# Cars that should never have been made!



## Lucky13 (Apr 22, 2012)

What's your suggestions?


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## Njaco (Apr 22, 2012)

Chevrolet Citation


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## Lucky13 (Apr 22, 2012)

This thing?


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## Njaco (Apr 22, 2012)

yep. uuggghhhh!!!!


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## meatloaf109 (Apr 22, 2012)

All Scions!


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## evangilder (Apr 22, 2012)

My stepdad had a Citation for a short while. What a POS. There are probably a bunch of vehicles that could fit into this category. 

I will add the Plymouth Prowler. While it looked interesting enough (like a Chip Foose car), they only gave is a 214hp 3.5L V-6 with an _automatic transmission_! So instead of a badass hotrod that could lay down a strip of rubber, you got an anemically powered wanna-be, for about $39,000. What a freakin shame.

Note that this was a later model. The 97 Prowler only came in yellow.


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## pbfoot (Apr 22, 2012)

Anything Mopar so many bad cars its hard to name them all . Some went fast most didn't but thats North American and we could cross the pond and the list becomes ever so much longer


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## Njaco (Apr 22, 2012)

like the Charger, Challenger, Barracuda, Scamp..............


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## stona (Apr 22, 2012)

Anything by British Leyland.
Steve


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## Njaco (Apr 22, 2012)

As a former owner of a 1969 Land Rover.......that hurt!


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## mikewint (Apr 22, 2012)

Wow, what an open topic, there are sooo many. I’ll try to keep it to my top ten
1.	Ford Pinto- the exploding (in rear end collisions) car. Beyond that Ford Execs made the ultimate calculations: $121 million to fix the problem vs. $50 million to payoff victims. Obvious conclusion: Let ‘em burn
1.	Chevy Corvair – the rear engine “Unsafe at any Speed” Ralph Nader car. Chevy Execs knew the car would spin out during almost any rapid turn maneuver yet they refused to make any modification in the rear suspension, PLUS: it leaked oil like the Exxon Valdez, Heater sucked exhaust into the cabin, solution: In a front end collision, if the gasoline burning accessory heater located in the front trunk didn't explode the solid stearing column was a spear pointed at your chest!
1.	Yugo – Seemingly assembled in the Soviet-bloc at gun point, engine went ka-blooey, electrical systems sizzled, parts just fell off.
2.	Ford Explorer – the grandfather off all the Porker cars, a big, heavy, gas guzzler
3.	GM EV1 – the first of the electric vehicles, massively expensive to build, light and fragile, neither the original lead-acid or lithium battery packs had any real storage capacity giving the car very little range. This PR disaster killed the electric car.
4.	Plymouth Prowler
5.	Fiat Multipla – can we say UGLY. The high beams were located at the base of the windshield, followed by the low beams on the fenders and fog lights below: looks like a deformed frog with six eyes. 
6.	Ford Excursion – almost the ultimate Porker: 7,000lbs (4,000kg), 19ft (6m)long, 6.5ft (2m) tall. Ford engineers installed a Blocker Bar under the front end to keep it from just rolling over lesser cars in a collision
7.	Pontiac Aztek – UGLY, a plastic clad mess topped off with multiple eyes and nostrils, dogs bark at it as it passes by.
8.	Hummer H2 – the ultimate PORKER, a 10mpg militaristic civilian tank.
9.	Chevy’s SSR – a hotrod truck body grafted to Chevy’s mid-sized SUV chassis. Can you say Heavy, Under-powered, and Lazy. By definition Hotrods are one-of-a-kind home-built, i.e. there is no such thing as a factory built hotrod
10.	AMC Gremlin – To beat Ford and Chevy to the subcompact market, AMC took their Hornet and chopped off its rear-end. Enter the Gremlin with its long low front end and no rear. It was heavy and choppy handling since it had no rear suspension travel


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## Readie (Apr 22, 2012)

stona said:


> Anything by British Leyland.
> Steve



No, no Steve. The Marina was a shining star in the BL crown....
The original Mini 1100/1300 were ground breakers
John


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## Readie (Apr 22, 2012)

Alfasud. Dissolved before your eyes.
Mercedes A class. Why?
Ford Capri 1300...these cars need power.

John


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## Lucky13 (Apr 22, 2012)

Anything MOPAR!? How about everything from Ford and GM!


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## Aaron Brooks Wolters (Apr 22, 2012)

How about the AMC Pacer?!


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## stona (Apr 22, 2012)

Readie said:


> The original Mini 1100/1300 were ground breakers
> John



And pre-dated BL. The Marina was a pile of poo.

It takes some doing to build a Land Rover badly but somehow we managed it in the 1970s!

Cheers
Steve


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## Aaron Brooks Wolters (Apr 22, 2012)

The Chrysler K cars were another.


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## brucejscott (Apr 22, 2012)

Subaru Brat. Never saw one that lasted more than a year before it rotted out.


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## Readie (Apr 22, 2012)

stona said:


> The Marina was a pile of poo....
> Steve



The Marina was a car of the times and wasn't significantly worse than other offerings...
John


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## Lucky13 (Apr 22, 2012)

Trabant or anything from the eastern block?


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## pbfoot (Apr 22, 2012)

Lucky13 said:


> Anything MOPAR!? How about everything from Ford and GM!


They look nice in pictures (Mopars) I'm guessing you've either never seen one to compare to Ford or Gm or never worked on one they are the Trabant of North Anmercan cars , how they outlasted Studabaker or AMC is a marvel. Fit and finish are not trademarks of Mopar.Square steering wheels , push button transmissions.


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## GrauGeist (Apr 22, 2012)

meatloaf109 said:


> All Scions!


WTH is wrong with Scions?

My '08 tC is one of the best cars I've owned!


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## mikewint (Apr 22, 2012)

No offense Grau, de gustibus non est disputantum, but: I see the shoe box, where is the shoe


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## mikewint (Apr 22, 2012)

ABW, ah yes the rolling greenhouse, Dorkyness in glass, Wayne and Garth's mirthmobile. Under the summer sun you roasted, the air conditioning was non-existant and the massive plastic dash gave off fumes that made you woosy.
and...
Trabant - it gave communism a bad name, powered by a 2-stroke pollution generator kicking out a massive 18hp while it smoked like an Iraqi oil fire. Not to mention: no brake lights or turn signals.


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## GrauGeist (Apr 22, 2012)

mikewint said:


> No offense Grau, de gustibus non est disputantum, but: I see the shoe box, where is the shoe


Well, "In matters of taste, there can be no disputes" certainly applies!

My 2008 tC is the first Japanese car I've ever owned (I've owned many American cars and several German cars) and I have to say, that my Scion has completely impressed me!

It has a 2.4 liter vv-ti 200 horse (spec tuned) engine (with a 5-speed a/t) that delivers excellent performance at the cost of about 32 MPG on average. It handles mountain roads (it has the TRD factory lowered performance suspension) on a par with my '79 BMW 320i and it's incredifbly comfortable of long (or short) trips. One thing I have learned over the years, is that the Japanese are wizards with plastic interiors, where American vehicles are crap.

Case in point, I lusted after the new Chevy Camero...I HAD to have one and then the moment came where I got the opportunity to sit in one...I was devestated. It was the sorriest POS I have even seen and at the moment, a grand dream was brutally murdered.

As far as the Scion goes, I have racked up a whopping 30,700 miles on it and the most I have spent on it, maintenance-wise (aside from routine oil changes), is a new light bulb for my driving light... 

As if all of the above-mentioned wasn't enough, it looks completely badass


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## Lucky13 (Apr 22, 2012)

pbfoot said:


> They look nice in pictures (Mopars) I'm guessing you've either never seen one to compare to Ford or Gm or never worked on one they are the Trabant of North Anmercan cars , how they outlasted Studabaker or AMC is a marvel. Fit and finish are not trademarks of Mopar.Square steering wheels , push button transmissions.



That's called imagination, styling....
Just because yous didn't have the Hemi, there's no need to throw manure around you mmmate!


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## pbfoot (Apr 22, 2012)

Lucky13 said:


> That's called imagination, styling....
> Just because yous didn't have the Hemi, there's no need to throw manure around you mmmate!


Thats called shrapnel there was a reason they were not larger then Ford or GM we ain't all dumb over here. I have very good friends with Mopars 67.68 Cudas and Satellites . I do not know what the fascination with the Hemi is except maybe its easy to spell for the non educated . My 71 Olds with a 455CID would walk away from big block MOPArs and if the race was close I shut down the AC


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## The Basket (Apr 22, 2012)

Mopar is Chrysler.

Scion are Toyotas rebadged in the US of A.

Just in case you didn't know. I didn't.


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## GrauGeist (Apr 22, 2012)

Yes, Scion is Toyota and so is Lexus. Just like Infinity is a division of Nissan.

As far as dog cars go, anybody remember the "Le Car" sold here in the U.S. back in the late 70's and early 80's?


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## woljags (Apr 22, 2012)

sorry there wasn't much wrong with the B.L offerings in the 70's design wise,it was more build quality that let them down due to the unions,if you bought a fault free car from them[of which i have had many]they were very good but if it was built on a monday or friday,i have had many 1800's austin, morris and wolseley even selling them for a while from my lock up garage,one of the most underated cars ever and so comfortable to drive with the largest boot you could find in a family saloon


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## mikewint (Apr 22, 2012)

Grau, granted the scion tc has reasonable styling unlike the horrible iq, xd, or xb and the FR-S is getting there. If we're doin BA: Posted this before but: 2000cc, turbocharged Red-line, 270hp, capable of 1G turns, 0-60mph in 5sec my Saturn Sky. OF COURSE they're not made any more


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## gumbyk (Apr 22, 2012)

The Reliant Robin shouldn't have even made it on to the drawing board, let alone off it.

Also the Nissan Sunny - not a good car, not a bad car, its just too boring!


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## pbfoot (Apr 22, 2012)

Most Brit cars had horrible bodies and they just rotted away at least in this neck of the woods , the salt used for melting ice just ate them away . I never liked Chrsler although they had several superb engines in the slant 6 318 and 383 the motors never made up for what was lacking elsewhere in the car


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## tyrodtom (Apr 25, 2012)

If a car was not popular, i've had at least one.

I've owned Fieros, a Yugo, and drove a early Corvair enough to learn to love it's oversteering tendencies.

But being a AMC fan and owner for almost 50 years, I feel I should defend the Gremlin. Between it and it's rebodied follow-on the Spirit, It sold almost a million cars, one of AMC's best sellers for several years. I've owned one, the rear suspension had as much travel as any other car in it's time, but the rear springs were short, and stiff. So the ride could be firm. But they handled good enough to be the car to beat, in their class, in the years they competed in IMSA racing.


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## Readie (Apr 25, 2012)

pbfoot said:


> Most Brit cars had horrible bodies and they just rotted away at least in this neck of the woods...



And rotted nicely here too Neil.
I have a 1975 AA car report book and corrosion is the main issue with all makes
John


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## Messy1 (Apr 25, 2012)

tyrodtom said:


> If a car was not popular, i've had at least one.
> 
> I've owned Fieros, a Yugo, and drove a early Corvair enough to learn to love it's oversteering tendencies.
> 
> But being a AMC fan and owner for almost 50 years, I feel I should defend the Gremlin. Between it and it's rebodied follow-on the Spirit, It sold almost a million cars, one of AMC's best sellers for several years. I've owned one, the rear suspension had as much travel as any other car in it's time, but the rear springs were short, and stiff. So the ride could be firm. But they handled good enough to be the car to beat, in their class, in the years they competed in IMSA racing.


Gremlins also dominated its class in trans am racing in the early 70's when it first came out. The engines were solid, 258 I6 was almost bulletproof. Not the best looking car I freely admit, but all in all very reliable. It's look is the major detractor, and second and third hand knowledge about it being a undependable car simply is not true. BIG AMC and Mopar Fan myself, so I will admit to being a little biased, but AMC made very dependable cars. They should be as most engines were all based on a single platform, especially with the 304/343/360/390 and 401 power plants.


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## Messy1 (Apr 25, 2012)

pbfoot said:


> Most Brit cars had horrible bodies and they just rotted away at least in this neck of the woods , the salt used for melting ice just ate them away . I never liked Chrysler although they had several superb engines in the slant 6 318 and 383 the motors never made up for what was lacking elsewhere in the car


PB, What is your idea of a well made car from the 60's and 70's?


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## Messy1 (Apr 25, 2012)

I'll throw a car out there, not because it was not reliable, but because it was a horrible idea. Cadillac Cimaron. A overpriced Cadillac version of a Chevy Celebrity, but for double the money!


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## Njaco (Apr 25, 2012)

How about any car made in the last 10 years? Does DEtroit or anybody know the definition of style? They're all the same excpt for maybe a millimeter difference in length of the headlight or grill. Cars today can be found in Huxley's "1984". or is that "Brave New World"? Ugghh.


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## Messy1 (Apr 25, 2012)

I will agree with you there NJaco! Not many cars today that trip my trigger, most pare pretty boring.


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## Njaco (Apr 25, 2012)

I could line up 5 cars from 1970 head on and recognize each one. Can't do that today with 10 of them!


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## pbfoot (Apr 25, 2012)

From North America probably the best but least appreciated was the Studabaker , then I would go for GM as a solid performer, Ford was next even though they never figured out upper control arm bushings or valve seals , then a toss up between AMC not bad and MOPAR had good drive lines but the rest in quality and fit and finish was lacking. The Japanes cars were just coming on line but had awesome engines and transmissions but suffered with body corrosion. Cars from UK bad bodies and labour intensive and Euro cars other then the VW Beetle were expensive to keep on the road


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## Lucky13 (Apr 26, 2012)

Any US car after 1971?


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## pbfoot (Apr 26, 2012)

Lucky13 said:


> Any US car after 1971?


not so much after 71 as after 73 when the emmisssions control went harsh , I was a working at a shop that maintained the police cars and boy did they become slugs . The car they used in Starsky and Hutch in real life was a pure dog , the cops had one almost identical and it would be hard pressed to catch a cold


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## tyrodtom (Apr 26, 2012)

My first job after the service was at a Ford dealership in 73. Sometimes we would have to crank the new cars so long to get them to drive off the transporters, we'd have to boost the batteries. Any car from about 73-75 , tuned to US emmisions regulations was a pretty sorry running vehicle.


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## mikewint (Apr 27, 2012)

My pick of the top 5. Not all pretty but value for the money and extreemly reliable:
1.	Honda Accord 
2.	Subaru Forester 
3.	Mazda MX-5 
4.	Mitsubishi Carisma 
5.	Toyota Yaris .


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## pbfoot (Apr 27, 2012)

I agree the Japanese make the best cars globally


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## Readie (Apr 28, 2012)

pbfoot said:


> I agree the Japanese make the best cars globally



Yes and no Neil.
Honda have issues with Turbo's blowing, Toyota has a well documented issue with throttles.
If you want a 'white bread' car then a Japanese car is a good choice and plenty of people just need that.

John


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## Njaco (Apr 28, 2012)

pbfoot said:


> not so much after 71 as after 73 when the emmisssions control went harsh , I was a working at a shop that maintained the police cars and boy did they become slugs . The car they used in Starsky and Hutch in real life was a pure dog , the cops had one almost identical and it would be hard pressed to catch a cold



I don't know. My buddy owns the car (and 5 more) and its pretty suped-up. This is a pic of him with Paul Michael Glaser, David Soul and Antonio Fargas during filming of the movie (my buddy Steve is on the far left) and Steve ad I in Atlantic City. He's an animal control officer like me in Camden County.


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## pbfoot (Apr 28, 2012)

I'm gonna wager they ain't antwhere near stock in particular with the emmission system .


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## Njaco (Apr 28, 2012)

I won't argue with you on that point!  I really don't know. But he has 6 in total - 2 original from the TV show, one used in the movie and 3 replicas.


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## ccheese (Apr 28, 2012)

How come no one has mentioned the KIA ? I worked for an Olds dealer that also sold KIA. We had such a problem with the check engine light, that around Christmas time the joke was, "do you want your check engine light in green or red". That was the original POS, and I saw DSM's actually offer people money, extended warrantys, and extended paid up service to keep them.

My daughter had a three cylinder Chevrolet and I can't remember the name of it. It was an automatic w/air, and you had to shut the air off just to get it rolling.

As for the Yugo, wasn't that billed as a disposable car ?

Second best car I ever owned was a 1978 Buick "Electra", six-door sedan !! My number one is my 1987 Mazda P/U. Still going with 168,000 miles on it.

Charles


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## mikewint (Apr 28, 2012)

Charles, check post #11 The good old Yugo One of my #1 BADS


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## tyrodtom (Apr 28, 2012)

The Yugo might have been perceived as a disposable car, but it wasn't billed as one. The Yugo I had actually wasn't too bad after I corrected several years of neglect from previous owners treating it like it was disposable. It got fair mileage, could be made to handle good, but there wasn't much power potential in the engine without spending a lot of money.

My present daily driver is a VW Jetta, getting close to 300,000 miles. The head has never been off the engine, though i'm getting ready to put on it's 4th timing belt.


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## GrauGeist (Apr 28, 2012)

Here's a few cars that should have never been made and were probably a serious waste of sheetmetal:

Chevy Camero - (early 80's) couldn't beat a Vespa motor-scooter across an intersection...
Chevy Citation (and GM clones)
Chevy Celebrity (and GM clones)
Chevy Vega (post UAW strike models)
Ford Pinto - (early models) NOT because of the myth that they blew up, but because thier drivetrains were total crap
Ford Escort (early models)
Pontiac Aztek - not only a total waste of sheetmetal, but plastic, aluminium and all other basic materials
Daihatsu Chirade - another waste
Geo Prizm - what were they thinking??
Geo Metro- same as above...
Fiat Strada (late 70's - this thing rusted faster than it burned fuel)
VEB Trabant - yeah, this was a real gem...
Renault Dauphine (my neighbor even had one...for some weird reason...)


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## Readie (Apr 29, 2012)

Here's a few cars that should have never been made and were probably a serious waste of sheetmetal..great line Dave,
I would respond by saying one word in answer...

FRENCH

John


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## Njaco (Apr 29, 2012)

GG, I would say anything Fiat. I owned 2 and ugghhhh!!! '74 124 Spyder and '73 850 Spyder.


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## Njaco (Apr 29, 2012)

GG, I would say anything Fiat! I owned 2 - '74 124 Spyder and '73 850 Spyder. Horrible.


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## Lucky13 (Apr 30, 2012)

Them Mopar turbines, why?


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## GrauGeist (Apr 30, 2012)

I remember seeing the Chyrsler turbine when I was a kid...it was surprisingly quiet.


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## tyrodtom (Apr 30, 2012)

Lucky13 said:


> Them Mopar turbines, why?



If you'rev talking about the turbine powered cars Mopar built in the mid 60's , only about 50-100, and then let selected people around the country keep and drive them. It was just a test to see how a turbine powered car would do as a daily driver. None of them were ever sold to the public. After the couple of years they were all taken back and scraped except for a few examples.


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