TIME's 50 worst car list

[gwyneth]

The descriptions of why each is awful are brilliant. Here's the overall list, broken down by eras. The earliest one, the "Horsey Horseless" is priceless.

http://www.time.com/time/specials/20...658545,00.html
50 Worst: Complete List

[JTimmons]

LMAO!

1933 Fuller Dymaxion
"Though unworkable, this three-wheeled suppository..."

[gwyneth]

Although I can think of several that should have been on the list that weren't, the one entry on the list that shouldn't be, IMO, is the Amphicar.

Sure, it didn't do roads as well as other cars or water as well as other boats, but you still see them a lot around Indiana, for some reason.

[LCHIEN]

LMAO, that was great - made me stay up too late.

[Uncle Cracker]

Sorry to see the Gremlin on there... I have fond memories of my '72 Gremlin X, which had a factory V-8 and would haul hiney... The Gremlin was also the first with the Levis denim interior, although mine did not have it. Very unusual.

Sorry also to see some of the coolest looking cars of their times on this list for mechanical reasons. (Example: the Aston Martin Lagonda and the DeLorean)

[germdoc]

I love those! A friend of mine had a Gremlin--we loaded 6 guys in it and drove from Chattanooga to Atlanta one weekend--one guy sat scrunched up in the hatchback area. There was some kind of a switch for the ventilation that was labelled "Desert Only"--LOL! Lucky we made it home alive.

Another friend had a string of AMC disasters. Why his family insisted on trying every single new AMC car--maybe to see if one, just one, was alright--after enough rust had been acquired they bequeathed it to my friend...

Oh, come to think of it he did have another car besides the AMC dogs--a Pinto...

[cabinetman]

I had the opprotunity to test drive on the track the Mosler Consulier GT. I must say it was kinda ugly, but it was fast and handled like a go cart. Warren Mosler shouldn't be taken lightly. I've visited his factory, and it's quite a setup. His latest car is the Mosler MT900, see it here. It's very competitive and as good looking and as fast, as anything on the road or track.

What impressed me the most about his factory was that he used to do light weight body duplications in carbon fiber. They made a duplicate van body that looked just like a Ford or Chevy body, that was redesigned to allow for a full stand up for a 6 footer, and dropped the weight of the vehicle by 1800 lbs IIRC. This was advantage to utility companies and service companies that used vans on a daily basis.

[prlundberg]

I don't get why the Explorer, one of Ford's most successful vehicles of all time, is on there.

And why the 1995 model? That's not the year that started the SUV trend.

I agree with many of the cars on the list, but some seem to be political statements.

[rja]

My 1961 Ford Falcon and my 1984 AMC Eagle did not make the list - both maintenance nightmares. The Falcon had a 40,000 mile engine, after which the engine would overheat and burn oil. The Eagle had vacuum operated everything. The numerous vacuum leaks were difficult to track down. The transmission and viscous clutch failed within days of each other resulting in about $2k of repair bills.

[LinuxRandal]

I think I should take some old parts and build the Briggs and Straton one.


Then maybe I should monster garage it, and mow my lawn.

[williwatt]

Car Called a Gremstang

I love those! A friend of mine had a Gremlin--we loaded 6 guys in it and drove from Chattanooga to Atlanta one weekend--one guy sat scrunched up in the hatchback area. There was some kind of a switch for the ventilation that was labelled "Desert Only"--LOL! Lucky we made it home alive.

Another friend had a string of AMC disasters. Why his family insisted on trying every single new AMC car--maybe to see if one, just one, was alright--after enough rust had been acquired they bequeathed it to my friend...

Oh, come to think of it he did have another car besides the AMC dogs--a Pinto...

A friend of mine of mine modified his Gremlin by adding the rear section of a Mustang to it so it had a trunk. He somehow retained the rear glass and it still opened. It was a strange looking car and he called it a Gremstang. To make it look even more bizarre, he added wood running boards to it.

Bill

[gwyneth]

It was a strange looking car and he called it a Gremstang. To make it look even more bizarre, he added wood running boards to it.

Evokes memories of the '68 Camaro "Hawaiian Edition" in which GM marketers tried to capitalize on the surfer trend that had peaked several years before.

Cane or wicker seats, wood steering wheel, a luggage rack for surfboards, and, unbelievably, fake wood panels glued somewhere on the exterior (probably the doors--they and the trunk lid were the only flat surfaces on that beautiful curved design.)

It was a tie-in to a beach movie whose producers also were trying to ride the dying surfer wave.

[LCHIEN]

As much fun as I had the first time thru, reviewing the list, I get more critical of the author (I assume there's just one) who tries to have his cake and eat it too.

For example he castigates the Ford Explorer for setting the trend to oversize, gas-guzzling SUVs and later the Excursion for more such excess. While actually the Explorer was at least a good success in the market.

On the other hand he castigates several cars for being underpowered... the Camaro for example, the California Corvette and at least one Jag and several others.

You can't berate some cars for being environmentally unconscionable and then berate other cars for being less than testosterone-pumping muscle cars.

[germdoc]

My neighbor is painstakingly restoring Triumphs--has a '68 and '76 Spitfire, also just got a late-70's TR7. I don't have the heart to tell him it's a piece of junk...

FWIW they look fun to drive but I wouldn't want to be in an accident with them. With or without the 5-mph rubber bumpers.