Worst Cars Of All Time Rated

prostoalex writes "Forbes magazine complains that people nowadays do not have a real understanding of how awful a car can truly be. Hence they compiled a list of the worst cars available in the US, or 'lemons' created after World War 2. In the former Eastern Bloc, there are plenty of other choices, including this Ukrainian jewel, as well as many Soviet cars did not make it to the Forbes article."

Comments

The Holden

[So Called Expert]

In New Zealand, there was a joke about the Holden that went something like this:

Q: What's the difference between a sheep and a Holden?
A: You wouldn't want to be seen getting out of a Holden.

Forgot One

[CavyDriver]

Pontiac Aztek!

That car is so bad, it must have been hit twice with the ugly stick.

Doh

[NanoGator]

Figures. I have 3 from that list sitting in my front yard. At least I don't have to mow the grass, just move the cars around once a month.

Ford Escort?

[onyxruby]

Where is the Ford Escort? I have personly been in 2 that had the engine catch fire, and have known of two others that caught fire. Meanwhile, the Edsel, quite possibly the ugliest car Ford ever made was a fairly decent car for it's time. As for Pontiac Fiero, I owned one once and had it catch fire while it was parked and being washed in a stall. I had to rewire the /entire/ car. On the other hand it had the best handling of any car I have ever driven.

Russian: LADA

[Phil John]

...I remember my dad got one for my mum when her 15 year old fiat finally gave out, he thought it would be a good deal, (i.e. it was cheap).

Well, they got it home and found out one of the tires had a slow puncture...so before we could go out in it for a test drive, that had to be fixed. And that was just the start of it.

Over the next 7 years that car had so much money spent on it just to keep it going through Control Technique (the belgian M.O.T.) that the decision was finally made to get my mum a new car. So my parents went to the V.W. garage and she decided to get a polo, at which point they found out that if they took the LADA to the scrapyard they would give them more money for the car than the V.W. dealership would give as a part-ex. Yes, it was worth more as scrap! :o)

Reminds me of all the old lada jokes we used to gall my dad with,

Q)Why do LADA's have heated rear-windscreens?
A)To keep your hands warm whilst you are pushing it.

I also remember the first aid kit that came with the thing had phials of Ether in it...good thing my mom never crashed!

OTOH, that polo has been going for well over 10 years and shows no sign of dieing yet.

Ah, happy days! :o)

Re:Russian: LADA

[roman_mir]

another old anecdote:

A soviet drove his Lada(01) to Munich and it broke at some point there. Some Mercedes driver offered his help and used a rope to tie the cars together to pull Lada to the nearest mechanic. On the way a Volvo decided to race the Mercedes, and apparently the Merc. driver forgot about Lada at its back.

Later local newspaper had a headline: Lada participates in a race! A Mercedes and a Volvo were seen to race each other on the autoban, but apparently a Soviet made Lada was seen chasing them from behind and honking the horn, so that the two cars would move aside and let it through.

Re:Personal Experience: Fiero

[telecaster]

How the hell can a Yugo be worse then a Pinto?
The Pinto actually blew up and killed people!

Yeah, the Yugo was bad. But I don't remember the damn thing blowing up. You have to run to blow up....

Yugo joke

[Mr_Icon]

A man enters an auto parts store and addresses the mechanic:
"I'd like a pair of windshield wipers for my Yugo."

The mechanic looks at him thoughtfully, then says:
"Sure, sounds like a fair trade..."

Re:Personal Experience: Fiero

[breon.halling]

This was moderated "Insightful"?!?!?! WTF? Hasn't anyone ever seen this?

Re:Ah, the Pinto.

[iamhassi]

"I have a ford escort, 100,000 miles, 8 years. Never broken down on me. Still has original battery, starts up everytime."

So that's where that car ended up! Ford's been searching for the only escort they made that was decent, but some delivery driver lost it (it's Ford! They can't wipe their own....).

Well glad to hear someone got it and they're happy with it.

burn karma burn...

The Yugo

[donutello]

WARNING: Some people might find the following joke offensive. If you are one of those people, you should stop reading now.

Q: What's the difference between a Mercedes Benz and a Yugo?
A: You couldn't catch Princess Di dead in a Yugo.

Re:Aren't all American cars in this category?

[Scooter]

You guys sent a PROBE to Mars? What with all the expense and effort, why didn't you send them a decent car?!?

Geez - was it at least the V6 "GT" version?

Re:Ah, the Pinto.

[stefanlasiewski]

With a flying Pinto, you'll crash into the ground, the gas tank will spray gasoline all over you, and then you'll fly through the windshield.

What a novel idea! It's like the exact opposite of seat belts and airbags.

Re:Personal Experience: Fiero

[El]

The real question is: in which vehicle have more people died from embarrassment while driving? Whether you die in flames, or simply never get a second date because you pick women up in a Yugo, either way, you're pretty much taking your genes out of the gene pool, aren't you?

Re:Where are the British Cars?

[UncleFluffy]

You forgot the classic: "it's not leaking oil, it's marking its territory".

Yes, I still love my MG...