10 Worst Cars of All Time

[Skippy]

10 Worst Cars of All Time - TheStreet

No MB's on the list. I'm not sure the Edsel should be on there. They weren't really bad, they just didn't sell.

[Pooka]

I once spoke to a guy who was in on the marketing of the Edsel. He said it was going to be the most powerful car ever built and the horsepower angle of it was going to be THE big selling point.

Marketing at Ford did not know that a meeting was being held among all of the heads of the US Auto companies where they decided to drop all mention of horsepower from their advertising, so now Ford had a car that as far as marketing was concerned no one had a reason to buy.

And as far as marketing was concerned it was not a Ford. It was an Edsel which was a distinct brand like Mercury. This last minute decision meant building a dealership network fast, and when they did they sold some dealerships to folks that were just a little on the shady and/or ill suited side to be a car dealer. Customer service became a large problem and the word on that spread quickly.

Edsel owners loved their cars, but when the cars started to become a joke they dumped them. Who wants to be seen driving a joke?

[nate300d]

Weren't Edsels the first US make with self adjusting brakes? I thought that was to be selling point of them.

[Pooka]

And......

The Vega continued to kill GM sales even after it was put to death. GM found itself with a lot of auto transmissions and rear-ends that had been ordered for Vega production, but with no car to put them in they dropped them into the 1979 Chevy Caprice.

A transmission made for a smaller car burned up quickly and the read-ends wound up with a lot of broken gears. A friend of mine went through two transmissions at $650 each. Years later GM offered to pay back anyone who could prove they had purchased a transmission and he was able to pony up his paperwork.

They paid him back, but he has not bought a GM car in over 30 years.

[jplinville]

I have had two Yugos in the past...and wouldn't mind finding another. I owned Chevies that were worse.

[The Swede]

Edmunds, a real auto enthusiasts site..

[The Clk Man]

1986 Hyundai.

[Skippy]

My parents had a Pinto once. It was bad.

[The Clk Man]

1974 Chevy Vega with the aluminum block.

[catmandoo62]

Originally Posted by Pooka

And......

The Vega continued to kill GM sales even after it was put to death. GM found itself with a lot of auto transmissions and rear-ends that had been ordered for Vega production, but with no car to put them in they dropped them into the 1979 Chevy Caprice.

that is total b.s.no way in hell is a vega rear end going in an impala let alone a caprice.

[The Clk Man]

Originally Posted by catmandoo62

that is total b.s.no way in hell is a vega rear end going in an impala let alone a caprice.

Agreed, the rear end on the 1974 Vega I owned looked like it belonged on a sewing machine.

[rscurtis]

I had a '79 Olds full-sized wagon that self-destructed at 4300 miles. I don't think the 260 had the mechanical issues of the 350, but it was totally gutless and ran with a heavy black smoke under any kind of load.

I once worked on a '76 Vega (after they had solved the engine problems), but one quick trip around the block, and it was no secret why people were buying Japanese cars.

[The Swede]

We had a mid sized Olds wagon with the small v8. Main issue was with the wimpy transmission. The non TH series (forgot the nomenclature). Burned through one of those, so we put in a TH350 and all was well.

[Dudesky]

Originally Posted by catmandoo62

that is total b.s.no way in hell is a vega rear end going in an impala let alone a caprice.

I don't know about that. All you have to do is put longer axle tubes and axles in the pumpkin.
I had an Olds 88 once, it had a 350 chevy in it and a chevy rear end and cogs. Was a pain to get parts at first. They don't throw out tons of parts.

[Kuan]

Come on! The Ford Pinto!