150 worst cars ever made (very, very long)

In My Humble Opinion
1

I picked up a book called The World’s Worst Cars by Craig Cheetham. The author separates the cars into four categories and explains why they made the list. Obviously I can’t reproduce his text. But I don’t think it’s a violation of his copyright to simply list the cars he has chosen. While I’ve used his categories, I have listed the cars alphabetically by country, which he didn’t.

I’m posting this in IMHO because I’d like to see if you A) agree with his choices, and B) to get your opinions on what are the world’s worst cars. I’d never heard of a lot of the cars on the list, since many of them were not sold here in the U.S.

BADLY BUILT As the title implies, these are cars that were built poorly. They may have been ‘brilliantly conceived and cleverly designed’, but executed poorly; or they were just bad from birth.

Czechoslovakia
Skoda Estelle (1975 – 1991)

France
Peugeot 604 (1975 – 1986)
Renault 14 (1977 – 1983)
Renault Fuego (1981 – 1985)

Italy
Alfa Romeo Alfasud (1972 – 1984)
Fiat Croma (1986 – 1995)
Fiat Strada (1979 – 1988)
Lancia Dedra (1989 – 1995)

Japan
Datsun 120Y (1974 – 1978)

Russia
Lada Samara (1989 – 1996)

South Korea
Hyundai Stellar (1984 – 1991)

UK
Aston Martin Lagonda (1975 – 1990)
Austin Allegro (1973 – 1982)
Austin Maestro (1982 – 1995)
Austin Maxi (1969 – 1981)
Jensen Healey (1970 – 1976)
Lotus Elite/Eclat (1974 – 1991)
Morris Marina (1970 – 1981)
Rover SD1 (1976 – 1987)
Triumph Stag (1970 – 1977)
Triumph TR7 (1976 – 1983)

USA
Chevrolet Caprice (1976 – 1990)
Chevrolet Citation (1980 – 1986)
Chevrolet Nova (1970 – 1979)
Dodge Dart (1963 – 1966)
Ford Maverick (1969 – 1973)
Ford Zephyr Mk.4 (1966 – 1972)

USSR
Zaz Zaporoshetz (1967 – 1990)

Yugoslavia
Yugo 45 (1984 – 1992)

DESIGN DISASTERS may have fundamental design flaws, obvious omissions (the Austin Princess didn’t have a hatchback), or maybe they’re just plain ugly. A couple are just offensive in concept (e.g., Excalibur SSK).

France
Citroën GS Birotor (1974 – 1975)
Renault Avantime (2002 – 2003)

Italy
Fiat Multipla (1998 – 2004)
Lamborghini Espada (1969 – 1978)

Japan
Lexus SC430 (2001 – Present)
Mitsubishi Carisma (1996 – Present)
Nissan Serena (1992 – 2001)

Germany
Mercedes Vaneo (2001 – Present)

Poland
FSO Polonez/Carp (1985 – 1998)

Sweden
Volvo 262C (1977 – 1981)
Volvo 340 (1975 – 1992)

UK
Austin 3-Litre (1967 – 1970)
Austin Ambassador (1982 – 1984)
Austin Princess 18-22 Series (1976 – 1982)
Hillman Imp (1963 – 1976)
Jaguar XJ40 (1986 – 1994)
Mini Clubman (1969 – 1981)
Vauxhall Vectra (1995 – 2002)

USA
AMC Gremlin (1970 – 1979)
AMC Pacer (1975 – 1981)
Cadillac Seville (1979 – 1986)
Cadillac Seville (1997 – 2003)
Chevrolet Corvair (1961 – 1970)
Chrysler Airflow (1934 – 1937)
Excalibur SSK (1964 – 1981)
Ford Classic/Capri 109E (1961 – 1964)
Ford Escort (1990 – 1993)
Ford Mustang Mk.II (1973 – 1980)Ford Pinto (1971 – 1980)
Ford Scorpio (1994 – 2000)
Pontiac Aztek (1999 – 2004)

FINANCIAL FAILURES. Ambitious cars that didn’t make it, cars that lost money for the company (the Austin 1100 lost about £10 per car sold), or had such a poor reputation that they brought down the company. These are the money-losers.

Canada
Bricklin SV-1 (1974 – 1975)

France
Chrysler 180/2-Litre (1970 – 1980)

Italy
Bugatti Royale (1927 – 1933)
ISO Fidia (1967 – 1974)
Lancia Beta (1972 – 1985)
Lancia Gamma (1976 – 1984)

Germany
NSU RO80 (1967 – 1977)
VW K70 (1970 – 1974)

Japan
Isuzu Piazza Turbo (1986 – 1990)
Mazda Cosmo 110S (1967 – 1972)
Suburu SVX (1991 – 1995)

The Netherlands
DAF 33/Daffodil (1967 – 1975)

UK
AC 3000 ME (1979 – 1984)
Austin 1100/1300 (1963 – 1974)
Austin Gypsy (1958 – 1968)
Bond Bug (1970 – 1974)
De Lorean DMC 12 (1981 – 1982)
Leyland P76 (1973 – 1974)
Morgan Plus Four Plus (1963 – 1967)
Ogle SX1000 (1961 – 1963)
Panther Solo (1989 – 1990)
Reliant Scimitar SSI (1984 – 1992)
Rolls-Royce Camargue (1975 – 1985)
Talbot Tagora (1981 – 1983)

USA
Chrysler Gas Turbine Car (1963)
Ford Edsel (1957 – 1960)
Ford Explorer (1994 – 2003)
Studebaker Avanti (1963 – 1964)
Tucker Torpedo (1948 – 1949)

Yugoslavia
Yugo Sana (1989 – 1993)

that shouldn’t have happened.

Germany
Porsche Cayenne (2003 – Present_

India
Hindustan Ambassador (1966 – Present)

Iran
Paykan (1976 – Present)

Italy
Alfa Romeo Arna (1981 – 1985)
Mahindra Indian Chief (1993 – 1995)

Japan
Perodua Nippa (1996 – 2000)

Malaysia
Proton Wira (1995 – 2004)

New Zealand
Lonsdale Satellite (1982 – 1984)

Poland
FSO 125P (1978 – 1991)

Romania
Dacia Denem (1983 – 1984)

Russia
Lada Riva (1969 – Present)

South Korea
Daewoo Racer/Nexia (1995) – 1995)
Kia Pride (1991 – 1995)

Spain
SEAT Marbella (1988 – 1997)

UK
Humber Sceptre (1967 – 1976)
MG Maestro (1983 – 1992)
Morris Ital (1981 – 1984)
Panther Rio (1976 – 1978)
Rover 800 (1986 – 1999)
Rover Cityrover (2003 – Present)
Triumph Acclaim (1981 – 1984)
Vanden Plas 1500 (1974 – 1981)
Wolseley Six 18-22 Series (1975 – 1976)

USA
AMC Alliance/Encore (1984 – 1989)
Chevrolet Chevette (1974 – 1982)
Chrysler Avenger (1977 – 1982)
Chrysler TC Maserati (1986)
Ford Aspire (1995 – 2002)
Plymouth Cricket (1973 – 1980)

[color=red]EVERYTHING ELSE. ‘Some cars are truly awful,’ writes the author, ‘yet it is impossible to pinpoint why. They are either out of place because they are so obscure, or… are completely wrong in almost every respect.’

France
Citroën Bijou (1959 – 1964)
Ligier Ambra (1998 – Present)

Germany
Amphicar (1961 – 1968)
Trabant 501 (1965 – 1991)
Wartburg 353 Knight (1966 – 1988)

Italy
Alfa Romeo 6 (1980 – 1985)
Maserati Biturbo (1981 – 1991)
Maserati Quattroporte 3 (1977 – 1987)

Japan
Datsun Cedric/300C (1961 – 1980)
Nissan Sunny ZX (1985 – 1990)
Suburu XT Coupe (1985 – 1990)
Suzuki X90 (1997 – 1999)
Toyota Crown (1967 – 1974)

Romania
Dacia Duster (1983 – 1990)

South Korea
Asia Rocosta (1993 – 1995)
Hyundai Atoz (1997 – 2000)

Spain
SEAT 1200 Sport (1972 – 1986)

UK
Bond 3-Wheeler (1948 – 1970)
Dutton Sierra (1977 – 1991)
Lotus Seven S4 (1970 – 1973)
Macros Mantis (1970 – 1971)
Matra Rancho (1978 – 1984)
MG Montego (1984 – 1991)
Panther J72 (1972 – 1981)
Reliant Robin/Kitten (1974 – 1989)
Triumph Mayflower (1949 – 1953)

USA
AMC Eagle Wagon (1980 – 1984)
Nash Metropolitan (1953 – 1961)
Oldsmobile Toronado (1966 – 1970)

USSR
Lada Niva (1979 – 1996)

2

Glad to see the Aztek on there. That and the Subaru Tribeca are the ugliest new cars I’ve seen in forever.

The first day my dad drove to high school, he rolled his Corvair into a ditch. He has fond memories of that car, though! I guess it was fun to drive when you could get it under control.

3

I’ve always had a kind of perverse fondness for Gremlins and Pacers. Gremlins – dunno why. Pacers, however, always struck me as looking like “cars of the future,” as depicted as in the early '60s. So, futuristic, only 15 years too late!

4

Well, that’s a long list, so i guess we’ll just have to pick one or two to comment on.

I want to disagree with the inclusion of the Lamborghini Espada in the “Design Disasters” section. While i don’t know exactly what alleged design flaw got the Espada on the list, and i realize that aesthetics are a pretty personal thing, i thought the Espada was a pretty great-looking car. It was made even more impressive by the fact that this long, sleek two-door was actually a full four-seater with decent luggage space.

5

My dad had a couple Corvairs, too, and liked them. A lot of what I’ve read about them says that their bad reputation was unfair. I’d take it off the list.

I’ve never seen a Chrysler Airflow in person, but I like it in pictures. Off the list.

Lotus Seven S4? (I don’t know the S4 variant, but) Way off the list!

And, Johnny, I hope Tuckerfan doesn’t know where you live.

6

Just wanted to say: ha!

I am surprised to see the Ford Explorer on that list; I thought they were wildly popular. Or was that due to the exploding tire thing? Hm. Also, didn’t Pontiac try to bring back some sports car (GTO?) a couple of years ago that failed miserably?

7

Any such list that includes no Australian car, in particular the infamous Leyland P76, is simply not worthy of notice. Check out the single station wagon that was produced, which may be the ugliest car ever proposed or produced.

Featuring the front half of a European sports saloon and the back half of a farmer’s dream car (including a boot/trunk large enough to hold a 44 gallon drum) this was a miscegenation misconceived from the start. Not to mention being a V8 introduced during the oil crisis of the early 70s, and being made in a plant plagued by industrial action, material shortages, and managerial incompetance.

More pictures and details here, here and especially here.

8

Russia

As a matter of fact the Lada Samara was sheer luxury compared with the Lada Riva.

To my shame I had one of the latter, but hasten to add only for 6 weeks, it was like driving a bloody tank.

No power steering and the junk heap weighed Og knows how many tons.

The only good thing about it was the 2 tool kits you got and I also got a 15" colour TV as a promo offer.

9

Slight nitpick with their list. The Chrysler Turbine Car. I don not see how it could be considered a financial failure since they were never offered for sale.

They were loaned or maybe leased to a select few, who had to turn them back in to Chrysler where they were subsequently destroyed. I don’t know if any survived?

Anyway, the concept itself may have been a failure, but the cars, IMHO, could not have been so since they were never for sale to begin with.

10

That would be my mistake. I accidentally put it under UK.

11

I was a little surprised to see it in the book too. I think his reasoning was that the car was more than a concept, and nearly made it into production. It did get out on the streets. As it appears under his Financial Failures section, I’m guessing it’s there because so much money was spent on it. I saw one in a museum in L.A., possibly at Exposition Park.

He doesn’t have anything bad to say about the car. It only made the list because it was a financial disaster.

The Ford Explorer was also in the financial section, because Ford and Firestone developed the exploding tires, which lead to lawsuits.

I thought that some of the cars in the financial section were put there unfairly. Yes, they cost their companies money. But there wasn’t anything ‘wrong’ with the Exploder except for the tires, the Gas Turbine was never actually put into production, and the Tucker didn’t have a chance. i think the author should have only listed cars in that section that were financial failures because they were just bad cars.

12

Corvairs.

I’ve heard that the problems caused by penny pinching, and which led to Nader’s book, were corrected by the end. I think the concept was sound, but poorly executed on the earlier cars. It deserves to be on the list because it gave Gm a black eye. (Actually, it was self-inflicted; but the car was the mechanism.)

The Espada [i[looked* good, but it was an ergonomical mess and it suffered myriad systems failures. The author did not like the Lotus Seven’s fiberglass tub that replaced the original alloy one. The Airflow’s styling was ahead of its time, but it was too heavy to take advantage of its aerodynamic styling and too expensive.

13

Oh, og the Chevy Nova.

We had one all through the 70’s and mid- 80’s. Just what a teenager wants to drive or be driven in. :rolleyes:

Horrible, horrible car.

Ugh. The year I left for college the folks got a Camry. And redid the house in white.
I think they were waiting for me to leave…

14

What???..No Chevy Vega?, worst car i EVER owned!

FTR, Had a 1961 Covair Greenbriar Van, one of the coolest vehicles I ever owned.

tsfr

15

The list does seem a bit Eurocentric. The author is British.

16

It’s funny how Audi and Dodge can make the same car work as the A2 and the Caliber, but Pontiac just went over the top with the ugly on the Aztek.

17

No “ugly” votes for the Mohs Safarikar, the car that was upholstered on the outside?

I’m also mystified by the omission of the BMW Isetta (yeah, good idea, a car with just one giant door that’ll be stuck shut in almost any kind of collision, turning your tiny snuffbox of a car into a flaming sarcophagus), and I didn’t see the DeLorean in either the “badly built” or “financial disasters” sections (the early models cost thousands to repair before they were roadworthy, and DeLorean got so desperate for cash…well, you know the rest). But I can definitely get behind the Alfasud.

Can someone explain to me how the Ford Explorer is a “financial failure”? Was it the tire recall? Surely the ignition switch fiasco didn’t cause Ford that much financial harm, and the tire boondoggle can hardly be called entirely Ford’s fault…

18

Yeah. My parents had a Chevy Vega for a little while.

The car that began depreciating in the showroom.

19

The problem with the early Corvairs was due to the swing axle rear suspension which, due to its design, could cause the car to flip if in a slide. This design flaw was corrected in 1965 with a major redesign, and the cars after that were actually quite advanced. The handling and road manners were much more modern than other cars of the era, disc brakes were availabe. It was, however, too late to overcome the damage by Nader and, well, the earlier cars themselves.

I don’t understand why the Edsel was such a colossal failure. To my eyes, it’s perhaps a rather goofy looking old car (the grill is the weird part), not quite as bulbous as some cars of the 50s, but nothing like the Aztek. What gives there?

20

Look again.