100 Worst Cars of All Time

Inside Line ^ | December 12, 2011 | John Pearley Huffman, Former Fiat 124 Owner

[decimon]

If there weren't bad cars, how could the world appreciate the good ones? Since we already went through the Top 100 Vehicles of All-Time, here's a look at some truly awful vehicles. Some of them were fragile. Many were dynamically iffy. A lot were underpowered. And a few would melt into a pile of rust before your eyes.

Terrible, for this list's purposes, is loosely defined as a car that shaped current American automotive culture around its bad example. That doesn't mean that all the cars here were big sellers, only that their undeniable stink made everyone notice.

[Elderberry]

Thanks! I’ll decode it tonight.

[Chickensoup]

Wasnt there a joke song about the Yugo?

[Titan Magroyne]

bmfl

[Georgia Girl 2]

MG Midget. On the road 2 weeks, in the shop 2 weeks.

[IYAS9YAS]

Thanks! I’ll decode it tonight.

You're welcome. See if you can locate the casting number on the block - should be on the driver's side flange where the block mates to the bell housing. The date should be on the top middle at the back or passenger side near the rear freeze plug.

That can tell you where the 454 came from if it's not original to the Corvette.

[Justa]

Mercedes-Benz and Porsche both use sleeveless aluminum engines today. The metallurgy and finishing processes are slightly different, but the basic principles are those developed for the Vega engine.

[McGruff]

I believe Rush has a parody that includes the phrase “...in a YUGO.”

[IYAS9YAS]

The Engine number (not casting number) can tell you more as well. Here's a link from a Corvette site. The engine number is on the passenger side front on a pad just in front of the cylinder head. From what I can gather, the big blocks should have a "T" for Tonawanda plant followed by a two-digit year then two-digit month.

http://www.mcjackscorvettes.com/facts/general.htm

[Elderberry]

My Son had a crate engine put in it when his old motor jumped its timing chain when he was at nuke school. He said afterwards it had a vibration while running. I kept it for him when he was shipped to Guam. I looked at it and discovered the &*/@ mechanic reused the flexplate and balancer from the old motor. Problem was the new motor was externally balanced and obviously the old was internally.

[decimon]

MG Midget. On the road 2 weeks, in the shop 2 weeks.

A well balanced vehicle,

[mmanager]

I had a 1972 Fiat 128. Biggest piece of s$it I have ever owned or had been around. My ex-wife had a 1976 Mercury Bobcat hatch that seemed like a limo compared to that Fiat.

[IYAS9YAS]

My Son had a crate engine put in it when his old motor jumped its timing chain when he was at nuke school.

First off, thanks to your son for his service.

Second, I guess the engine numbers won't matter, so we're back to the VIN. It'd be cool to find out this came with the 454, as it certainly would be rare. I can't find any instance where anything but a 350 is shown for 1975. But, I've seen stranger things.

Back in the mid-80s, my dad's boss had a GMC pickup with Chevrolet trim parts. I know the grill was a for GMC, and the steering wheel had the Chevrolet icon. The dash trim was Chevrolet, too. I don't remember what else was Chevy stuff on it, but it was funny. It wasn't some chop job used truck, either, it was brand new off the lot.

[mmanager]

I had a 1972 Fiat 128. Biggest piece of s$it I have ever owned or had been around. My ex-wife had a 1976 Mercury Bobcat hatch that seemed like a limo compared to that Fiat.

[razorback-bert]

I too had an ‘82 Z, a great car, gave many Porches a run for their money.

[libertyhoundusnr]

Friend owned a Vega for about a month. On his second engine he decided to leave the car at a ghetto mall with the keys in it. He flew to Florida for two weeks. Returned to find his Vega in the same spot untouched.

[gunsequalfreedom]

Mercedes-Benz and Porsche both use sleeveless aluminum engines today. The metallurgy and finishing processes are slightly different, but the basic principles are those developed for the Vega engine.

Spoken like an engineer that worked on Vega engines. Some how I think the volks as Mercedes-Benz and Porsche will take exception to having the engineering of their products having roots in the Vega engine.

The Vega did create a great market for waste oil and recycled oil though. It deserves industry credit for that.

[dglang]

I bought a matched pair of Chevettes when they first came out. They were the same color, A pretty light blue.

I used to joke that we had readily available replacement parts in case one died. The first one lasted about two years before being in a minor accident that left my wife badly bruised and the car undrivable.

Over the next two years we wound up swapping the engine, transmission, rear axle and other pieces from the ‘bad’ car into the ‘good’ car.

I finally gave up when the drivers side floor totally rusted out. It's age at death was FOUR years.

[razorback-bert]

My ex wanted a Vega, it blew three head gaskets and the last time I filled the gap with high heat silicon. Then drove it to a bad section of town and left it. It stayed there two weeks before it disappeared. I paid $1800 for a new 71 model left over in 72. I reported it stolen, but only had liability insurance on it. It only went 6000 miles before blowing up.

[philled]

Truly surprising to see the amount of overlap between this list and Motor Trend magazine’s Car of the Year winners.
http://www.motortrend.com/oftheyear/car/car_of_the_year_winners/

I didn’t look for it but vaguely remember both the 914 and TR7 winning honors from them as well. I believe they used to do “Import Car of the Year” for a while.

Apparently, Motor Trend only got the cars for a week or two and most of them were serviceable during that period.

[gunsequalfreedom]

I had a high school buddy that wanted my waste oil in the milk carton to pour into his vega.

A friend loaned me his Vega. He told me to pull over every 50 miles and add a quart. I did as he said and sure enough, every 50 miles it needed a quart.