fuel injection kept failing. When I tried to get rid of it, one dealer told me it had "negative value."

Any car that falls apart at 30K miles (Pinto) or rusts after 2 months of the first winter (Vega) certainly belongs on the list. Any car where you know three people who all swear at it (Pinto, Vega, Chevette) belongs on the list as well.
Any manufacturer who replaces an alltime Worst10 car line with another alltime Worst10 car (Ford, Chevrolet) deserves millions of people who will *never* set foot on one of their lots again.
Good riddance, Detroit!

Yugo is crap :)
I had Yugo for almost 10 years and it was crap!

The Big-3 automakers in Detroit couldn't make a mediocre small car in 1972 when the muscle cars of the sixties were coming to a known-end. After the gas crisis of 1974 they still couldn't make a sub-par small car.
By 1979 with the huge spike in gas prices, the Japanese cars had already been proving themselves and have deservedly owned the market ever since; going from very good to excellent to superb while American small cars under the median new car price haven't yet reached mediocre.
Chevrolet and Ford have hardly even attempted to compete by creating even an average small car with the middle-of-the-road quality of the American midsize vehicles.
It isn't enough that Ford and GM *have* improved their cars from the mid 1970s -- that is saying nothing. That their quality has gone NOWHERE in 25 years ... is saying a lot.
It hasn't even been "cheap" crap. Releasing overpriced junk for decades isn't a good way to stay in business, and it was heavily subsidized by fleet sale purchase by governmental agencies that were required to purchase American-made cars.
I'm very glad that Toyotas and Hondas are being made in this country by workers assembling well-designed cars!

I would never buy any Ford car. Until recently, however, I would buy Ford trucks. I'm on my third Ford Ranger pickup truck. I traded in my first one at 145k miles for my second one. It never had a problem. I gave the second one to my brother with 241k miles (after driving it from Sacramento to Denver). It's only problem was a chronic rough idle starting at 80k miles and it went through 4 alternators). It wasn't even burning oil! It did knock at highway speeds but that stopped when you ran it with high octane gas. I bought my third Ranger in February. It's great..... except that the engine knocks at 80 mph, the interior squeaks, there is an air leak somewhere that lets emits a high whistling sound with the A/C on. And there apparently is a bad fan motor that you can hear clattering away when max A/C is one. I will never buy another Ford vehicle. Ford deserves all the bad karma that its eventual bankruptcy gives it.

Oh my god, I remember when I was a little kid helping dad put one of MANY rows of *duct* tape on the ol Vega body which was obviously suffering from serious corrosion. Thinking about it now, they were actual HOLES all over the body! Dad is an engineer and I'm sure he wasn't thrilled about it.

I think after awhile the entire rear quarter panel was made of duct tape. I think the speedo must have failed eventually too because I remember asking dad "why the needle didn't move?"

Vega = All Time Crap Mobile

where is the Reliant supervan III..thats the one mr Bean always runs off the road with his Mini

What about the Merkur Scorpio or the XR4TI? Those cars were an electical nightmare. Not to mention hardly anyone knew how to fix them... I think the car spent more time on the lift than in my garage.

I am surprised no mention was made of the Subaru
360 series of microcars with their 360cc/2 stroke
engines.
They were tiny and rather simple, and I liked mine
despite the impossibility to get parts.
The shocked looks of other drivers made it all
worthwhile, especially when my car had 4 adults in
it and was gradually getting up to 50 MPH.
It was irrepairable, tiny, slow and ugly - but it
got over 55 MPG in the late 70's.
Also worthy of note is the Subaru Justy - oh wait,
those were great, reliable little cars, sorry !

how about a jeep? (amc )1983 almost 500,000 m on it
no rust (in ma. north east!)and sold it for almost as much as bought for!

Someone mentioned Ford Fairmont...my first car was a '78 2-door. I'm sure I was the one to ruin that car (2x totaled out)! But it sure was fun!!!

How about the Plymouth Scamp? My parents had one of these and we couldn't go anywhere without it breaking down...

Honda Accord '00 report:
Over 120 000 miles, zero mechanical failures since new. Regular maintenance. Very comfortable. Nicely appointed. Drives like a charm. Love it.
Honda Accord '90. Driven from 100 000 miles to almost 165 000. Replaced exhaust. Regular maintenance. Any Detroit car of its era did not stand a chance.

For all the people using personally abusive words:
you are the same type as the worst cars on the list.
Cars are machines. I don't follow hype. I look for one thing: quality. Found it with Honda.

I think the Yugo tops the list of the MALIGNED car ever made. And as such, it tends to top the list of 'worst cars by freelance writers who won't do their homework.' Since its introduction it was the butt of jokes, due in no small part to status seeking and material posteuring consumers of the 1980's. Plenty of people pass along outrageous anecdotal tales of how horrible these cars were, but never have I heard these first-hand from actual owners... it's always a twice-removed aunt, friend, in-law, etc who seems to have such incredibly miserable experience. Every owner I've talked to have fond memories of the car. It was economical and reliable, provided the owner followed the schedule maintanence.

As for 'sara's' "toolkit comment, every European car comes with a toolkit. The Yugo's kit was no different: jack, lug wrench, crescent wrench, spare fuses. The Yugo's kit included spare euro-spec lightbulbs which were more undoubtedly more difficult to find at your local American auto part stores in 1988. I'd chalk that up as a courteous touch on the part of the importer, not an ominous sign of repairs to come.

Both the Yugo and Maserati BiTurbo were cars of Italian design in 1988. Care to hazard a guess as to which car was more reliable and the better value for the dollar?

As for me, I bought my 1986 Yugo for $250 last year. I drove it 900 miles home in a single day without it missing a beat. This summer I drove it NYC, down to NOLA, and back home on a trip totaling nearly 3000 miles in 6 days. Speeds were anywhere from 70 mph (uphill through the Cumberland Gap) to over 100 in parts of PA, MS, and LA. When I came home, I autocrossed it. The car never missed a single beat. The amount of maintenance I have put into the drivetrain has been ZILCH. Try putting any car of similar vintage through that sort strain.

Wikipedia has a very detailed article on the Yugo, which differs quite a bit from the tone expressed in this article. I suggest the author or anybody seeking an accurate representation check it out.

Plymouth Arrow!Triangle!

I've been auto tech sense 1977. The US and all countries have made bad cars. But I am American, I drive American, And I believe IN AMERICA... I lived in the the Detroit area for 20 years and learned how much the auto industry means to the US economy. I don't care if the US makes the biggest piece of sh!t made I will buy Amarican... I have 2000 F150 with 178.000 miles on it and the worst thing that went wrong was one sensor on the engine and cost me less then $25.00 to repair.... If you love your Jap crap SO MUCH YOU SHOULD MOVE THERE.

No mention of the Ford Grenada? -- A car that you literally could not steer, you could only "point it" in the direction you wanted it to go. The steering had 90 degrees of play -- that is, you could turn it from the 10 o'clock position on the left to the two o'clock position on the right and the direction of the steering wheels would not move. Couple this with the front end that would not stay in the direction you pointed it -- it wobbled back and forth -- meant that you were constantly jerking back and forth on the steering wheel to try to keep it tame and in the lane you were supposed to be in.

Oh, and did I tell you that the day my Mom bought it (I drove it second-hand from her) it rained and the next day there were puddles of rust under it where the quarter panels ended? Don't forget the vinyl roof that cracked and peeled off in big blotches. Or the plastic bezel around the speedometer that constantly squeaked as it rubbed against the clear plastic you looked through which resembled, felt like, and squeaked like, the same plastic as found in clear plastic drinking cups.

Lada weren't such bad car, many Canadians love them because they are designed for colder climates.

Domestic (American) vehicles have been largely garbage since the 80's. Not all, but the majority. Lots of problems, mostly motor, suspension and trans.

Japanese cars are better, the motors run forever, but if something goes wrong, the parts are expensive. Many times the body is cheaply made too, but not as bad as American cars.

Worst car ever is obviously the Edsel, don't know why it isn't on this list. Other honorable mentions include the Pontiac Sunfire, any Ford (or Mercury) built after 1972, Kia anything, and any Neon.

Fugliest Cars: #5: Hummer H2 #4:VW New Beetle (some may disagree) #3 PT Cruiser #2 Fiat Multipla (I want one! With a flame paint job and spinners lol) and #1 The F-ing Aztec.

JM, You miss the point. We all know Datsun was only a temporary moniker for US sales of Nissan. The point is, there are virtually no cars left out of all of the ones sold with the Datsun brand name affxed to them. Don't call people an idiots for failing to state the obvious.

The titles "Cost" and "Benefits" on the ford pinto chart are in the wrong places. They show costs (137M) higher than benefits (49M).

My vote would have to be for the AMC Pacer...looked like a fishbowl on wheels.

Vega, by far the worst car I am embarrassed to admit , I owned. Desperate for a car and a med student, I bought it at night. The next day, I saw all the smoke from the burning oil. Eventuallt added plug extenders so the plugs would not foul and got rid of the car.

Hey jm, the new 350z is JUNK. I have 3 friends who bought them, 2 returned them, one of those having to sign an agreement with Nissan never to buy another Nissan product. The one remaining owner hates the POS. Nothing but problems... oil spraying out of the engine... magically loosening rear axles... random stalling...windows and doorlocks not working properly... Fd up rear suspension geometry (go check it yourself)kills your tires...and FYI lost 3 times to a stock 2002 Mustang GT on the track. Sorry if I ruined your stiffy for that POS but those are the facts. It does look cool tho....

Why is noone mentioning newer model Mercedes Benz? I don't know a single person that owns one that doesn't have it in the shop AT LEAST once a month if not more. Not the crap C class either, I mean the S500 and S600. Americans think they are fancy pants driving these overpriced pieces of crap around. My bosses S600 spends more time in the shop than on the road... Not that American or Japanese cars are any better these days, but come on for something thats $100k you'd kind of think it would be reliable. Same with Range Rovers... blech

(Ivan Serbia wrote) "Yugo is great car... Mine yugo goes from 0 to 100 for less than 6.7 sec."

Are you trying to say that it runs for less that 6.7 seconds or does 0-100 ft. in that time?
I'm not mocking your "Engrish", just your judgment and honesty. The only way a yugo would go 0-100 in 6.7 seconds is:
1.) off a vertical cliff
2.) if it was being towed by a Made-by-God-in-the-USA Chrysler Hemi-powered tow truck.

Ass-tek, by far the ugliest car EVER, with the Avalanche (pregnant asstek)right behind. The dealer in this town had a bunch or ass-teks that got so many derisive comments he parked them on the lot BEHIND the dealership. He was trying to sell them below his cost and finally ended up sending them back to pontiac after 2 years. GM referred to them as "the Ha-ha car" & virtually gave them to their employees just to get them out of the storage yards.

The 86' Fiero GT is a great car. I've owned one since 91' till the present. Over 230,000 miles and has been cheap and reliable. Has great lines and a strong V6. I have to say the scion is one of the ugliest things on the road today.

I personally have 2 84 pontiac fiero's, both of which have had the recall safety shields in place. Other than a broken ball join on one, bother are excellent and reliable cars, with mileage on one being 175K and the other being 186K. The fiero spawned many innovations in the 2-seater industry, and nearly every review of it gave much higher scores then thier asian counterparts such as the MR2. The fiero was also GM's first vehicle to achieve a 5-star front impact safty rating. Possibly consider driving a car before deciding if it is on a "worst of" list.

You missed the Alfa Romeo ARNA that brought shame on Alfa's designers...
http://www.ratdat.com/history/1973to1982/ima
ges/1982_n12_arna.jpg

The Fiat is great. If they sold them here I would buy one. It is my dream machine. Yes it is ugly, but not as ugly as most American cars currently on the market. The Fiats bad taste front end works if you don't want to find your car missing, being taken for a joyride by teenagers. Joyriding teens will NOT want to be seen in this car!

The post about the MB is interesting. Everyone I know who owns an MB is not happy with the quality in many catagories.

Man it seems that list was way too short and the readers have added to it. I agree with the readers that the Aztec was the ugliest. You missed the classic Edsul, which was massively underpowered. My brother had the first Honda Odisy mini van when it came out. It was the Honda Civic station wagon with about a foot more headroom and the seating changed to seat 7. The problem is they could only average about 170lbs or you exceeded the maximum weight capacity. It still had the same 2.2l engine that could not tow anything either. They had left the same engine and suspension from the Civic.

Do you know why Yugo have heaters on back window?
To warm hands of the people who pushing it

2000SunfireGT is by far the worst car i have ever had the curse to own. Stut mounts replaced 3 times. onboard computer replaced 2 times. Driver side window dosen't roll down most of the time. Stupid dummy lights going off all the time in my dash. Back drums even new sound like crap even after they are machined. Or did I say Strut mounts? lol

Never buy a sunfire again, I don't care if they give me one for free!

Or the most reliable car I had was a 1985 Dodge Aries retired it with 400k KM on it. Thing was a mini tank never got stuck in the winter with that thing hehe...

Oh yea one last comment on the jap cars. Yea they might be more reliable but common guys they all look like shit. I have never seen a nice looking jap car. Why can't they make a nice looking car?

Look for the Dodge Caravan on the top of the next future list. Looks nice, but it's junk.

My first car was a 63 Corvair, which was a great car. I also bought a 73 Vega and only drove it 12 miles before junking it.

Maybe the finest car ever made was my 87 Honda CRX-HF. The engine was purposely detuned (65 HP), but it was geared so high it would do 45 in 1st, 70 in 2nd, 105 in 3rd. I never was able to wind it out in 4th or 5th. An honest 52 MPG highway, and you could thrash it like a maniac around town and still get 40 MPG. Tons of legroom since it had no back seat, and you could haul some incredibly huge things through the rear hatch. I once brought home a 7-foot curved glass antique curio cabinet - the guy who sold it to me could not believe it would fit in that tiny car. I drove the CRX for 13 years with 0 problems and sold it to a kid who still drives it daily.

Currently driving a 90 Miata with 34k original miles - still looks fresh off the showroom floor.

Jap cars are the best, especially the ones that are built in Japan. Order a new Accord with the 4cyl/5-speed, and you get one built in Japan, not Ohio.

The Multipla doesn't belong in this list. I wouldn't drive it in a fit but that doesn't stop it being a good car.

The Multipla was a great car. This story was written by an amateur.

My history:
72 Celica - owned 13 years
85 Celica Hatchback - owned 14 years
99 Camry - still driving

Need I say more? Toyotas are great!

Its no about making a hit its about making good cars.
if you want a good north american car you have to spend a lot of money and when you buy a jap car you can buy the cheapest one and you still get top quality cars. Toyota 4 Life.

All things considered, it's the care and driving habits that determine how many miles a person can get out of a vehicle. Now that I've said that, I will also say that given proper care Japenese vehicles have given me the most miles for the bucks. I've had a lot of cars and pickups through the years. I currently have a Toyota, a Mazda pickup (Ford) and an old 1930 Ford Model A. Now there was and is a car! No plastic in those days.

73 Vega GT - one of the funnest cars I've ever owned.
Yes, it was rust prone ... but so were most of the cars of that era.
And it probably burned as much oil as gas, because of an idiotic attempt at an all-aluminum engine.
But both of those problems could have been easily corrected.
There's no way the Vega belongs in this list.

Oh yeah, forgot about my Mercury Mecure (my mechanic called it a Merc manure!). Blew the new automatic window mechanism about 5 min. after install, one little thing after another until it just gave up the ghost on my way to work one day. I'd had it for 3 months...

Let's not forget the Pontiac Astre (Vega's uglier cousin) or the Mustang II-and what about the Dodge Charger 2+2?

I had 3 pintos and 2 vegas in the 80's. the whole 'exploding pinto' thing was a flaw ONLY in the 1971 and '72. You're right-they opted not to recall them-but they did change the design for '73 and never had another problem. If you ever get a chance to drive a Cosworth Pinto, take it.

Also, if anyone is interested, the one millionth Vega-noted as such on the door handles, engine tag, registration and a dashboard plaque-is alive and rusting here in Victoria BC. A guy I met when I worked in gas stations still drives it everyday!!

Incidently, my ak47 was made by Zastava, makers of the Yugo, and it works flawlessly...

for that man u dont have to wory it will work too the 3000 :D only if u have amo for that long :D

The Corvair didn't have any problem the Volkswagon or Porsche didn't also have with it rear engine design. Nader was just an opportunist that wrote a book. I had 5 Vegas and I loved every one of them - including a 1975 Cosworth Vega #628 that was beautiful black and gold and would beat the Camaro's and Trans Ams'! You just had to take better care of them than people were used to doing back then. You couldn't run them low on oil or water and you had to keep the oil changed. In 1975 they came out with the Durabuilt engine that used hardened cylinder walls and reduced the oil burning problem. My Dad's boss had a 1978 Accord that had front fenders that flapped when he drove because of all the rust, so the Vega didn't own the poor quality title. If I could find a nice Vega with low miles, I would probably buy it just for nostalgia. The hatchback style was really pretty sporty and the GT stripes made it look nice. The GT package gave you suspension upgrades as well as the 2 barrel carb someone else mentioned. My favorite other than the Cosworth was a '76 GT Hatchback with factory 5-speed. It was dark blue with black interior and white stripes and got a lot of positive comments. It got up to 42 miles per gallon on the highway. Main problem was the exhaust always clunked against the rear-end no matter what I did! Anyway, I think most cars will give good service if you take good care of them, but a well designed car will take more abuse and keep on going, and since most people don't want to bother with maintenance, design flaws show up more quickly on a car such as the Vega.