12 worst cars ever built

That's one reporter's view anyway. Some I've never heard of...
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-drive/the-12-worst-cars-ever-built/article1443510/

 

Aw I thought the gremlin was cool

 

I will totally agree that the Pontiac Aztek is absolutely hideous.

The Gremlin may not be a flashy car, but the one they chose for the photo has got to be one of the coolest Gremlins I've ever seen.

 

This guy seems a bit outta touch.
I'll admit, some of those cars were definitely not the greatest. But c'mon, really?
The Ford Explorer? I own one. Great rig. And like em or not, the father of the modern SUV.
The Pinto, lowly as it was, was actually a purty decent little car. My Grandparents drove their 74 up until a couple years ago every where (except church and road trips) to keep the mikes down on their Park Avenue.
The Edsel? Every one loves to throw that in there. I know it has become synonymous with failure. But I like em, and I know they have quite the following now.
And yet the Yugo didn't make the list? :confused:

 

And no mention of Lada.

 

my 1st car was a Gremlin. I remember having a choice of a Vega, Pinto or Gremlin, and I chose the Gremlin because it was 6 cyl vs 4 in the others.

It did use a lot of gas!

It also turned right on hard braking (4 wheel drums) the lights would go off if you hit a bump, and the only way to get them back on was to hit another bump.

I hated that car.

But it had A/C (although the fuse blew on high) AM/FM (not stereo) and got me out of the house when I was 16.

 

Just because the Edsel didn't sell well, doesn't mean it merits this list either.

 

I had a 72 Gremlin had 990 miles when I got it for $2200 with the 304 V8 3 speed,, after the warranty was gone ( never needed it).. I installed a 390 AMX V8 and T-10 speed ( direct bolt in) drove it to work for 5 years,,, worked fine, then rebuilt a 401 drove it 3 more years to work terrorizing muscle cars of the day... but then I was about 25 years old back then. Now, well I have the hated Pacer ( for that reason) except it sports a 500 cid V8 just to make it more dispicable.. lots of fun.. One reason for my swap to Cadillac was to have the most hated( worst built cars) then pop a monster stock V8 using 87 Octane..

 

I have a huge problem with the Explorer being on there. Just because the author seems to be "offended" by America's love for the SUV and the vehicle that started the whole love affair, doesn't make it a bad car. I can't tell you the # of people that traded their old Explorers for new ones. How can it be one of the 12 worst cars ever made if so many people chose them? It was the #1 selling sport ute ever since it's introduction. That would never be the case with a poorly designed and constructed vehicle.

 

Who is this guy?
He certainly knows little about the subject and has only read some other lists of so-called duds by other ignorant journos who don't know squat about cars either then picked out his favorite dozen with an obvious bias towards American cars.

He holds the '63 Corvette up as a "design icon", it was a one year only style, guess why.
The Maserati Bi-Turbo while a "finicky" Italian car didn't so much resemble anything Chrysler built as the Chrysler LeBaron resembled cribbed styling from the long delayed TC which Chrysler and Maser collaborated on. The Bi-Turbo resembles neither.

Gremlins sold very well, did what they were intended to do well and their bulletproof driveline soldiered on for another three decades in Jeeps.
Pacers? Didn't sell well but had no particular flaws aside from being ugly.
Bond Bugs aren't cars, they are well... I don't know.
Chevettes and Pintos were intended to be disposable, you got what you paid for they were no worse than anything else comparable. Not all Pintos exploded on impact either. I do remember seeing one repainted to resemble a hand grenade though.
Malcolm Bricklin was a huckster with dillusions of grandeur. His car was a crap box, I agree. He later brought us the Yugo.
Corvair had it's faults, that were corrected quickly and again, it sold well. As much as Ralph Nader might like to think he killed it, he didn't. GM did, it simply had run it's course and was being outsold by Camaros.
Edsal, the poster child for automotive failures was little more than a rebadged Mercury. All of it's Ford siblings, mechanically identical, were well regarded in their time.
Explorers? Is he kidding? They sold millions of them. I don't like them either but they aren't particularly bad conveyances. They don't tip over if you put some AIR in the tires.
The SVX was also ugly to most but was a technologically advanced car that has a cult following today.
The Aztek, another ugly duck, sells a whole lot better with a moderate restyle a Buick badge and one Tiger Woods shilling for it.
Trabants were the product of communism and as such were the only game in town. ****boxes for sure but people waited years to buy them new and millions were sold.

I'll also speculate that the author has no idea what is under the "bonnet" of whatever British piece of crap he drives. What a putz.

 

You are my hero.

 

Here's another AMC rebel site you might like:
http://www.arcticboy.com/

 

Lists like this are always subject to the preferences and biases of the author. I personally would only agree with a couple of the picks (Trabant and Aztek). The list by itself isn't worth much - only 'filler' for the newspaper / website.

I also would strongly disagree with the Explorer being on the list. They were generally built very well, and were a great substitute for the full-size wagon when they were going out of style in the early 90's. We bought a new one in '03 and it's been extremely reliable - no breakdowns at all. It's very solid. The only real complaint I have about it is the handling when carrying a load (like passengers in the third seat) - gets a bit wobbly with the IRS. After 6 years, finally had the first thing go wrong with it recently - cruise stopped engaging.

He also seems to be taking the 'popular' choice of using AMC as a whipping boy. There are some cars out there from the big 3 that were equally bad, or worse.

 

What a sad list that is!
Sorry, but This is a Vauxhall ChevetteNot a Chevy. Sold in Europe, Not even in the same league.

 

They sold in Canada as a Chevy Chevette. Vauxhall got such a bad name here in the 1960's, that they had to trick us into buying them again!