my wife had a tempo that wasnt too bad. Not a problem with it. I would say the worst car I have ever owned was in 1996, I was a college student, husband and father badly strapped for cash, I bought an 1985 Olds cutlass supreme from this old lady down the street from me (nice 500.00 car I thought) It had 56K miles on it but dang was it a ***. I had to strategically time every movement with that car. It accelerated soooo slowly I was threatened by people behind me all the time (really physically threatened LOL). The brakes sucked and when I went to fill it up when I got it, I couldnt understand why it got such poor gas mileage, Well it was because if you put anymore than 5 gallons in it, it would leak out of the tank. GOOD GOD I am lucky I never blew up!
Poll; Worst car by Detroit
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Funny, but I seem to recall that at one time that vintage Cutlass was at the top of the most stolen vehicle list.
I don't care what you say, the AMC Pacer was a good car!
Too bad Yugos were built in the Warsaw Pact instead of Motown; they would win this category hands down.
Too bad Yugos were built in the Warsaw Pact instead of Motown; they would win this category hands down.
The Chevrolet Chevette (the "Vette") is most definitely not one of the worst cars produced in Detroit! Having said that,it also was not one of the most refined cars either - but it was extremely rugged and dependable. My family owned 3 of them.
Not really applicable to the topic but well-deserving of a dishonorable mention.
Late 1980s Isuzu pick-up... with the diesel engine.
Not mine but used it now and then.
Trying to drive on California's roads was an adventure in a vehicle that was soooooo slooooooow.......
"How slow was it?" the crowd cries out.
Well..... entering the freeway on a lengthy on-ramp that had a down grade to it..... I barely reached 45 mph when even a very slow car would have reached 70 or 80 mph.
Yes.... it WAS that slow.
Flat land..... moving at 55 mph. Floor it and hang on.... and on.... and on. In a couple minutes the speedometer would indicate 70 mph. Yep..... that critter revved so sloooooow it took a couple minutes to add 15 mph.
Sooooooo slooooooooow the truck was actually dangerous to drive.
No torque, either. Add a 200 pound load and the truck was obviously slower.
The one plus was excellent mileage. Flat ground at 55 mph in 5th gear.... heckaroni, the sloooooow beast sipped diesel to the tune of 48 mpg.
Still, so slooooooooooow you could die of old age waiting for it to accelerate.
Late 1980s Isuzu pick-up... with the diesel engine.
Not mine but used it now and then.
Trying to drive on California's roads was an adventure in a vehicle that was soooooo slooooooow.......
"How slow was it?" the crowd cries out.
Well..... entering the freeway on a lengthy on-ramp that had a down grade to it..... I barely reached 45 mph when even a very slow car would have reached 70 or 80 mph.
Yes.... it WAS that slow.
Flat land..... moving at 55 mph. Floor it and hang on.... and on.... and on. In a couple minutes the speedometer would indicate 70 mph. Yep..... that critter revved so sloooooow it took a couple minutes to add 15 mph.
Sooooooo slooooooooow the truck was actually dangerous to drive.
No torque, either. Add a 200 pound load and the truck was obviously slower.
The one plus was excellent mileage. Flat ground at 55 mph in 5th gear.... heckaroni, the sloooooow beast sipped diesel to the tune of 48 mpg.
Still, so slooooooooooow you could die of old age waiting for it to accelerate.
Chevy Vega. Good day sir.
The first car I ever owned was a 1968 Pontiac Firebird with the 6 cylinder OHC engine. While Firebirds were good cars that OHC engine was a real ***. It was underpowered, thirsty and burned oil. It was also very troublesome. Thank God I only paid 500 for it and I sold it to a junkyard for 75 a year or so later.
The problem with the Caddy 8/6/4 was that it turned into an 8/6/4/0 and stuck in zero mode.
One of GM's many examples of using their customers as Beta testers for their new engines.
As per above, Dodge Aspen/Plymouth Volare
- Chevette ('vette). Cheap to own (we had a '76) but horrible brakes and mightily underpowered.
- Granada
- X body FWD cars from GM. Those couldn't get to the crusher fast enough
- Cadillac Cimarron (someone needed a cuff on the side of the head for THAT one)
- Chevette ('vette). Cheap to own (we had a '76) but horrible brakes and mightily underpowered.
- Granada
- X body FWD cars from GM. Those couldn't get to the crusher fast enough
- Cadillac Cimarron (someone needed a cuff on the side of the head for THAT one)
The Chrysler Cordoba. I inherited a 1976 Cordoba when my father passed away. It had just 11,000 miles on it in 1983. It swilled gas at 10 mpg and I swear that car knew when my payday was! It would crap out some component every other week. It got so bad my wife and I would not discuss finances when we were in that car.
Did the Cordoba have that "rich Corinthian Leather"? How could one fight when sitting on that?
Seems half of cars I've owned sucked in one way or another.
This has certainly been a lively discussion. My initial nomination of the Ford Maverick was based on a near death experience when trying to pass an 18 wheeler going 45mph in a 60, and the subsequent mechanical problems that just wouldn't quit.
NJC brought to mind the GM X Cars. I had one of those dogs...the infamous Pontiac Phoenix. I must have replaced the oxygen sensor a dozen times because the vehicle had a nasty habit of stalling out at the worst possible times. Like in intersections. The dealer finally took it back after the Pontiac rep intervened. They put me in a Grand Prix with a great deal, and this was a great car.
NJC brought to mind the GM X Cars. I had one of those dogs...the infamous Pontiac Phoenix. I must have replaced the oxygen sensor a dozen times because the vehicle had a nasty habit of stalling out at the worst possible times. Like in intersections. The dealer finally took it back after the Pontiac rep intervened. They put me in a Grand Prix with a great deal, and this was a great car.
As a car lover, there are some listed here that was good if you got the right trim line and motor. The Chevy Citation could be had as an X-11...very fun and fast for what it was at the time. Chevy Vega was awesome if you had the Crosworth version (had a DOHC motor, very rare and worth alot of money now) The Ford Mustang II with the Cobra 302 V-8 wasn't too bad. The Maverick with the Hugger package was nice, had a 302 V-8. And the Dodge Omni with the right motor and manual trans with good to (I think it was the GLH) And AMC had some real nice muscle cars (Javlin-AMX-Rebel). My vote would have to be the K car....I hated it.
I guess I will be the first to nominate a more modern vehicle (I am only 21 so havent had much experience with 80's cars).
1996-1999 Dodge/Plymouth Neon. Peeling paint, blown headgaskets, 3 speed hydraulic automatic, etc. I had a 1999 DOHC 5 speed. 68k miles when I traded it and it needed a ton of work. Headgasket, rocker arms, hydraulic lash adjusters, taillights filled with water when it rained, water leaked in through the frameless windows, cracked exhaust manifold, the passenger window would not seal unless you rolled it down and back up, the entire exhaust system was rusted out (this was a car that spent almost all of its life in Florida).
Most of those problems were quite common. My car was to the point that you would start it, it would stumble bad until warm, you could hear ticking from the cracked exhaust manifold until warm, then once warm the hydraulic lash adjusters would cause an aweful valvetrain knock (common problem on the DOHC). On top of that, Chryco decided to use a serpentine belt for I believe the a/c and a V-belt for the power steering and alternator, anytime it rained anything more then a sprinkle I always planned on losing my power steering and alternator anytime I hit any small puddle. It was always interesting to drive in the rain in that ***.
The only upside to that car was it was a hoot to drive and the chassis and interior were solid as a rock. 0 squeaks and rattles from the interior.
1996-1999 Dodge/Plymouth Neon. Peeling paint, blown headgaskets, 3 speed hydraulic automatic, etc. I had a 1999 DOHC 5 speed. 68k miles when I traded it and it needed a ton of work. Headgasket, rocker arms, hydraulic lash adjusters, taillights filled with water when it rained, water leaked in through the frameless windows, cracked exhaust manifold, the passenger window would not seal unless you rolled it down and back up, the entire exhaust system was rusted out (this was a car that spent almost all of its life in Florida).
Most of those problems were quite common. My car was to the point that you would start it, it would stumble bad until warm, you could hear ticking from the cracked exhaust manifold until warm, then once warm the hydraulic lash adjusters would cause an aweful valvetrain knock (common problem on the DOHC). On top of that, Chryco decided to use a serpentine belt for I believe the a/c and a V-belt for the power steering and alternator, anytime it rained anything more then a sprinkle I always planned on losing my power steering and alternator anytime I hit any small puddle. It was always interesting to drive in the rain in that ***.
The only upside to that car was it was a hoot to drive and the chassis and interior were solid as a rock. 0 squeaks and rattles from the interior.
Quit making fun of those GMC X cars, kids.
They were great fun at the wrecking yard.
We'd cut them in half, behind the front seat, then drive around the yard, the floor pan scraping along at the rear while the FWD pulled and steered.
Drove the boss nuts but he laughed too hard to make us stop.
They were great fun at the wrecking yard.
We'd cut them in half, behind the front seat, then drive around the yard, the floor pan scraping along at the rear while the FWD pulled and steered.
Drove the boss nuts but he laughed too hard to make us stop.
The 2001 (maybe the 2002 too) Toyota Corolla came with a 3 speed automatic (the 4-speed was an additional-cost option, although one which probably would have paid for itself soon enough in this era of $2.50/gallon gas). No idea if it was electronically or hydraulically controlled.
I know someone who bought one and I noticed that there was no overdrive option, so I looked it up and sure enough, 3-speed.
I think that must have been the last production car sold in the USA to only have a 3-speed auto...
A friend of mine had a P'up with a turbo diesel in it back when I was in HS (88-92). it was suprisingly fast ( or atleast faster than the chevettes and escorts we were driving). was yours a TD or NA?
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