Some Of The Worst Cars Ever Made Will Make You Rethink Your Buying Options
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No one wants to drive a lemon. You know, the car you buy, then as soon as you take it off the lot something fails. The engine goes kaput, or the brakes don’t work. The worst thing that could happen goes wrong, and you’re left with a huge monetary loss. How do you avoid this? One of the easiest things to do is to avoid cars that were made poorly to begin with. This list will show you some of the worst cars ever made, so you don’t end up trying to make lemonade out of a lemon.
The 2004 Chevy SSR Was All For Show
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The SSR in Chevy SSR stands for “Super Sport Roadster.” Upon release, consumers realized this car was anything but a super, sporty roadster. Instead, it was a heavy and slow failure of a car with shiny retro design.
If only Chevy had cared as much about what was under the hood as they cared about what it looked like. The car’s body was too heavy for its engine, resulting in a sluggish performance that many critics described as lazy. Just as quickly as this car was released, it was put to rest.
No One Liked The Pontiac Aztek
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As soon as the Pontiac Aztek was announced, it was universally hated by car lovers. Critics claimed the design of the car itself made no sense, especially its oddly-shaped front end. It didn’t help that the body was made of plastic instead of something safer.
When Pontiac announced the features that would come with the Aztek and the price tag they would have to pay, it became clear the crossover was doomed. People just weren’t willing to pay for unimpressive performance and underwhelming design.
The Mustang II Was A Major Mistake
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Ford bought into the idea of Pinto like no one could have expected. The Mustang II was based on the same idea as the Pinto. It was designed as a coupe that was supposed to drive like a roadster.
Like the Pinto, the Mustang II suffered from several fatal flaws, including a generally underwhelming performance. Upon its release, critics called it the poor man’s AMC Gremlin, a similar car which offered better performance. Of course, the Gremlin wasn’t popular either, so maybe that wasn’t a good thing.
The Lincoln Blackwood Vanished In Less Than One Year
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Raise your hand if you remember the Lincoln Blackwood. Released in 2002, the crossover project between Lincoln and Ford was a strange attempt to create a luxury pick up truck. It was so strange that consumers rejected it entirely, and Lincoln and Ford pulled the plug in less than one year.
In reality, there was nothing wrong with the car, it was just that everything Lincoln tried, from rear wheel drive to the luxury trimmed interior, seemed out of place in a truck.
The Lamborghini LM002 Made Zero Sense
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Lamborghini’s first mistake in designing and releasing the LM002 was thinking their consumer base wanted to take their car off roading. Before being released to the public, Lamborghini marketed the LM002 to the American military with their “Cheetah” prototype.
We don’t think anyone buys a Lamborghini to go play in the mud, though. Lamborghini stuck by their beliefs, producing 382 of these off road super luxury vehicles between 1986 and 1993. It became known as the Lamborghini truck.
The 1975 AMC Pacer Was Great For Professional Drivers
The 1975 AMC Pacer did not help reverse the poor fortunes of the American Motor Company. Released at the height of the ’70s compact car craze, the Pacer was the king of the hill when it came to size and fuel economy.
Getting behind the wheel of one, however, turned out to be pretty dangerous. Critics were quick to point out the Pacer’s poor performance and difficult handling. In other words, the car might have been fun for race car drivers, but not consumers who just wanted to get to and from work safely.
The Maserati Biturbo Ruined The Brand's Reputation
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In the early ’80s, Maserati was under new ownership who wanted to released a “more affordable” sports car under the brand name. The result was the Biturbo, a car which many blame for Maserati leaving the American market in 1991.
Surprisingly, Maserati kept making Biturbos overseas until 1997. In 2002, the brand finally returned to the United States. The Maserati Spyder, priced at $89,000, helped the company return to prominence, with over 800 orders placed (high for a luxury model) before it was even shipped.
The Cadillac Fleetwood Was The King Of Awkward
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The Cadillac Fleetwood that we’re referring to was manufactured from 1976 until 1996 and never found stable footing in the market. Even though it lasted for 20 years, the car had a bad reputation for stalling, jerking, and making awkward noises.
The name “Fleetwood” had been used as a pre-fix by Cadillac since 1935. It described cars with longer wheelbases than the DeVille and Series 62 Models. In 1996, the final year of the production, only 15,109 units were produced by Cadillac, less than half of the 1993 production number.
The Ferrari Mondial 8 Was Never Meant For Greatness
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The Ferrari Mondial 8 was produced for two years starting in 1980. In that time there was a rumor that every single model’s system failed. That’s how bad this car’s reputation was. It was replaced in 1983 by the Mondial QV.
At the time of its release, the Mondial 8 wasn’t met with the worst reviews. It was called “impressive” and “respectable.” It was only after the car was on the road for about a year that the truth came out. In a retrospective, Time Magazine listed it as the eighth worst car of all-time.
