The GRM readership proper and actual 'worst cars' list

In reply to Joe Gearin:
What is that quote? Something like...
a GM car will run poorly for longer than most cars run at all.

N Sperlo wrote: Tempo

that's actually a Topaz. Don't ask me how I know.... had them both.

jrw1621 wrote: In reply to Joe Gearin: What is that quote? Something like... a GM car will run poorly for longer than most cars run at all.

Tr00f. I have seen SBC's that sounded like you could check the bearing clearances with a tape measure being used as DD's. Might not have been fast etc but they still rolled every day. Those AMC 6 bangers were the same way.

I came here to say "pre-ecotec cavalier" but was beaten in one of the very first posts. Mine broke down 8 times in seven days when I first got it. completely miserable car. but it would go 110 downhill if you were in a big enough hurry. lol

I will agree that the cavalier is pretty bad. I drove one, and it was so slow it was actually scary (I think a 240D 4 speed is about the minimum standard for a safe road car, and it was way slower than that). Other than that, I could pick cars that i dont like (chrysler 300, dodge charger, etc), or ones that i wouldnt want to drive for one reason or another, such as being too small (miata, x1/9), ugly (nissan cube, prius), extremely expensive (Ferrari Daytona), or something I just wouldnt find useful (H1 hummer), but I really dont have a problem with most cars if they make someone happy.

Maroon92 wrote: I will proffer the Triumph TR7. Worst car EVAR! Now, my free Ford Aspire, is another story. It was such an awesome little beater.

Would you say that if you hadn't bought the one you bought and spent 4 grand on the Buick oddfire?

By the way, good work over there at Hooniverse.

DirtyBird222 wrote: - Chevrolet Cavalier/Pontiac Sunfire - especially the pre-ecotec models.

Most reliable car I've ever owned, and I had it for 10 years.

Agree on the Tempo/Topaz, and throw in a 70's Ford Elite I used to work on these through my apprenticeship. Horrible pieces of garbage.

I'd like to say late 90's Tercel, but it was just awful, not worst.

Travis_K wrote: Btw, at least 4 different cars were sold here with the same engine as the delorean ( Citroën xm, Peugeot 505 stx, Volvo 262c, and a Volvo wagon with the same engine.)

My mother had a Volvo 760 GLE with that godawful abomination of an engine in it.

Never, ever, EVER again will I own or work on something with that in it.

It's sad when the local Volvo garage guys just laugh and laugh when they hear the ticking of the PRV v6 chewing up camshafts.

Also, someone said the 2nd gen MR2 looks aggressive? Pardon? Since when does a jellybean look aggressive?

With the understanding we live in North America, so may not have received all the products...

Anything from France. Also, anything designed in France but built here.

Trans_Maro wrote: Also, someone said the 2nd gen MR2 looks aggressive? Pardon? Since when does a jellybean look aggressive?

Well, in comparison to this....

nocones wrote: I almost think this list will be pointless. It seems at least to me that the point of the Grassroots mindset is doing what you want/can with what you have, and that anything is possible with a welder. We have users that run Yugo's, XT's and all kinds of universally panned vehicles. I'll say that the Grassroots Worst Car list should have nothing on it.

It's all in good fun, and wasn't intended to be taken terribly seriously. FWIW, I had in mind a list of "worst" cars that didn't include the universally panned vehicles.

93EXCivic wrote: Morris Marina. And no I am not saying that because of Top Gear. I have been in one.

My father used to have them as company cars in the 70. One saved his life after being pushed off the road by a lorry (semi) and roling multiple times down a 90' embankment. He and the driver survived altough he did spend a couple of weeks in hospital then almost a month recovering.

He had a couple of the 'TC' versions which was Twin Carb, basicaly the MGB engine. For the time they really weren't bad cars, and quite strong as I've mentioned.

I think the worst car list might just include 95% of all cars. For 2012 there are about three that don't suck by default and I can't afford any of them.

Luckily, I have several saws and a welder so almost any of them can be promoted to awesomeness.

Trans_Maro wrote: Also, someone said the 2nd gen MR2 looks aggressive? Pardon? Since when does a jellybean look aggressive?

I'm guessing that would look something like this:

My vote goes for anything with this badge made in the last 15 years

Adrian_Thompson wrote: My vote goes for anything with this badge made in the last 15 years

1996 is probably when Toyotas started going slightly downhill. That still makes them more reliable than most of the other crap cranked out by other manufacturers, though. I would still drive a Corolla long before I would drive a Cruze or whatever Dodge passes as a small car now. And reliability is something that can make a car much more attractive to me than it normally would be. You think I'd drive a Saturn sedan if I cared about looks and speed over reliability?

That said, my worst car pick would have to be one of the most colossally unreliable cars of all time:

Daewoo. In this case, the Nubria. They sold these things 'buy one get one free' for a while because you needed a parts car straight from the showroom.

Holden Camira.

^+1 to that. My folks had one when I was a kid. No redeeming qualities .

In reply to Luke:

I respectfully disagree on the 348, even if it's broken you could still park it in your living room and call it art...

pinchvalve wrote: Satan himself bestowed the mid 80's Buick Century upon the Earth. A cool map light was its only redeeming feature. Even scrap yards won't accept these things. I tried to trow it in a river and the river threw it back. And the Century remains cursed forever. Have you been stuck behind one of these in the left lane going 45 recently?

I LOL'd Thanks for reminding me about my great-grand parent's car...

1997 RAV4 manual trans. Non-Overdrive transmission, 4600rpm cruising and burned through 4 cats, 3 sets of O2 sensors, one rear diff, ECU all before 80k miles.

ddavidv wrote: With the understanding we live in North America, so may not have received all the products... Anything from France. Also, anything designed in France but built here.

Though our Peugeot 505 wagon was underpowered, it was handsome, the interior was fantastic, it was RWD, and it sat 8 forward-seating passengers. Never suffered mechanical or electrical gremlins. The two diesel-powered 504 wagons we had before it were also stout cars, though not as nice inside.

Bobzilla wrote:

N Sperlo wrote: Tempo

that's actually a Topaz. Don't ask me how I know.... had them both.

Just for the sake of argument, (you're probably right) but doing you think if its custom it may share many parts but the base could be either? Just sayin'.

Were there no two door tempos?

The Cadillac of Minivans

Canute wrote: Where's the Chevette hate? Sure, they had a three link and A-arms up front, but the quality was atrocious and I'm not sure the geometry was right. The brakes were dangerously prone to failure. They've disappeared from the roads even in California.

The brakes in a Chevette NEVER fail . . . . .

That's because they NEVER work!

Anti-lock brakes - right to the floor and no lock!