Let's make a list of the 10 worst GM cars ever

[Chuck1986]

Alright, here's something fun: Let's make a list of the 10 worst GM cars of all time. Just some food for thought, how about their attempt at an all aluminum engine (in the Vega) that had aluminum cylinder liners - those things became rolling smoke bombs by 30k miles.

Oh and how about the Corvair? That was a DEATH machine - the heater switch should have been known as the carbon monoxide switch. More recently, how about GM's attempt at the "hot rod truck" with the SSR? One of my all-time favorites was the $30k Cavalier known as the Cadillac Cimmeron. The list of GM washouts is endless...post your thoughts so we can assemble our list. (No offense intended if you currently own a GM.)

 

[rjundi]

Mostly all of the cars of the early - mid 80's. However this was not concentric to GM only.

I will say after driving a Cadillac CTS recently I was very impressed what GM can produce.

 

[ALS]

My family had Corviar's when I was growing up and they were pretty much problem free.

 

[MrCritical]

Ever heard of mitsubishisucks.com? Makes for an interesting read.

 

[Spitty]

I will let others make the list, I'm sure it will be long, but GM have made a lot of cars and not all of them were Lemons. But lets face it, it's the Chevy Vega's and Olds Diesels that one remembers. Personally I think if GM had not made some GOOD cars in the 60's 70's and achived some Brand Loyalty they would be out of the passenger car business long ago. But what gets me, back in the 70's when the Vega came along, GM were producing perfectly good small engines at the Vauxhall and Opel subsidiaries, Why do they have to reinvent the wheel AND let the public do the R&D

 

[simple_gifts]

Seems like there is more malice in this thread than good natured fun....

 

[JustinH]

I think the SSR is a great niche car.

Plenty of old guys drive them around and treat them like corvettes.

I'm not a big fan of the korean built chevy aveo.

 

[Auto-Union]

Don't get me started on Mitsu. Battan Death March was strait to the Mitsu facory. Still a pending Federal lawsuit against them by US POWs. Other Japanese companies settled their reparations, not Mitsu.

 

[JTK]

It's tough to come up with 10 for any manufacturer, but..
1) Vega
2) Chevette
3) Citation
have to be way up there for the General.

Joel

 

[Spitty]

Personally I don't count the Chevette as bad car, O.K. it was cheap basic transportation and for the first few years of production they had Bugs to be worked out (rear springs and brakes) but after that they seemed to hold together pretty good for a cheap car, I still see one or two on the road today.
My father had a 77 Pontiac Ventura, That was really junk!

 

[Chris142]

Anything with a 4.1,4.5 or 4.9L engine.

 

[heath1]

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My family had Corviar's when I was growing up and they were pretty much problem free.

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+1 thanks ralph nader

 

[rriddle3]

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Anything with a 4.1,4.5 or 4.9L engine.

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Which vehicles were these used in?

 

[Chris142]

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Anything with a 4.1,4.5 or 4.9L engine.

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Which vehicles were these used in?

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Cattlecraps.

 

[santiago]

1. Corvair
2. Vega
3. Anything with the 350 diesel

 

[mrsilv04]

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Anything with a 4.1,4.5 or 4.9L engine.

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Which vehicles were these used in?

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Mostly Cadillacs.

 

[Brogy]

My dad bought a pontiac phoenix new a long long time ago, and he cant get over how bad that car was. There was a problem with the car, I think it was one of their first FWD cars, and when he was turning one day, the car spun out of control and did a 360. He took it to pontiac, and they told him it must be his fault, because he was a young and inexperienced driver.

Also something (I forget what) kept breaking, and each time he had to pay out of pocket to get it fixed. Finally GM issued a recall, and they refused to reimburse him for the times he had to pay for their mistake.

 

[ekpolk]

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Anything with a 4.1,4.5 or 4.9L engine.

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I'm no big GM fan, but my son (age 19) is presently the happy owner of a 1987 Cadillac Seville with the 4.1L V-8. This engine certainly is reputed to have its issues, but all I can say is that the car runs absolutely beautifully for a 21 year car of any make. It has the goofy hard plastic accessories that plagued so many cars of that vintage, but virtually everything works, just fine. Even the multi-function trip computer and display are working. The only feature, knock on wood, that has gone out is the power antenna for the stereo. A few months ago, that started running constantly, and we had to pull its fuse (thankfully, it has its own) to keep from killing the battery. I've got to give this 4.1L GM car at a B+ overall (and probably an A- were it not for the silly overdone "styling").

EDIT: And for the record, as most can probably figure from my avatar, my wife and I currently own Toyotas, though I'm not an apologist for that brand either.

 

[ekpolk]

The other thing I'll hasten to add is that we're watching this thread very closely. Facially, there's nothing wrong with such a list (or one asking about Ford, Nissan, Toyota, etc.), but historically, such threads don't take long to turn ugly. Please don't be the one who goes there...

 

[XS650]

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My dad bought a pontiac phoenix new a long long time ago, and he cant get over how bad that car was. ...

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It was a badge engineered Chevy Citation, which was already nominated for honors. It was bad enough that another nomination won't hurt.

I wanted to like them, but one test drive was enough.

There weren't that many totally bad GM cars. It was mostly a case of an otherwise fair to middlin' cars with some major flaw. GM seems to release a lot of engine on the public that should have never left their proving ground.

We are their engine beta testers.

Vega engine, Olds diesels, Cadillac 8-6-4-0 engines, early Corvair...