Worst Car

[Sonny44]

WE had a first car thread so how about a worst car thread
This one will be hard to beat.

What It's Like To Drive The Worst Car In The World – Jason Drives - YouTube

Have fun!

 

[HardHatGuy#2]

That's too easy; The Yugo. Never had one, but a guy in my Army unit bought one. Engine blew before it hit 5k, and the dealer wouldn't fix it. Even the JAG office couldn't help. May not have been as bad a car as the Hoffman, but this was 35-odd years later.

Personally, I've never had a car that didn't go 200k without a major repair (except the one that got demolished by a drunk and a bus). Bonus of being a backyard mechanic.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

The hands down winner has to be the Yugo, aka the Mona Lisa of horrible cars.

The Yugo: The Rise and Fall of the Worst Car in History by Jason Vuic | Librarypoint

OR:

"Malcolm Bricklin, he of the Bricklin SV1, wouldn't be satisfied until he had forced every American to walk to work. To that end, in 1985, he began importing the Yugo GV, which turned out to be the Mona Lisa of bad cars. Built in Soviet-bloc Yugoslavia, the Yugo had the distinct feeling of something assembled at gunpoint. Interestingly, in a car where "carpet" was listed as a standard feature, the Yugo had a rear-window defroster — reportedly to keep your hands warm while you pushed it. The engines went ka-blooey, the electrical system — such as it was — would sizzle, and things would just fall off. Yugo. Or not."

The 50 Worst Cars of All Time - TIME

Has its consumer advocates though: general tenor, sure it falls apart, but when it works it is fun to drive. 1990 Yugo GV Consumer Reviews

It was actually a clone of a 11-12 year old Fiat car, built to the abysmal standards of communist manufacturing.

 

[CocoHusky]

1977 Chevy Nova with column shift.

 

[reno tony]

That's too easy; The Yugo. Never had one, but a guy in my Army unit bought one. Engine blew before it hit 5k, and the dealer wouldn't fix it. Even the JAG office couldn't help. May not have been as bad a car as the Hoffman, but this was 35-odd years later.

Personally, I've never had a car that didn't go 200k without a major repair (except the one that got demolished by a drunk and a bus). Bonus of being a backyard mechanic.

View attachment 15047

My sister's friend sold Yugo's and when they were closing their U.S. sales he tried to sell her two for the price of one so she could have spare parts. I think a close second was LeCar from France.

 

[alexrgct]

I was just about to say it was a tie between the Nova, the Ford Pinto, and the AMC Gremlin.

Funny story that I swear is true:

Back in 1997, I was getting a ride from Croatia to Venice. We had a stop on the Slovenian border, at which time, there was a procession of more than 100 Ferraris heading from Italy to what I assumed was their Rijeka dealership. Right in the middle, I mean smack dab, of these beautiful cars on the road? A freaking Yugo! Talk about awkward juxtaposition...

 

[Blueconn]

Worst ever probably include Yugo and Trabants. But my personal worst was my 1971 Chevy Vega. My first brand new car...$48 per month to GMAC ! At about 35,000 miles on the odometer the aluminum engine compononents began to melt and warp.

Sold it to my girlfriend's brother who never gassed up without buying a couple of cans of oil....and kept it going for at least another year or two. Told me he just waited for the engine oil light to come on and then just pulled over and dumped a quart in. Over time the hood, the driver side door, steering wheel, radio knobs, etc. all got smeared with oil.
.

 

[Bliss]

My worst car, hands down, was an '84 Caddy Eldorado with the 4.1 liter (they called it the "4100") engine. That may possibly be the worst motor ever made. Beautiful car with lots of bells and whistles but what a POS!

 

[uconnell]

1965 Tr4. Damn Lucas electrical system. Bought it new. My Hubby had a brain fart as we already had 2kids. Neighbors pushed that car all over the neighborhood and it still wouldn't start. He finally got rid of it and bought an American car.

 

[HardHatGuy#2]

1977 Chevy Nova with column shift.

Three on the Tree! Once drove a neighbor's 70 Dart that was like that, and my Uncle's old Saab, as well (I think it was a 96. Funny-looking car with a V4).

 

[uconnell]

Three on the Tree! Once drove a neighbor's 70 Dart that was like that, and my Uncle's old Saab, as well (I think it was a 96. Funny-looking car with a V4).

'56 Chevy. Not hard at all.

 

[arch]

Fiat 128, hands down worst car ever. A distant second, Plymouth Horizon.

 

[BigBird]

1973 AMC Hornet. My late father-in-law selected it for his daughter, who was then my fiancé, and then effectively gave me both the car and the payment book. Lucky me. The car rode like a radio flyer, was a total dog on the highway, and was subject to overheating and/or cutting out (as in quits running) at the slightest provocation. Worse, he paid sticker price for it. Dealer said they were "hard to get." I was once told that Chevrolet made the short blocks for AMC; Chrysler made the transmission, and Ford made the ignition system. Dogs, cats, and mice in the same room.

Funny thing though, it actually was an attractive looking car, as long as you knew nothing about its other malpractices.

 

[CCinCT]

'56 Chevy. Not hard at all.

62 Chevy II. Again not hard at all except the linkage would bind occasionally and had to stop, pop the hood, and free the linkage. Preceded by the 59 Renault Dauphine with a 3 on the floor. No problems until I drove my first automatic in a '54 Chevy loaner - panicked when I couldn't find the clutch.

Got stuck in Boston once when my 70 Renault R10 4 on the floor came loose from its mounting bolts and I lost reverse. Very hard to parallel park without help (the backwards push into a spot)

Worst car - 76 Chrysler Cordoba (yes -with the rich Corinthian leather) 400 cid 4 bbl with the lean-burn ignition got 15mpg on the highway and kept jumping timing - blew off several exhaust systems before it met with an uncooperative telephone pole (it handled like crap also). Great styling though !

 

[uconnell]

Had the same problem with the 56 Chevy. It would get stuck in 2nd gear, lift the hood and free the linkage.

 

[HardHatGuy#2]

62 Chevy II. Again not hard at all except the linkage would bind occasionally and had to stop, pop the hood, and free the linkage. Preceded by the 59 Renault Dauphine with a 3 on the floor. No problems until I drove my first automatic in a '54 Chevy loaner - panicked when I couldn't find the clutch.

Got stuck in Boston once when my 70 Renault R10 4 on the floor came loose from its mounting bolts and I lost reverse. Very hard to parallel park without help (the backwards push into a spot)

Worst car - 76 Chrysler Cordoba (yes -with the rich Corinthian leather) 400 cid 4 bbl with the lean-burn ignition got 15mpg on the highway and kept jumping timing - blew off several exhaust systems before it met with an uncooperative telephone pole (it handled like crap also). Great styling though !

Ugh. Everyone pulled that damned lean-burn garbage out within a few weeks of leaving the lot; all it did was give you 8 cylinder gas mileage with 6 cylinder performance.

How many Corinthians gave their lives for those nice, comfy seats?

 

[tomcat]

My worst was a Renault LeCar, which was the product of an (at the time) innovative partnership between Renault and Hamilton Beach. Renault provided the very, very small car. In fact, it was so small that you had to push the front seats forward AND tilt them to get anyone into the back seat. The power plant was all Hamilton Beach. It was a four speed -- chop, grate, mix and blend. I remember that if I shifted into blend, I could just keep up in the passing lane on Route 2 as I commuted home from Hartford to New London County.

Reverse, if I recall correctly, was called Upchuck.

 

[JordyG]

1965 Tr4. Damn Lucas electrical system. Bought it new. My Hubby had a brain fart as we already had 2kids. Neighbors pushed that car all over the neighborhood and it still wouldn't start. He finally got rid of it and bought an American car.

And riding in the TR4 was like sitting on roller blades it was so low to the ground. Even at 25 mph it felt as if it were shaking apart. Scary car. But Yugo's make for better boat anchors.

 

[JordyG]

My worst was a Renault LeCar, which was the product of an (at the time) innovative partnership between Renault and Hamilton Beach. Renault provided the very, very small car. In fact, it was so small that you had to push the front seats forward AND tilt them to get anyone into the back seat. The power plant was all Hamilton Beach. It was a four speed -- chop, grate, mix and blend. I remember that if I shifted into blend, I could just keep up in the passing lane on Route 2 as I commuted home from Hartford to New London County.

Reverse, if I recall correctly, was called Upchuck.

Lol. I just pee'd myself. Please don't post again.

 

[TRest]

1965 Tr4. Damn Lucas electrical system. Bought it new. My Hubby had a brain fart as we already had 2kids. Neighbors pushed that car all over the neighborhood and it still wouldn't start. He finally got rid of it and bought an American car.

Beautiful car though. Looks good in the driveway. My biggest dog was a 70 Chevelle my grandfather gave me after I graduated from Uconn in 83. Every trip to the shore required a quart of oil, it could never pass the state emissions test. Back then though used cars weren't usually over a decade old unless they were classics of some type.

 

[UConner]

Down here in Mystic, back in the late 70s or early 80s the local Caddy dealer (Still a big dealer down here) was throwing in a Yugo if you bought a Caddy! My vote for the worst!

 

[tomcat]

Lol. I just pee'd myself. Please don't post again.

Sorry. Every once in a while, I just kind of go off on some subject. Glad you liked,

 

[DaddyChoc]

I was just about to say it was a tie between the Nova, the Ford Pinto, and the AMC Gremlin...

I had a Alliance for a moment... power steering, WHAT power steering

 

[DaddyChoc]

1977 Chevy Nova with column shift.

how can you text and drive doing all of that shifting

 

[FairView]

Cadillac Cimarron – nothing like a piece of garbage with a luxury price tag.