El Presidente Posted June 24, 2022 Share Posted June 24, 2022 I had a Jeep and Range Rover that I could add https://www.drive.com.au/caradvice/drive-flashback-the-worst-cars-of-the-20th-century/ Drive Flashback: The worst cars of the 20th Century This week's look back through the Drive archives takes us back 22 years to the year 2000 and the alternative list of the Cars of the Century – the Worst Cars of the 20th Century. Rob Margeit 06:1323 June 2022 21comments 1share View 29 images It was hardly surprising as the pages of the calendar flipped over to 1 January 2000, that the world began assembling its Best of the Century lists. From movies to music, advances in science to fashion, and from influential people and the moments that shaped the 20th century, ‘Best of…’ lists were everywhere. The automotive world wasn’t immune to the charms of Greatest Hits lists, the definitive Car of the Century poll naming the Ford Model T at number one with Alec Issigonis’ iconic Mini just behind ahead of the Citroen DS, Volkswagen Beetle and rounding out the top five, the Porsche 911. But even as the winners’ ink was still drying, the automotive world looked to another parameter to define the century when the automobile came of age. As our cover story in Drive of 23 June, 2000 revealed, even as experts the world over were busy nominating the best cars of the 20th century, British motoring writers began assembling the worst. This is their list. RM Story first published in Drive, 23 June 2000 Britain's National Motor Museum at Beaulieu, southern England, this week opened an exhibition that brings together the worst and the best cars of the past 100 years. The biggest battle for museum manager Roger Bateman was finding examples of cars that appeared in the "worst" list – and convincing owners to put them on display. "That was a bit awkward," he told Drive. "A lot of these people are enthusiasts and obviously they love their cars and want to defend them, not display them for ridicule." Is the museum expecting makers to cause a row? After all, the Jaguar XJ220, McLaren F1 and Volkswagen Beetle appear on the list despite their critical acclaim over the years. "Not yet," he said. "But that may change when the doors open. We don't expect to get any negative reaction from the manufacturers, but we suspect some enthusiasts might not be too impressed. "Anyway, it's not us, it's the newspaper which put the list together." The London Daily Telegraph’s motoring correspondents and readers compiled the 100-worst list to mark the new millennium and the end of the first century of motoring – and to deliver a riposte to the much-hyped Car Of The Century promotion, which installed the Ford Model T in the motoring pantheon. Significantly, the VW Beetle featured in both. Here are some highlights – lowlights? – of the newspaper panel's bad and ugly list. Alfa Romeo Alfasud The pert little Alfa Romeo Alfasud (1972-83) was a Jekyll and Hyde among cars. It was ominously manufactured in the shadow of a volcano – Vesuvius, on the outskirts of Naples – a site chosen under the Italian government's regional development scheme. View 29 images The Sud was fun to drive but cruelly prone to rusting, like many other Italian cars of its day. It had a good engine, sounded great but was also handicapped by a rather plasticky interior, dubious reliability and freefalling second-hand values. Canny Sud owners enjoyed a brief, bitter-sweet love affair – and quickly sold. AMC Pacer Short and ugly, overweight and underpowered, thirsty and dynamically dismal, the AMC Pacer (1975-80) inspired a famously scathing UK magazine headline, "We drive the AMC Pacer – and wish we hadn't". AMC soon withdrew from Britain. View 29 images Armstrong-Siddeley Sapphire A square-set, overweight horror, the Armstrong-Siddeley Sapphire (1952-58) seldom achieved better than 17 litres/100km from its 3.4-litre six-cylinder engine and was sarcastically known as "the rich man's Rolls-Royce", thanks to notoriously poor reliability and high running costs. View 29 images Asia Rocsta The Asia Rocsta (1994-98) had its strengths, but there weren't many. It was brilliant at traversing deep lakes and climbing muddy hills. Not many people do this, however, and such abilities are no use when they can't be combined with mastering level tarmac. A shoddily built, crook Jeep. View 29 images Aston Martin Virage The same craftsmanship appeared to be used on the Aston Martin Virage (1988-92). It looked only partly finished, with highly variable panel gaps and strange inset headlamps. Its claimed 230kW felt barely enough to pull it out of its own weighty shadow. Ghastly build quality and dreadful engine installation added to the horrors. View 29 images Austin Allegro Nicknamed "All aggro", the Austin Allegro (1973-83) was pitiful. The most charitable explanation for this car is that it was part of a successful Communist plot to destroy Britain's motor industry. View 29 images Austin Metro The Austin Metro (1980-90) conspicuously failed to replace the Mini. It was more spacious and much more comfortable – but it was just as crude and a good deal uglier. View 29 images BMW 850 BMW isn't master of the universe after all. The huge BMW 850 coupe (1989-99) was lacking in most areas; a criminally cramped cabin, lacklustre performance, anodyne handling and all the charisma of wet sand. A second-hand snip, but who'd want one? View 29 images Chevrolet Corvair A costly mistake for GM, the Chevrolet Corvair (1960-69) was the car that launched the career of safety campaigner Ralph Nader. In extreme cornering the inside rear swing axle tucked under and caused dramatic rollovers. Corvairs are now favoured by collectors, who don't drive them much. View 29 images Chrysler (Dodge) Viper The Chrysler Viper (1992-) is uncomfortable, badly made, with a cacophonous truck engine and a soft-top that Telegraph motoring contributor David Vivian aptly described as "like a crashed hang-glider". It's very quick, but unpleasant to drive and absurdly overpriced. View 29 images Daewoo Cielo General Motors had sound reason for dropping the MkII Astra when it did: it was old and it was rubbish. Someone in Korea bought the tooling and dragged the venerable Vauxhall back to life as something else: the Daewoo Cielo (1995-97). It was a mistake. View 29 images DeLorean DMC12 British taxpayers spent millions on the DeLorean DMC12 (1981-82): conclusive proof that stainless steel is an excellent material for making kitchen sinks. View 29 images Ferrari 400i All Ferraris are good, right? Wrong. The Ferrari 400i (1979-89) was a cynical marketing exercise which betrayed the Ferrari ethos. This was a stumbling nag, not a prancing horse. Too big, too heavy and mostly fitted with a three-speed automatic, it should have been taken to the knackery. View 29 images Ford Capri 1300 The Ford Capri 1300 (1969-74) was billed as "The car you always promised yourself" – unless of course it was the base model, which had the power-to-weight ratio of a housebrick. It was soon axed – the only quick thing that ever happened to it. View 29 images Ford Edsel The Ford Edsel (1958-60) was the archetypal motor industry disaster. The Telegraph's David Burgess-Wise called it "Ford's most costly mistake" (estimate: between $250 and $350 million). Less certain is the cause of its failure: was it an economic recession, or the stylised representation on the grille of female genitalia that kept customers away? View 29 images Ford Scorpio With its gaping, ingenuous smiley mouth and its fat, matronly rump, the Ford Scorpio (1995-98), was one of the silliest-looking cars of the century. The sum of idiotic body parts, it was widely ridiculed during its short life, sold miserably and its unlamented early demise is proof that style matters. View 29 images Jaguar XJ220 Never before has a car that cost so much as the Jaguar XJ220 (1992-94) sounded so awful. For its exorbitant £415,000 price-tag, the ill-conceived Jaguar supercar was a visual firecracker that became a damp squib when its meagre V6 rattled to life. View 29 images Lada Riva The spartan Lada Riva (1982-), essentially a Soviet-built Fiat 124, went on sale in 1970 but was known as the Riva from '82. Rough and rugged are two of the kindest words that spring to mind. The same money spent on a tractor would have delivered a lot more fun. View 29 images Lotus Esprit Build quality in the Lotus Esprit (1976-77) was appalling: under the rear compartment carpet, roughly hewn pieces of plywood were secured by four or five different sizes of bolt, presumably whatever was lying around. It tended to spin violently and irretrievably. View 29 images Mahindra Jeep A wickedly slow WWII Willys Jeep replica, and diabolically built to boot, the Mahindra Jeep (1993-95) was so unspeakably bad that the PR man who left the keys in an example in a London car park commented: "Well, who do you think will steal it?" View 29 images Maserati Biturbo The Maserati Biturbo (1981-87) was a desperate attempt to build an Italian BMW. Poor quality, vicious handling (especially on wet roads) and kitsch interior contrasted with numbingly bland styling. Silly price, too. View 29 images McLaren F1 Schoolboys tell you the McLaren F1 (1994-98) is the world's most amazing car. Grown-ups acknowledge that it's the world's most amazing waste of money - and not just because an annual sevice can cost the equivalent of $25,000. View 29 images But the F1's thrusting central throne allows egotistical millionaires to demonstrate amazing car control as they cruise along motorways at 30 per cent of the car's top speed. The McLaren doesn't have a sun visor, presumably because owners wear shades all the time. Fair enough: anyone who buys a car this ugly must be blind. Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR The Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR (1999), like the McLaren a missile designed to win the Le Mans 24 Hours, was as unstable as it was fast. The drivers got the blame on the first two occasions the thing took off and flipped without explanation, so Benz went ahead and raced anyway. The third time it happened, on live TV, the penny dropped. Merc withdrew, later scrapping its sports car program. View 29 images Rolls-Royce Silver Seraph The Rolls-Royce Silver Seraph (1998-), brought to you by "the makers of the best car in the world" (R-R) and the producers of "the ultimate driving machine" (BMW) should be a dream ticket but lacks space, grace and charm – Rolls and Royce would have cringed. View 29 images Trabant Made, incredibly, of pressed cardboard, the Trabant (1959-90) was the butt of many jokes, the most notable: "How do you repair your S Class after it has hit a Trabby at 240km/h? Switch on the headlamp washers." View 29 images Triumph Mayflower The Triumph Mayflower (1949-53) was an attempt to make a utilitarian version of a large limousine. Tragically ugly, with no handling to speak of and hardly any power. Of 35,000 made, almost all biodegraded, apart from a few in the hands of fanatics. View 29 images Triumph Stag Basically a roofless Triumph 2000 sedan, the Triumph Stag (1970-77) had a disaster-prone V8 and a T-bar safety hoop, evidently to hold the monocoque body together. The stablemate TR7 (1975-81) was a stodgy two-seater sedan masquerading as a sports car. Its wedge-shaped body was its only distinctive feature. View 29 images A distinguished designer, on seeing the TR7 in profile, walked around the vehicle and said: "Oh no, they've done it to this side as well!" View 29 images Volkswagen Beetle Hindsight still cannot explain the popularity of the Volkswagen Beetle (1945-), with its abysmal handling, constipated sewing-machine engine and poor packaging. Clever advertising persuaded millions of otherwise right-thinking people to buy Adolf Hitler's dream car and call it cute. Ferdinand Porsche stole the original design from Tatra's Hans Ledwinka – who was jailed for Nazi collaboration; subsequent compensation payments nearly broke Volkswagen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post NSXCIGAR Posted June 24, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted June 24, 2022 This is more like this guy's list of cars he personally doesn't like for unspecified reasons. Most of them I won't argue with but many are just plain wrong. I have my own ideas of what makes a car terrible and while I've never been a fan of the VW Beetle it's greatness in terms of automotive history can't be questioned. The XJ220's "meager" V6? It was only the fastest car in history at the time which is a tremendous achievement for any V6. And it still looks very cool to me. The Dodge Viper was the first of it's kind. Looked great and was as raw as it gets. First production V10 and the largest engine ever produced. If you've ever driven one it's a wild ride. Closest thing to sitting on an engine block with wheels you'll ever get. Wait, they actually did that with the Dodge Tomahawk! https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodge_Tomahawk The McLaren F1 is possibly the greatest car ever made. The technology and research that went in to it is incredible. It was the fastest car in the world for over a decade. It was the most pure racing car ever built. And it was simply incredible looking. The DeLorean has just become bigger than itself. The fact that they are sought after and are considered cool to this day means it can't be one of the worst. That said, the Ferrari 400i was pretty bad. I'll certainly agree with that one. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tdm_86 Posted June 24, 2022 Share Posted June 24, 2022 My mom briefly had an Austin Metro in the early 90’s, as our second car. It was pretty shit. My uncle owned a Maserati Biturbo in the late 90’s, which was a pretty cool car. But it had terrible wiring (surprise surprise), so we rewired it completely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chibearsv Posted June 24, 2022 Share Posted June 24, 2022 No mention of the most ironically named car of all time? I give you the Pontiac Fiero 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cgoodrich Posted June 24, 2022 Share Posted June 24, 2022 I’d like to add the AMC Gremlin and Ford Pinto. Grandpa convinced my dad to buy a used Gremlin, dad regretted it the whole time we owned it. Had a high school buddy who owned the Pinto, horrible car. The gas crisis in the 1970’s shed a light on lack of engineering talent here in the states! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thirdcoastwatch Posted June 24, 2022 Share Posted June 24, 2022 Pontiac Aztek was quite fugly 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrightonCorgi Posted June 24, 2022 Share Posted June 24, 2022 What a crap article. How many McLaren F1's or XJ220's has he been in? Has he ever owned a Virage? Doubt it. BMW owns Rolls Royce now. Seraph is an easier to own car than the Arnage just because of the engine. Only car in the article I have owned was the Maserati Biturbo. 15 hours ago, NSXCIGAR said: That said, the Ferrari 400i was pretty bad. I'll certainly agree with that one. That was the car Enzo Ferrari use to drive personally. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chibearsv Posted June 24, 2022 Share Posted June 24, 2022 2 hours ago, cgoodrich said: I’d like to add the AMC Gremlin and Ford Pinto. Grandpa convinced my dad to buy a used Gremlin, dad regretted it the whole time we owned it. Had a high school buddy who owned the Pinto, horrible car. The gas crisis in the 1970’s shed a light on lack of engineering talent here in the states! You're showing the Mercury Bobcat which is the high line version of the Pinto...if anyone could say such a thing 🤣 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrightonCorgi Posted June 24, 2022 Share Posted June 24, 2022 4 hours ago, cgoodrich said: The gas crisis in the 1970’s shed a light on lack of engineering talent here in the states! The big difference with American vs. European & Asian cars were that American cars were built with English measurement; not Metric. Metric allows for more precise fabrication and manufacture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ites Posted June 24, 2022 Share Posted June 24, 2022 1 hour ago, BrightonCorgi said: The big difference with American vs. European & Asian cars were that American cars were built with English measurement; not Metric. Metric allows for more precise fabrication and manufacture. Huh.. How so? The precision of fabrication and manufacture would be limited to the tools and skills used, not whether measured in x or y unit. Or am I missing something? 🤔 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrightonCorgi Posted June 24, 2022 Share Posted June 24, 2022 16 minutes ago, Ites said: Huh.. How so? The precision of fabrication and manufacture would be limited to the tools and skills used, not whether measured in x or y unit. Or am I missing something? 🤔 The smaller unit increments make for tighter tolerances. American cars are metric now. 32 centimeter = 12.598425197 inch. Not so easy to measure that inches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bijan Posted June 24, 2022 Share Posted June 24, 2022 43 minutes ago, Ites said: Huh.. How so? The precision of fabrication and manufacture would be limited to the tools and skills used, not whether measured in x or y unit. Or am I missing something? 🤔 I think the idea is than with inches, it's standard to do binary fractions to a certain degree. So 1/4", 1/8", 3/8", 3/16". Where 1/16" is about 1.6mm. But you get smaller one like 1/32, and 1/64 (Cigar RG is in 64ths of an inch). So it's more of a function of the conventions than the units. Edit: That's to say if you need a part exactly 1.8% larger, then it's not going to map to a convenient fraction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Puros Y Vino Posted June 24, 2022 Share Posted June 24, 2022 A few years ago I sold off 1 of my 2 McClaren F1's. I found the bright red one to be a bit garish. I prefer the Two tone Midnight Blue/Silver prototype. Which of course is more rare. As both cars are 1:18 scale, I really didn't spend much, though the resale of the red one gained me a tidy profit. 😁 But honestly. The F1 and XJ220 in a "worst" list? The F1 is a technical, design and performance triumph. It still looks better than most hypercars today. And the 3 seat configuration is engineering at it's finest. When I think of all the paring down Ferrari had to do with the F40 to make it hit 200MPH and then McClaren basically makes a comfortable supercar with all the amenities a "reasonable" daily driver it's kind of a joke to call is "bad". The only bad thing is the price and it's limited production run. 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NSXCIGAR Posted June 24, 2022 Share Posted June 24, 2022 7 hours ago, BrightonCorgi said: That was the car Enzo Ferrari use to drive personally. It was the only GT car they had so I'm sure he did. And it was the only Ferrari with an automatic trans. To be fair the 400i was really an attempt to bring the 400 into emissions compliance so it really didn't have a chance. Looking at it now it's actually not too bad as a vintage Ferrari. Very 70s to be sure but not a total disaster aesthetically. That description would go to the Mondial IMO. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HDGSN Posted June 24, 2022 Share Posted June 24, 2022 I’ll accept no libel or slander of the F1. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NSXCIGAR Posted June 24, 2022 Share Posted June 24, 2022 8 hours ago, Thirdcoastwatch said: Pontiac Aztek was quite fugly Yes it is but we're talking about the worst car overall. The Aztek was actually somewhat popular and fairly practical. It had a very large hatchback trunk. I still see them on the road occasionally. Personally I think the Fiat Multipla is much weirder looking than the Aztek 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thirdcoastwatch Posted June 24, 2022 Share Posted June 24, 2022 56 minutes ago, NSXCIGAR said: Yes it is but we're talking about the worst car overall. The Aztek was actually somewhat popular and fairly practical. It had a very large hatchback trunk. I still see them on the road occasionally. Personally I think the Fiat Multipla is much weirder looking than the Aztek We have a winner! Damn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cigcars Posted June 24, 2022 Share Posted June 24, 2022 *You all left out the Renault Alliance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chibearsv Posted June 24, 2022 Share Posted June 24, 2022 1 hour ago, Thirdcoastwatch said: We have a winner! Damn. Well it’s the ugliest but did it self ignite? 😜 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrightonCorgi Posted June 25, 2022 Share Posted June 25, 2022 14 hours ago, NSXCIGAR said: Personally I think the Fiat Multipla is much weirder looking than the Aztek I've done my fair share of driving in a Multipla and it's a great car. 3 front seats, enormous windows and gearing that suits the car really well. I cannot find much utilitarian fault. Striking design too. I am a fan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NSXCIGAR Posted June 25, 2022 Share Posted June 25, 2022 2 hours ago, BrightonCorgi said: I've done my fair share of driving in a Multipla and it's a great car. 3 front seats, enormous windows and gearing that suits the car really well. I can find much utilitarian fault. Striking design too. I am a fan. Yes, the design is striking...like being struck in the groin. I actually know nothing about the Multipla. I only brought it up as response to the Aztek being brought up as bad because it looked terrible. There are weirder looking cars than the Aztek. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fugu Posted June 25, 2022 Share Posted June 25, 2022 29 minutes ago, NSXCIGAR said: Yes, the design is striking...like being struck in the groin. So true! I remember vividly when I saw that car the first time, my immediate thought being - what the heck were designers thinking? (or smoking....). 😂 It might all lie in the eye of the beholder, but in absolute terms a complete design fail. It hurts when looking at it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NSXCIGAR Posted June 25, 2022 Share Posted June 25, 2022 13 minutes ago, Fugu said: So true! I remember vividly when I saw that car the first time, my immediate thought being - what the heck were designers thinking? (or smoking....). 😂 It might all lie in the eye of the beholder, but in absolute terms a complete design fail. It hurts when looking at it. They pretty obviously had a top and a bottom that wasn't designed together they just fused. If they had just eliminated that lower windshield bulge/bubble at the hood it wouldn't be so bad. Unfortunately the Aztek does look like a ground-up design. They missed the mark on that one. A rare total design fail by an American car company since the 1980s. It's amazing how many ridiculous things get approved in these board meetings of major corporations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cgoodrich Posted June 25, 2022 Share Posted June 25, 2022 On 6/25/2022 at 12:36 AM, Chibearsv said: You're showing the Mercury Bobcat which is the high line version of the Pinto...if anyone could say such a thing 🤣 Correct, didn’t catch that. Ford, Mercury, Bobcat, Pincat…all pieces of crap. On 6/25/2022 at 2:05 AM, BrightonCorgi said: The big difference with American vs. European & Asian cars were that American cars were built with English measurement; not Metric. Metric allows for more precise fabrication and manufacture. Wouldn’t call that the big difference. I know machinists that’s could hold 0.0001” (0.0025mm) on a manual lathe/mill. Heck, I’m no machinist by a long shot and could hold 0.0005” (0.010mm) on a lathe. It was the designing apathy in the 70’s, no vision or creativity in the designs. And I don’t mean “cute” when saying creativity. They were structured to not think outside the box. It was the poor mentality at the top of the big 3 that constrained young engineers. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrightonCorgi Posted June 25, 2022 Share Posted June 25, 2022 10 minutes ago, cgoodrich said: Wouldn’t call that the big difference. I know machinists that’s could hold 0.0001” (0.0025mm) on a manual lathe/mill. Heck, I’m no machinist by a long shot and could hold 0.0005” (0.010mm) on a lathe. It was the designing apathy in the 70’s, no vision or creativity in the designs. And I don’t mean “cute” when saying creativity. They were structured to not think outside the box. It was the poor mentality at the top of the big 3 that constrained young engineers. For sure, American design wasn't cutting edge in the 70's, but there plenty of attractive cars from Lincoln, Cadillac, and Buick that held to iconic American lines. There's a whole machine shop in my parents' garage and my family owns a micro machining business in Biel, Switzerland (https://jauvtismp.com). It's not that something couldn't machined to the 1/64th of an inch, but think of manufacturing a car with 100's of parts and production in the 100K+ with multiple vendors and processes. Imperial just doesn't allow for as much precision to scale as metric. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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