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The 10 Worst Cars - Ever!
- Thread starter blujax01
- Start date
REM 3200
US Veteran
1986 Oldsmobile Cutlass Cierra a real piece o ........... rubbish! I will never own another Oldsmobile
Now there's a good bet.
feralmerril
Absent Comrade
So whats the 10 best cars? Why cant a car be built from a survey where mechanics do the imput of their opinions of the best engine, transmission, brakes, etc? Why do they always change whats proven good? I like trucks and have two at the moment. Why did chev and gmc phase out the 350 and go to a smaller less powerfull engine that gives no better gas mileage?
All the companys build vehicles that look like the other companys. Mini vans, now all the crossovers. None of them seem to be indivigalist, and if they do make a new style and it catchs on the other companys copycat it. I think the murango was the first crossover and now every maker has one.
Actualy I have had great mechanical luck with all my vehicles through the years. I have only bought a couple new vehicles in my life. I have never had a engine, transmission or anything major blow or go out.
All the companys build vehicles that look like the other companys. Mini vans, now all the crossovers. None of them seem to be indivigalist, and if they do make a new style and it catchs on the other companys copycat it. I think the murango was the first crossover and now every maker has one.
Actualy I have had great mechanical luck with all my vehicles through the years. I have only bought a couple new vehicles in my life. I have never had a engine, transmission or anything major blow or go out.
speedshooter
Member
When i was young and crazy(and had more cash to spend before getting married) I had a 69 SS Chevelle 600+ HP..not real good in the winter so
I bought a 180 Spyder as a "winter beater" for something like $300.00 man that thing was fast heater sucked though...was fun to surprise the chargers and stuff with it..used to go out on the frozen lake and just have a blast with it..AH!!!THOSE WERE THE DAYS!
Chev made a BRILLIANT decision to make diesel engines by installing high compression heads on their small block, I had friends who had one and the thing didn't last 25000 miles. Genuine ***. And where is the Rambler American?? Where is the AMC Matador??
Sebago Son
Member
I remember buying a 140 Corsa convertible from a scrap yard about 50 miles away.... (when you buy Corvair parts, word get around). I think I paid $300 for the car, running and driving. Was about 1985 as I recall. Went to the yard, paid the man and started driving the trip home. Before I got there I had to stop three times to crimp off a broken brake line. Limped into the yard with one drum still working....
But man, I had the top down, the 8-track playing Led Zeppelin III to the smell of burning oil and high octane... I was on top of the world!
But man, I had the top down, the 8-track playing Led Zeppelin III to the smell of burning oil and high octane... I was on top of the world!
BoDog
Member
Drove a friends Corvair Spuder around a road course once. It went like a bat out of hell, but would get front end lite at speed on the strait ways and the rear would try to get loose in the corners. Hot but no thanks.
Sebago Son
Member
FIAT!
Lefty, I had a 1978 Fiat Spyder. White with a tan top and interior. You are right! It was a very handsome car... I had alot of fun with that machine until I broke down on the L.I. Expressway trying to catch the ferry out of Orient Point.... the electric fuel pump packed it in.... Luckily I was still close to Babylon and you could actually see a car parts store from where I broke down. I left my buddy with the broken down Fiat, jumped the fence, walked over to the parts store and bought a new MOOG electric fuel pump, which bolted right up. Seems that a previous owner had the same problem....
I used to carry tools, another fuel pump, oil, plugs and wires, a distributor cap and a spare accelerator cable wherever I went and became quite proficient in changing them out by the side of the road.
Was a fun car, and I drove it for several years but when the front cross member finally gave out, it totaled the otherwise fine, but finicky car. There were no new front crossmembers available and this was a stamped metal design. That simple fact killed alot of 124/128 Fiats in New England....
Drew.
Lefty, I had a 1978 Fiat Spyder. White with a tan top and interior. You are right! It was a very handsome car... I had alot of fun with that machine until I broke down on the L.I. Expressway trying to catch the ferry out of Orient Point.... the electric fuel pump packed it in.... Luckily I was still close to Babylon and you could actually see a car parts store from where I broke down. I left my buddy with the broken down Fiat, jumped the fence, walked over to the parts store and bought a new MOOG electric fuel pump, which bolted right up. Seems that a previous owner had the same problem....
I used to carry tools, another fuel pump, oil, plugs and wires, a distributor cap and a spare accelerator cable wherever I went and became quite proficient in changing them out by the side of the road.
Was a fun car, and I drove it for several years but when the front cross member finally gave out, it totaled the otherwise fine, but finicky car. There were no new front crossmembers available and this was a stamped metal design. That simple fact killed alot of 124/128 Fiats in New England....
Drew.
7shooter
Member
The 1971 Vega was Motor Trends Car of the year. I bought one. It really was the worst car I have ever owned. It was so noisy you couldn't hear passengers in the back seat. There were pockets in the front fenders that collected salt from the streets and quickly rusted out. Worst of all they had inadequate cooling systems which shortly caused the aluminum engines to fail. Chevy initially refused to accept responsibility for the engine failure but eventually did. I sold the car cheaply to the teenage son of a colleague who promptly rolled it over totalling it. He wasn't hurt badly but the Vega mercifully was out of its misery.
Ah, memories. Had a ' 77 AMC Rambler from when the govt. was propping the company up; a 360 V8 and the suspension of a Radio Flyer. The only thing on it that consistently worked was the rear window defroster. When the great day came it had to be towed off.
Maybe that's why I don't quite trust Mitt.
I had bad luck with cars in the early '80s; an '81 Rabbit (a real ***) and a '81 Escort. The Escort (chosen by my wife; I came home one day to find it in my driveway on trial) was so gutless it was terrifying.
Needless to say I haven't darkened any GM, Chrysler, Ford, or VW showrooms in a LONG time.
Maybe that's why I don't quite trust Mitt.
I had bad luck with cars in the early '80s; an '81 Rabbit (a real ***) and a '81 Escort. The Escort (chosen by my wife; I came home one day to find it in my driveway on trial) was so gutless it was terrifying.
Needless to say I haven't darkened any GM, Chrysler, Ford, or VW showrooms in a LONG time.
You left off a really obvious one.
When I met Missus P&R Fan, on October 16, 1987 (How many of you guys can remember the exact date you met your Wife?) she was driving a poop brown '80 Vette. That was a piece of garbage!
No, No, No, not what you're thinking! It was a CHEvette.
I almost didn't go out with her when I found out what she drove.
(Almost).
Jim
When I met Missus P&R Fan, on October 16, 1987 (How many of you guys can remember the exact date you met your Wife?) she was driving a poop brown '80 Vette. That was a piece of garbage!
No, No, No, not what you're thinking! It was a CHEvette.
I almost didn't go out with her when I found out what she drove.
(Almost).
Jim
Bell Charter Oak Holsters
Member
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Hey Drew;
I would have pushed it off the ferry. Never thought of that.
Cheers;
Lefty
5-Shot
Member
I'm with Jag on this one. The list's bogus without a Renault Dauphine. I'd trade three Renaults for any other car on the list, even up. Don't ask how I know.
Ed
Ed
Yes, My BAD, only had one qt of coffee.
The Vega sounded like a sowing machine (it was the aluminum block engine yes??) The Corvair was the Nader car, but did have some features that were innovative for whatever it was worth,
Marshwheeling
Member
A local guy once bought a boatload of Dauphines. They were cheap, because the ship had sunk and the cars had spent several days submerged in salt water.
With some effort, he was able to clean most of them up and get them running. Sure, he sold them cheap. But after a few months, you started to see a bunch of brokeback Renaults running around town. The unibodies would rust through, and the floors bagan to separate from the firewalls.
That debacle was pretty much forgotten by the time Le Car came around. That seemed like decent car in clear, dry weather. Any moisture or cold weather would sideline it. My Sister-in-law had one that ran about three days a week in wintertime, until the really cold weather hit in January. Then she rode the bus to work until late March.
Let's see... I learned to drive in mom's 1958 Edsel Corsair 4-door. It was ugly, and a sales disaster, but it was actually a very reliable car, taking the family on summer trips from California to Utah to Alberta and back for years. It finally died with well over hundred thousand on the clock. It blew a head gasket and mom didn't know it. Don't know if the idiot light went on or not, but the engine fried. Mom's one of those "know where the key and the gas go" types. I kid you not, I asked her one time what kind of car she drove and she said "blue". She couldn't even tell me the BRAND, let alone the model, even though she'd driven a Ford (or Mercury) for 30 years.
When the Edsel died, dad got mom a brand new Ford Pinto, in which I took my driver's exam. What a pile of guano. After replacing the valve body in the transmission for the third time and the thing still didn't shift right, I in my youthful innocence told the service manager that maybe the problem wasn't the valve body, but something else? I was told that I wasn't a "trained, certified mechanic" and what could I possibly know about it.
When I turned 18, by this time dad didn't work at the Ford dealer anymore, so I went to brand X for a car and got... a Chevy Vega. Which proceeded to throw a rod out the side of the block after 19 months; warranty having expired 7 months prior. I ended up taking up the garage for about three months and putting in a 215CI aluminum V-8 from a 1962 Olds. That way I didn't have to change the rear-end like you did if you put in a 327 or 350 Chev, because the spider gears on a Vega rear-end were about the size of a walnut. It ran REAL good after that. With the stock 2.73 highway gears, it was a freeway flier.
Ah, teenager-hood. When regular was 49.9 and I had hair down to my shoulders.
When the Edsel died, dad got mom a brand new Ford Pinto, in which I took my driver's exam. What a pile of guano. After replacing the valve body in the transmission for the third time and the thing still didn't shift right, I in my youthful innocence told the service manager that maybe the problem wasn't the valve body, but something else? I was told that I wasn't a "trained, certified mechanic" and what could I possibly know about it.
When I turned 18, by this time dad didn't work at the Ford dealer anymore, so I went to brand X for a car and got... a Chevy Vega. Which proceeded to throw a rod out the side of the block after 19 months; warranty having expired 7 months prior. I ended up taking up the garage for about three months and putting in a 215CI aluminum V-8 from a 1962 Olds. That way I didn't have to change the rear-end like you did if you put in a 327 or 350 Chev, because the spider gears on a Vega rear-end were about the size of a walnut. It ran REAL good after that. With the stock 2.73 highway gears, it was a freeway flier.
Ah, teenager-hood. When regular was 49.9 and I had hair down to my shoulders.
Bought a used 68 vw bus when I was a kid,ran good in the snow and off road.Would do maybe 35 mph uphill.Had one cylinder that ran hot.Owned it 3 years and rebuilt the engine twice lol.Bought toyota and ford trucks after that.
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NCTexan
US Veteran
I just saw a TV commercial for what has the potential of making the list very quickly... at least based on it's good looks and stellar brand history.
Presenting.... The 2012 Fiat 500.
Presenting.... The 2012 Fiat 500.
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LVSteve
Member
My late wie had a Ford Tempo long before we met. She had a bunch of horror stories about that lemon. It was one of those cars that would mysteriously die as you tried to get across an intersection. It seems that many cars of the 80's had those odd electrical gremlins that could never be fully hunted down. It finally died after she moved to Las Vegas and she bought a Mazda 6 2-door, a very reliable vehicle.
My first boss was owed $500 by an unemployed customer who just happened to own two 'running condition' inspected Yugo GV's and had three more as parts cars. The boss was a bit of a cheapskate and figured he'd save a lot on gas, so he took the Yugos as payment. I told him not to do it because You go (walking) because the cars don't go.
When I saw him show up at work in a cream white Yugo, I about.. well.. Any how; right of the bat the car started to overheat. With just 18K on the odometer it had a head gasket failure. Paid a mechanic to put the a spare HG that was in the 'spare parts' cache. Car ran another week, the the head cracked. He transferred the pates to running Yugo # 2 a tan and brown monstrosity. It had unknown mileage because the speedometer/odometer had died at 8,500 or so miles.
He drove the tan Yugo for about two weeks. Put about a quart of oil a day in the darn thing because the rear main seal was shot. Finally the head gasket blew on that one. Boss had it changed out for the last spare plus used a spare head off one of the junkers that had spun a main bearing at 20K or so miles.
A few days later the pressure plate for the clutch broke stranding my boss in the middle of nowhere. You'd figure he would give up. Nope, the stubborn guy had it towed and then swapped the engine out of that Yugo into the white one he started with!. He drove his Yugo for about one more week until the head cracked. He was out of spare heads and none were to be found. Sold his Yugo collection to the scrap yard for $100.
I see him every now and then. Always ask him if he remembers what YUGO stands for.
When I saw him show up at work in a cream white Yugo, I about.. well.. Any how; right of the bat the car started to overheat. With just 18K on the odometer it had a head gasket failure. Paid a mechanic to put the a spare HG that was in the 'spare parts' cache. Car ran another week, the the head cracked. He transferred the pates to running Yugo # 2 a tan and brown monstrosity. It had unknown mileage because the speedometer/odometer had died at 8,500 or so miles.
He drove the tan Yugo for about two weeks. Put about a quart of oil a day in the darn thing because the rear main seal was shot. Finally the head gasket blew on that one. Boss had it changed out for the last spare plus used a spare head off one of the junkers that had spun a main bearing at 20K or so miles.
A few days later the pressure plate for the clutch broke stranding my boss in the middle of nowhere. You'd figure he would give up. Nope, the stubborn guy had it towed and then swapped the engine out of that Yugo into the white one he started with!. He drove his Yugo for about one more week until the head cracked. He was out of spare heads and none were to be found. Sold his Yugo collection to the scrap yard for $100.
I see him every now and then. Always ask him if he remembers what YUGO stands for.
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