Car and Driver apologizes for some top 10 bad calls...

[Particle Man]

http://autos.yahoo.com/articles/autos_content_landing_pages/846/dishonorable-mention-the-10-most-embarrassing-award-winners-in-automotive-history

[pauldun170]

I disagree with the XR4Ti and Contour. Both were worthy at the time of release.

C&D seems to be nailing them for being slow sellers that didn't meet expectations.

They should be sticking to the merits of the cars.
XR4Ti was VERY interesting when it came out, too bad all the press kept harping on "Merkur". As for the Contour, it was a huge step up for Ford. Between the new engines and overall setup of the car why should they regret nominating it?

[marko138]

Those are some ugly ass cars. Jimmy Rome was blasting his old XR4ti the other day. Funny.

[Rider]

I disagree with the XR4Ti and Contour. Both were worthy at the time of release.

C&D seems to be nailing them for being slow sellers that didn't meet expectations.

They should be sticking to the merits of the cars.
XR4Ti was VERY interesting when it came out, too bad all the press kept harping on "Merkur". As for the Contour, it was a huge step up for Ford. Between the new engines and overall setup of the car why should they regret nominating it?

My In-Laws had a Mercur Scorpio. Biggest piece of shit to come out of Ford. My In-Laws will never buy Ford again.

[pauldun170]

My In-Laws had a Mercur Scorpio. Biggest piece of shit to come out of Ford. My In-Laws will never buy Ford again.


Half the cars on the road were pieces of shit back then.

[Homeslice]

If anyone should apologize it's Motor Trend, for their stupid "Car of the Year" awards which are pretty meaningless.

[pickle.of.doom]

Damn we put out a LOT of shit in the 80's. I don't know if I can think of any GOOD models that came out of the 80's. The Escort?

[pauldun170]

Damn we put out a LOT of shit in the 80's. I don't know if I can think of any GOOD models that came out of the 80's. The Escort?

It's amazing how people forget that there were few exceptions among worldwide auto manufactures.

Car nuts go crazy on how 60's era Muscle Cars were. (Unreliable garbage)
70's and early 80's era Japanese cars (rusted unreliable garbage)

[Homeslice]

There hasn’t been a more generic or uninteresting car made in America than the 1997 Chevrolet Malibu.
plusone

[was92v]

Quote:
There hasn’t been a more generic or uninteresting car made in America than the 1997 Chevrolet Malibu.

plusone

Hum, well a 1979 Ford Fairmont comes to mind as well as every K-car.

[Chris S]

Damn we put out a LOT of shit in the 80's. I don't know if I can think of any GOOD models that came out of the 80's. The Escort?

CRX Si
Miata
Mustang GT (and the return of performance that it started)
C4 Corvette

[OneSickPsycho]

Bronco.

[Homeslice]

CRX Si
Miata
Mustang GT (and the return of performance that it started)
C4 Corvette

MR2
Supra
Prelude
325is
944

[OneSickPsycho]

Grand National... The end.

[pickle.of.doom]

Ok I'll give you some of those... but man, 80's nearly killed the mustang. Think of like an 84 4cylinder mustang LX... ack!

Trucks all sucked. Ranger's and S-10's were starting to pop up everywhere, and they were pieces of shit. Full size too... beds would rust out within 2 winters up here. Although my 84 escort wagon would just go, and go, and go... it could even out off-road most 4x4's :D

[OneSickPsycho]

Ok I'll give you some of those... but man, 80's nearly killed the mustang. Think of like an 84 4cylinder mustang LX... ack!

Trucks all sucked. Ranger's and S-10's were starting to pop up everywhere, and they were pieces of shit. Full size too... beds would rust out within 2 winters up here. Although my 84 escort wagon would just go, and go, and go... it could even out off-road most 4x4's :D

4 banger turbo Mustang anyone? No? Good choice.

[101lifts2]

Damn we put out a LOT of shit in the 80's. I don't know if I can think of any GOOD models that came out of the 80's. The Escort?

Chevy Caprice...Ford Crown Victoria

[101lifts2]

CRX Si
Miata
Mustang GT (and the return of performance that it started)
C4 Corvette


Miata came out in 1990.

CRX Si was the biggest rust bucket. My brother had one and I couldn't even lift the car up with a jack w/o going through the floor. But yeah the motor and trans were VG.

[pickle.of.doom]

Chevy Caprice...Ford Crown Victoria

Yeah, but those were only good because they had to be so they wouldn't lose out on that pimp police vehicle contract :)

[pauldun170]

Gonna have to say that 944's were nightmares, C4's were crap during the 80's. Mustang was ok...for the time period. Can't say much about Grand Nationals because now that they've reached "mythic status" and they are not too common it's tough finding how well the typical STOCK Gand National held up over the years.

[pauldun170]

Miata came out in 1990.

CRX Si was the biggest rust bucket. My brother had one and I couldn't even lift the car up with a jack w/o going through the floor. But yeah the motor and trans were VG.

Miata available stateside July 1989.

[pauldun170]

Ok I'll give you some of those... but man, 80's nearly killed the mustang. Think of like an 84 4cylinder mustang LX... ack!

Trucks all sucked. Ranger's and S-10's were starting to pop up everywhere, and they were pieces of shit. Full size too... beds would rust out within 2 winters up here. Although my 84 escort wagon would just go, and go, and go... it could even out off-road most 4x4's :D

Rangers and BroncoII - The 2.9 was flawed but They weren't complete garbage.
Loved my BroncoII.

S-10's (lil ones)...I hated them.

[pickle.of.doom]

Yeah they sucked even into the 90's. I had a 92 that would chew up u joints like pez.

[Homeslice]

Broncos were butt-fucking ugly compared to the Blazer. The Blazer was one of the first trucks that got people into thinking that a truck could be pimp. That and the 4.0 Cherokee Limited with gold wheels.

[pauldun170]

Broncos were butt-fucking ugly compared to the Blazer. The Blazer was one of the first trucks that got people into thinking that a truck could be pimp. That and the 4.0 Cherokee Limited with gold wheels.

I'm going to come out and dismiss your opinion since you were not really "around" during the time and are basing your opinion off of the current environment peppered with San Diego silliness.

[pauldun170]

I will give it to you that the 2dr Blazer had decent lines.

[marko138]

No doubt there were some Super shit cars in the last several years.

[Homeslice]

I'm going to come out and dismiss your opinion since you were not really "around" during the time and are basing your opinion off of the current environment peppered with San Diego silliness.

So I wasn't around during the 80's?

[pauldun170]

So I wasn't around during the 80's?

Watching Sesame Street and GI Joe? Yes.
As I child you were around.

[Homeslice]

Uh, no.......I was finishing up high school.
I would think the name Homeslice would be a dead giveaway, since that word pretty much faded out after the late 80's.

[pauldun170]

Uh, no.......I was finishing up high school.
I would think the name Homeslice would be a dead giveaway, since that word pretty much faded out after the late 80's.

Damn...how old are you?

Don't tell me you have taken away my weapon of seniority to derail opinions.
If that's the case, then I'm going to have to rely on a "go fuck your self asshole" for calling the Bronco II ugly.
I hate doing that but you've backed me into a corner.

[RACER X]

83-84 GTi :rockwoot:

[unknownroad]

I disagree with the XR4Ti and Contour. Both were worthy at the time of release.

C&D seems to be nailing them for being slow sellers that didn't meet expectations.

They should be sticking to the merits of the cars.
XR4Ti was VERY interesting when it came out, too bad all the press kept harping on "Merkur".

It doesn't matter what the press harped on... it didn't sell because it was fucking funny-looking. I agree, though, that in an era of shitboxes, it was actually fairly decent.

I think they added the Contour just to round out 10 and stick with the theme... really, the essential list would be the Alliance, Citation, Mustang II, and Vega, when it comes to "10 Best" cars that were actually awful pieces of shit.

[101lifts2]

Miata available stateside July 1989.

As a 1990 model. Nearly all vehicles are released in July the year prior for resale value reasons.

[101lifts2]

Broncos were butt-fucking ugly compared to the Blazer. The Blazer was one of the first trucks that got people into thinking that a truck could be pimp. That and the 4.0 Cherokee Limited with gold wheels.

The Bronco II based off of the Ranger was the shit. Ugly it was not.

[pickle.of.doom]

I was much more a fan of the full size Bronco's

[OneSickPsycho]

The Bronco II based off of the Ranger was the shit. Ugly it was not.

Yeah right, those were one of the most terrible looking vehicles ever made. Borrowed the rear side windows out of a space ship and made the whole thing look doppy and top heavy.

[Chris S]

As a 1990 model. Nearly all vehicles are released in July the year prior for resale value reasons.

No shit, Sherlock! The list was created in response to someone's assertion that no good cars came out in the 80's. The Miata came out in the '80s irrespective of what MY label they slapped on it, and was/is a great car.

[101lifts2]

No shit, Sherlock! The list was created in response to someone's assertion that no good cars came out in the 80's. The Miata came out in the '80s irrespective of what MY label they slapped on it, and was/is a great car.

It a 1990 model fucktard....not 80s.

[101lifts2]

Yeah right, those were one of the most terrible looking vehicles ever made. Borrowed the rear side windows out of a space ship and made the whole thing look doppy and top heavy.

How do figure??

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?ct=p&car_id=256882325&dealer_id=63697571&car_year=1989&rdm=1233125200403&model=B2&num_records=25&systime=&make2=&highlightFirstMakeModel=&start_year=1981&keywordsfyc=&keywordsfyc=&keywordsrep=&keywordsrep=&engine=&certified=&body_code=0&fuel=&awsp=false&search_type=both&distance=500&marketZipError=false&search_lang=en&showZipError=n&make=FORD&keywords_display=&color=&page_location=findacar%3A%3Aispsearchform&min_price=&drive=&default_sort=priceDESC&seller_type=b&max_mileage=&style_flag=1&sort_type=priceDESC&address=92805&advanced=&end_year=2010&doors=&transmission=&max_price=&cardist=365&standard=false&rdpage=thumb

Looks boxy to me, but not ugly. Ugly is a fuckin Camry.

[Dnyce]

vegas made badass racecars.....

bronco=ugly. get over it.

[Adeptus_Minor]

vegas made badass racecars.....


:dthumb:
I wouldn't use one as-is, but as the platform for a custom build, oh yeah.

[unknownroad]

vegas made badass racecars.....


You can make a badass race car out of a lot of things... But as an automobile being sold to hundreds of thousands of people as a means of transportation, in stock form, the Vega was a total fucking disaster. Naming it "Car of the Year" was the auto journalism equivalent of Time Magazine naming Adolf Hitler Man of the Year in 1936.

And while the Bronco II was definitely 80s-Ugly, the number that I still see on the road today is impressive. They're like friggin cockroaches.

[Chris S]

It a 1990 model fucktard....not 80s.

Are you really that dense? (should I expect anything less from someone who used to gloat about GM making the world's best cars?) They could have called it whatever they want, but there's no doubt that it came out in '89, which last I checked was in the '80s and not the '90's. MY's are just marketing labels, they can't change history.

[pickle.of.doom]

Fine. Alot of the cars for 99.9999999999999999999999999% of the 80's sucked. Cheese?

[Racerboy]

Funny that they are coming out with this list now......a few years back they had a TOP TEN ISSUE....which included the TOP TEN WORST VEHICLES OF ALL TIME. I remember the Chevy Vega all too well. The actually repeated the advertisement from October 1969 when the car was released:

"There's something about a car that seats 4 comfortably"
"There's something about a car that gets 25 MPG"
"There's something about a car that's easy to park"
"And there something about a car that does all of these for under $2500!"
"Introducing the all noew for 1970, Chevy Vega!"

Then they followed it up with their own observation:

"There's something about a car that RUSTS in the showroom!!"


I think the Merkur XR4Ti was a great little car....I had friends who drove them in Germany and they were HOT and FAST! Here they never really caught on. Ford also made an XR3Ti based on the Escort and the XR2Ti based on the Festiva. All were sold in Europe and all did very well there.

Here is my list of the ones deserved of the honor of Worst of all time

The Ford Mustang II is an abomination of the Pinto. Crap all around
The Ford Bronco II, another bastardization of 4 wheels
The Chrysler K-Series Cars - CRAP! Plus all the spin offs from them, the New Yorker, the Omni, 400, 600, etc.
Renault Alliance - No question
Cadillac Catera - The Caddie That Zigs! - JUNK!
Lincoln Versailles - A Ford Granada with Leather seats and a continental kit - CRAP
Cadillac V8-6-4 in 1981 - Garbage
GM's attempt to convert 350ci Gas-oline engines into Diesel - Catastrophic!

I am sure there are others which should also make a list the the "Worst Ever made"

[Homeslice]

I would also like to add the Pontiac LeMans :lol:

[TommyHotWheel]

80's and 90's cars were great...Grand National...Corvette...SVO Mustang...Syclone and its sister the Typhoon...454SS...The Merkur XR4Ti was cool as hell when it came out, I would still pick one up today if I found a worthy piece. Just because a car is not popular, does not mean its not a good car. Ask a lot of drag racers and hot rodders if the would like a Vega or a Mustang II.

[101lifts2]

Are you really that dense? (should I expect anything less from someone who used to gloat about GM making the world's best cars?) They could have called it whatever they want, but there's no doubt that it came out in '89, which last I checked was in the '80s and not the '90's. MY's are just marketing labels, they can't change history.

So Sherlock is a 1990 Miata a 90s car too?

[pauldun170]

Funny that they are coming out with this list now......a few years back they had a TOP TEN ISSUE....which included the TOP TEN WORST VEHICLES OF ALL TIME. I remember the Chevy Vega all too well. The actually repeated the advertisement from October 1969 when the car was released:

"There's something about a car that seats 4 comfortably"
"There's something about a car that gets 25 MPG"
"There's something about a car that's easy to park"
"And there something about a car that does all of these for under $2500!"
"Introducing the all noew for 1970, Chevy Vega!"

Then they followed it up with their own observation:

"There's something about a car that RUSTS in the showroom!!"


I think the Merkur XR4Ti was a great little car....I had friends who drove them in Germany and they were HOT and FAST! Here they never really caught on. Ford also made an XR3Ti based on the Escort and the XR2Ti based on the Festiva. All were sold in Europe and all did very well there.

Here is my list of the ones deserved of the honor of Worst of all time

The Ford Mustang II is an abomination of the Pinto. Crap all around
The Ford Bronco II, another bastardization of 4 wheels
The Chrysler K-Series Cars - CRAP! Plus all the spin offs from them, the New Yorker, the Omni, 400, 600, etc.
Renault Alliance - No question
Cadillac Catera - The Caddie That Zigs! - JUNK!
Lincoln Versailles - A Ford Granada with Leather seats and a continental kit - CRAP
Cadillac V8-6-4 in 1981 - Garbage
GM's attempt to convert 350ci Gas-oline engines into Diesel - Catastrophic!

I am sure there are others which should also make a list the the "Worst Ever made"

Bronco II - Great for maneuvering in tight spots. Went anywhere. Perfect size for tight trails.

Chrysler K-Series Cars - as horrid as they may seem today, back in the day they were considered decent. Turbo Daytona's, LeBaron convertibles were very popular... Minivans...as horrid as everyone makes them out to be were an outstanding packaging solution. Omni wasn't bad

[Chris S]

So Sherlock is a 1990 Miata a 90s car too?

You can call it that, but it CAME OUT in the '80s. They produced 45,000 in '89 - that's no small production run.

http://www.lautista.com.au/01/?p=469
"David James is well known in MX-5 circles, having previously been president of the Victorian MX-5 club, still being heavily involved in club events today. His example is one of the 45,000 made in 1989"

[pickle.of.doom]

My 92 S10 was probably made from materials that were gathered/mined/forged in the 80's, so I'm lumping it in as one of this shitty 80's vehicles :D